This is a major part of the Library's holdings, containing many large personal or family archives crucial for the study of late 17th to 19th century Scottish and British political history, including the Yester, Saltoun, Melville, and Minto papers, and, for the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Rosebery, Haldane and Murray of Elibank papers.
Diplomatic collections include the papers of Sir Robert Liston, of Lord Stuart de Rothesay, and of various members of the Elliot of Minto family. Collections in this subject area also document frequently the activities of their creators overseas, particularly, but far from exclusively, in Europe, North America, and India. As with our literary collections, we are committed to build the collections by the acquisition of later 20th century and contemporary papers.
More modern material acquired or deposited includes organisational and head office records from three of the major contemporary Scottish political parties, and papers of Scottish politicians including Walter Elliot, Lord [Jo] Grimond, and John P Mackintosh.