Detail from a page in Calvin's Gaelic Catechism with the initials 'I W P' for John Wreittoun Printer in an ornament.
Our copy of the Gaelic translation of the shorter catechism is unique. It is the only surviving copy.
The title page is missing and so we have no direct information about when and where it was printed. But there are some clues: on page 107 are the letters 'I W P', which stand for John Wreittoun Printer. He had his printing press in Edinburgh.
At the start of the volume is an English translation of Calvin's catechism, printed by Wreittoun in 1631. It has the same ornaments as the Gaelic version and was probably printed around the same time. So we assume that he also printed the Gaelic version in Edinburgh in 1631. The two books were bound together in the late 18th century.
The translator was probably a scholar or a poet who was trained in Latin and in classical Gaelic. Calvin's Catechism first appeared in Latin in 1545.
[Library reference: F.7.g.5(2).]
