1 Pound Royal Bank of Scotland

Scottish banks retained the right to issue their own banknotes under the Bank Notes (Scotland) Act 1845, which required them to hold equivalent Bank of England notes in reserve for any circulation beyond a fixed authorized limit — a constraint that shaped how carefully institutions like the Royal Bank managed their printing runs. This long-running series spans the better part of three decades, bridging prewar sterling and the postwar austerity years without a significant redesign.

W. & A. K. Johnston was primarily a cartographic and engraving house before its banking print work became prominent. The merger with G. W. Bacon — itself a London map publisher — consolidated the Edinburgh operation but the Scottish notes continued to be produced locally throughout.