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10 Pounds British Linen Company
| Issuer | British Linen Company |
|---|---|
| Year | 1905 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Printed in blue on white paper with a large red letterpress underprint of the initials B.L.C., the obverse is centred on the Royal Arms vignette at the top, flanked by two guilloche cartouches each bearing the denomination numeral TEN. A vertical panel along the left margin incorporates three oval vignettes — the upper and lower with geometric lathe-work patterns and the central one with a seated allegorical female figure — enclosed within elaborate floral and scroll borders. The promise-to-pay text in ornate script runs across the central field, with the issue date Edinburgh 15th April 1905 and serial numbers in the upper register, and the printer's imprint of Waterlow & Sons, London Wall, London at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Incorporated by Royal Charter 1746 The British Linen Company Promise to Pay on Demand to the Bearer Ten Pounds Sterling By order of the Court of Directors Edinburgh 15th April 1905 |
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| Comments |
The British Linen Company was a curious institution — chartered in 1746 to promote the Scottish linen trade, it had pivoted almost entirely to banking by the early nineteenth century while retaining its original name and royal charter. That charter granted it the right to issue notes, a privilege that became increasingly rare as banking consolidation tightened across Scotland through the late Victorian and Edwardian periods.
Waterlow & Sons had handled Scottish bank printing for multiple issuers by this period, their London operation producing notes that then circulated hundreds of miles north. The British Linen Company was eventually absorbed by Barclays in 1969, ending over two centuries of separate note issue.