5 Pounds British Linen Bank

The British Linen Bank — despite the name — had nothing to do with the linen trade by the time this note circulated. It was chartered in 1746 ostensibly to finance the Scottish linen industry, but had functioned as a straightforward commercial bank for well over a century by 1907. The name survived purely as institutional identity.

Waterlow & Sons held the printing contract for much of the Bank's note production during this period. The series ran across nearly a decade, meaning examples can turn up with signatures spanning multiple cashier appointments — a useful dating clue when no day-date is visible.