Authorship

Statue of Adam Black in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh

There does not seem to be any specific author actually attributed to Black’s Picturesque Guide to the Lakes. I have concluded that the publishers, Adam and Charles Black, have authored this guide and a large series of other guides as well.

Adam Black, who was born in 1784 in Edinburgh, the son of a builder, became a publisher after apprenticing with a Mr Fairbairn, a bookseller in Edinburgh. Eventually (1866), Adam was elected to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Adam’s nephew, Charles Black, ultimately joined the business to become partner to his uncle. Together, they created a company that survives even to this day. It is now part of a larger company: Bloomsbury Publishing. There is little to no information available on Charles, and I could find no pictures of him.

Adam Black- Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

• Waterston, Charles D; Macmillan Shearer, A (July 2006). Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783-2002: Biographical Index I. Edinburgh: The Royal Society of Edinburgh.