The Map below is One of the Oldest concise Maps of West Lothian. It is John Adair’s map of West Lothian (at that time, Linlithgowshire). It was First published in 1737, some 15 years after his Death in 1722. The Map was donated by his wife to the National Archives after he died.
John Adair’s Map of West Lothian
In 1682, a Cartographer named John Adair teamed up with aristocrat Sir Robert Sibbald of Kipps to Map out the Entire country of Scotland. Both Land and Sea. Throughout the early years between 1682 and 1686, Adair was said to have churned out a fair deal of work and in 1685, he declared that he had already 20 completed maps ready for publishing.
However, Its hard to be sure whether or not he really did have these maps completed by this time as they were never published until much later and many not until after his death in 1722. Adair was a well known procrastinator and arguably a con man. However, he was indeed a gifted map maker with amazing cartography skills. So, he was able to carry on receiving government grants for his commissions time after time with little to show but promises and assurances.
The Daring Adair
His lifestyle and economic patterns seem to Indicate that he lived quite a chaotic lifestyle with poor money managing skills. He would make bold challenges concerning work and receive a grant from the government. It seems he would then spend the money and bring only excuses to the table instead of finished maps.
When pushed, he would eventually produce a finished map or Two, but it usually always fell short of the original commission order. Assurances would be made concerning the remaining commissions deliver. But he would of course plead poverty and ask for more money. Back to square One and the cycle repeats.
The Slezer-Adair Dispute
Yer, crazy as it sounds, he actually got away with it time and time again. A fellow Map maker and bitter Rival, the German Engineer Captain Slezer called him out numerous times. He claimed that Adair was “always making excuses yet seldom delivering the finished commissions”.
But somehow, Adair would manage to deflect Slezer’s blows. He stated that he was a Real Map maker who worked out in the field in all seasons and terrain, whilst claiming that Slezer was just a desktop academic who just compiled maps from the hard work of others. This bitter rivalry between these Two Map Makers, which commonly became known as the ‘Slezer-Adair Dispute’ went on for years. Until eventually Adairs bluff was called and it emerged that Slezer had been right all along.
Mapping the Road to Nowhere
Eventually, even Sir Robert Sibbald lost his patience with Adair since little of the works he had paid him to carry out had been completed. As a result, the compendium Atlas Scoticus was never published. Sibbald had enough and Instead recruited Adairs rival, Captain Slezer.
He ended up in a prolonged dispute with Adair over the monies paid for the works he hadn’t delivered. He wasn’t doing very well now that his bluff had started to wear thin. The only thing he was mapping now, was the Road to Nowhere.
In the end, John Adair ended up out of work and sleeping in Edinburgh’s Holyrood park in order to avoid his creditors. He was known to have occasionally sold bits and pieces of his work off cheaply for ready cash. He died in Edinburgh in 1722.
Adair’s Map of West Lothian, 1737
Further Works of John Adair
After his death in 1722, John Adair’s wife had his vast collection of still unpublished works donated to the National Archives. She reasoned that they’d be better going there than being left to chance where they’d doubtlessly end up in some bin and all her husbands time and efforts wasted. Its such a great job that she did because today, some of his maps remain some of the oldest maps of areas around the UK.
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