Mr John Wemyss, Mr Robert Clerk, and George Pratt

John Wemyss, shown on the left, was a former dyer who, after business losses, became a town crier and long-serving officer of the Bonnet-makers’ Incorporation; he lived modestly, was twice married, and died in 1788, while his son Robert later achieved greater success and public respect. The central figure, Robert Clerk (1738–1810), was a bookseller and publisher who built a prosperous career, owned property in Edinburgh and Newhaven, and was remembered as a sociable, generous, and upright man, much beloved by friends. The third figure is the well-known George Pratt, already discussed elsewhere.