Byrne, the Irish Giant and companions

This early print depicts the Giant conversing with Mr. Watson while Mr. McGowan, Mr. Fairholme, and Geordie Cranstoun listen attentively. Mr. Fairholme is shown in his characteristic upright, slightly pompous manner; Mr. John McGowan is portrayed as the genial, antiquarian bachelor known for his love of curiosities, his correspondence with Buffon, and his celebrated rum-punch, living comfortably as a writer until his death in 1805. Byrne and young Geordie Cranstoun, also included, are noted elsewhere. The final figure, Alexander Watson of Glenturkie—a respected Writer to the Signet and sociable old-school gentleman—lived in Craig’s Close, worked in the Chancery Office, and, like McGowan, remained a lifelong bachelor.