A new exhibition at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh celebrates the country's most famous feature: rain. Titled 'A Nation Shaped by Rain', it explores how rainfall has influenced Scottish science, literature, history and identity.
The exhibition features James Hutton, the 18th-century geologist who wrote a formula for 'a theory of rain' in 1784. His calculations on the condensation of aqueous vapour are a centrepiece of the display.
Visitors can see early rain maps of Scotland, including one from 1912 charting 25 years of rainfall. The library's collection also includes tartan samples of Mackintosh fabric, invented by Glasgow-born chemist Charles Macintosh in 1823.
Literary highlights include Minnie the Minx from the Beano, appearing in a cartoon strip educating children about storms, and a rare original copy of King James VI's Daemonologie, which blamed witches for conjuring storms. The text inspired Shakespeare's Macbeth, also featured in the exhibition.
Alison Stevenson, the library's director of collections, said: 'Rain is in our manuscripts, maps, poetry, prose, newspaper collections, films – you name it. This exhibition covers all perspectives.'
The display includes a weather forecast wall where visitors can play TV meteorologist. Heather Reid, known as Heather the Weather, opens the exhibition on 17 June.
Exhibits range from Thomas Tod Stoddart's 1864 poem about drought on the Tweed fishery to Mary Cumming Bruce's 1889 diary entry about a rain-soaked boy staring at her umbrella, then a symbol of wealth.
The exhibition is dedicated to Mel Houston, the library's preventive conservator who died in a flash flood in 2023. She played a key role in protecting collections from climate change.
Rain opens to the public on 19 June and runs until 30 April 2027.
