two presses. These soon proved to be insufficient and the space too small with the amount of work coming in. He eventually settled his shop in Holyrood in 1805. Due to financial constraints despite the publisher's success, he joined into an ownership agreement with Scott who provided further capital. They had much success with the publishing of Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel, Marmion and a number of other best sellers. Ballantyne also printed several of James Hogg's books, beginning with The Mountain Bard (1807). In 1815, James married Christina Hogarth, with the condition from her father that he was debt free. Scott relieved James from his debts in return for complete ownership of James Ballantyne and Co. and James would work as a salaried manager. He became theatre critic of the Edinburgh Evening Courant. In 1817, James, along with his brother-in-law George Hogarth, purchased the Edinburgh Weekly Journal where he acted as editor. His brother, John, was the musical and drama critic while George managed the finances. In 1820 he was living at 10 St John Street off the Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town. Following the death of John Ballantyne in 1821, Scott promoted James from manager to personal agent and partner. This led to Alexander Ballantyne taking over the Weekly Journal as editor. While the company flourished, with business from both Scotland and England, and obtained a corner on printing legal stationary and official documents, debts continued to mount. Scott had been borrowing money to build Abbotsford House, his personal residence, instead of putting the money towards their debt. After this change in circumstance James moved to a new house at 3 Heriot Row: a ground floor and basement house within the end pavilion. A collapse of the financial and publishing industries in 1825–26, led to the bankruptcy of Archibald Constable's publishing company, which published Scott's works, and also led to the failure of Ballantyne Press. This left James with responsibility for half of the company's debt, forcing him to sell his family valuables and new home. Scott publicly acknowledged his role in the business and used proceeds from his books to pay for the debts incurred. The debt was around £120,000. Christina died in 1829 leaving James devastated. Scott died on 21 September 1832, followed shortly after by James on 26 January 1833. James's home address at the end of his life was 1 Hill Street in