the centre of the city. Ballantyne Press was taken over by James's son, John Alexander Ballantyne, along with John Hughes. The company's printing works ceased operations in 1916. Relationship with Sir Walter Scott James and Scott worked together for over 30 years and had a close, yet complex relationship. James played a very big part in the success of Scott as a novelist. Not only did he print all of his works, he would also act as an editor. James would proofread, point out inconsistencies in the text details, fix grammatical and punctuation errors, give the whole work a scrubbing and offer advice on language and style. James was a personal agent and partner. Scott trusted James to make edits and amendments even throughout the production process. Scott nicknamed both brothers, James and John, after characters in Henry Carey's burlesque Chrononhotonthologos. James was called Aldiborontiphoscophornio. Family James is the brother of John Ballantyne, who was his business partner at times. His wife's brother, George Hogarth, was a well-known music critic and writer. He was the uncle, through his younger brother Alexander, of R. M. Ballantyne, Scottish author and artist. His niece, Catherine Hogarth, was the wife of Charles Dickens. In Fiction The character Colbert (or 'Sleek Cobby') in John Paterson's Mare, James Hogg's allegorical satire on the Edinburgh publishing scene first published in the Newcastle Magazine in 1825, is based on James Ballantyne. References 1772 births 1833 deaths Scottish editors Scottish publishers (people) 18th-century Scottish people 19th-century Scottish people Burials at the Canongate Kirkyard