Ballantyne, James (1772–1833)

Scottish editor and publisher, born at Kelso. Together with his younger brother John (1774–1821), he founded a publishing house and printers that produced the highly popular novels of Sir Walter Scott. James Ballantyne was renowned as an astute judge of dramatic literature, and Scott incorporated many of his suggestions for alterations in subject-matter into his manuscripts.

As a young man, James Ballantyne founded the Kelso Mail, and was the first to introduce an improved style of printing into Scotland. John Ballantyne was a connoisseur of art and works of antiquity, who edited two periodicals, The Visionary and The Saleroom.