19TH CENTURY, REDECORATED

From the early 18th century Glasgow was an important port for tobacco. Carved and painted figures were often used as advertising shop signs (see E.H.Pinto, Treen and Other Wooden Bygones, London, 1969, pp. 410-130). It is possible that the present figure of a highlander may have stood outside an outfitters shop rather than a tobacconists.