
author
d. 1865
A 19th-century Scottish solicitor and Free Church elder, he is remembered today through one of the early photographic portraits made by Hill and Adamson. Surviving records suggest a respected public figure in Edinburgh rather than a widely documented literary author.

by James Bridges
The available reliable records for James Bridges (1785–1865) are quite limited, so this sketch stays close to what can be confirmed. He was a Scottish solicitor and a Free Church elder, and his name survives in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland through a calotype portrait made between 1843 and 1847 by the pioneering photographers David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson.
That portrait places him among the many church and civic figures connected with the early years of the Free Church of Scotland. While detailed biographical information is scarce, the surviving description suggests he was known in his own time for his professional standing and religious involvement.
Because the historical record located here is so brief, it is best not to claim more than the sources support. If this is the same James Bridges connected with a specific book or sermon collection, a fuller account may exist in library or church archives.