A RARE portrait of the man who helped found one of Scotland's major libraries has been gifted to Glasgow.

The Mitchell Library in Glasgow owes its existence to Stephen Mitchell, who lived from 1789 to 1874 and made his money in tobacco.

A rare silhouette portrait of Mitchell has been given to the city by the judge Lord Nimmo Smith.

Lord Nimmo Smith said: "I have great pleasure in presenting this portrait to the Mitchell Library.

"It came to me with some family papers left by a cousin of mine who was a direct descendant of Stephen Mitchell's brother. It shows him as a younger - and fashionable - man, and has remained in the family since it was first created.

"Stephen Mitchell was a great benefactor of the city where he made his fortune, and I can think of no better home for the portrait than the library he founded and which bears his name."

Mitchell was known as a reserved man, who was seldom photographed or drawn: when the city commissioned a bust of him to be placed in the library only one photograph could be found.

He was born in Linlithgow in 1789 and joined the family tobacco firm, founded in 1723 by an earlier Stephen Mitchell.

In 1820 Mitchell took over the running of the business with his younger brother and in 1825 the business had to move from Linlithgow to Glasgow, beginning in Candleriggs.

It then moved to St Andrew's Square where it flourished, becoming one of the firms which later formed the Imperial Tobacco Company.

He retired to Moffat, the Borders, and spent time in the library there, some of whose books had been donated by Robert Burns.

Mitchell never married, and on his death he bequeathed the bulk of his fortune, almost £70,000, to the Corporation of the City of Glasgow to: "form the nucleus of a fund for the establishment and endowment of a large Public Library in Glasgow, with all the modern accessories connected therewith".

The library now holds over one million items in stock and received 5.5 million visits last year.

Councillor Archie Graham, chairman of Glasgow Life, which runs the city's art galleries, libraries and museums, said: "This city is forever indebted to the generosity of Stephen Mitchell.

"His gift to Glasgow allowed our forefathers to open a large public library...we are very grateful to Lord Nimmo Smith for donating this rare portrait and are delighted to accept it into Glasgow's Collection."

The portrait will be on display at the Granville street entrance to the Mitchell Library.