Their activities are described in Volume II of Kay's Edinburgh Portraits.
[1] They are also depicted in a drawing by David Allen,[2] and mentioned in an 1811 regulation made by Edinburgh Town Council.
[3] The authors of Kay's Edinburgh Portraits describe the tron-men's appearance thus: "They wore flat bonnets—a coat peculiarly formed—and knee-breeches and buckles—with a short apron, A ladder—a besom—with a coil of ropes and a ball, completed their equipment.
"[1] The name "trone-men" was in use as early as 1705, in the work Observator; or, A dialogue between a country-man, & a landwart school-master.
[4] The tron-men are also referred to in Maitland's The History of Edinburgh, published in 1753.