James Salmon, Snr. [also known as James Salmon] was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 11 October 1805 and was a pupil of John Brash (c.1875-1848) in Glasgow from c.1820 to c.1825. He commenced practice as an architect in c.1825. In 1843, with John Black (1800-1869) he formed the architectural partnership Black & Salmon in Glasgow. The partnership was dissolved in c.1853 and from c.1867 to 1872 he was in partnership with his son, William Forrest Salmon (1843-1911) and James Ritchie (1835-1910) in the architectural firm Salmon, Son & Ritchie in Glasgow. The partnership was dissolved in 1872 and that year was reformed as James Salmon & Son.
James Salmon, Snr. was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1876. He died in Dennistoun Lanarkshire Scotland on 5 June 1888.
See: Dictionary of Scottish Architects 1660-1980 [link below]
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001