Robert Foulis was born on 20 April 1707. He and his brother Andrew established the Foulis Press, printer to the University of Glasgow, which was known for the high quality of its output .
OTD 4 April 1508
April 4, 2024 by
Scotland’s first printers, Walter Chepman and Andro Myllar, completed printing John Lydgate’s poem The Complaint of the Black Knight, at their press in Edinburgh’s Old Town.
Robert Smail’s Printing Works opening 2024
March 25, 2024 by
The National Trust for Scotland’s Robert Smail’s Printing Works opens for the season on 29 March 2024. For full details of opening times and how to get there see the NTS website.
OTD 5 March 1822
March 5, 2024 by
The Society of Bookbinders in Edinburgh was formed in 1814, as a relief society for sick and unemployed members. On 5 March 1822 the name changed to the Union Society of Edinburgh Journeyman Bookbinders. The Society continued for 50 years, remaining independent of the Bookbinders’ Consolidated Union until September 1872 when the two organisations amalgamated […]
OTD 28 February 1803
February 28, 2024 by
Memorial of the Edinburgh Compositors to the Court of Session. This was a request from the compositors of Edinburgh that they be allowed to convene a meeting: the Combination Acts were in force at the time, preventing workmen from acting together to improve their conditions. Permission was granted and a request for an increase in […]
‘Unfinished business’: Print Networks 2024
February 16, 2024 by
This year’s Print Networks conference, Unfinished Business: Progress, Stasis and New Directions in the study of the Book Trade since Peter Isaac, will be held at Newcastle University on 9–10 July 2024. Details of the call for papers are on the Centre for Printing History and Culture website. Please submit abstracts of 200–250 words by February […]
Printing Historical Society grants 2024
January 31, 2024 by
The Printing Historical Society is currently inviting applications for research grants under their annual grant scheme. The total amount available this year is £3,000, and the deadline for submissions is Friday 22 March 2024. Eligibility and application details are on the Society’s Grants page.
OTD 25 January 1817
January 25, 2024 by
The first ever edition of The Scotsman, or Edinburgh Political and Literary Journal was produced on Saturday, January 25 1817, from premises in Edinburgh’s High Street. It was originally published weekly, and became a daily newspaper in 1850. The proprietors announced that their ‘first desire is to be honest, the second is to be useful’.
OTD 19 January 1757
January 19, 2024 by
Thomas Ruddiman was born near Banff in 1674, son of a farmer, and was educated at the local grammar school and at Aberdeen University. After a period as a private tutor, and as the schoolmaster at Laurencekirk, he moved to Edinburgh in 1700 to become the assistant librarian at the Faculty of Advocates. He was […]
OTD 15 January 1826
January 15, 2024 by
Founded in Kelso in 1796, James Ballantyne was founded in Kelso in 1796. Archibald Constable, Scott’s publisher, commissioned Ballantyne to print his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, which led to the firm’s move to Edinburgh in 1802. After setting up near Holyrood, they moved to Foulis Close in the Canongate before settling in Paul’s Work, […]
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