Patrick Neill founded the company which was to become Neill & Co on 7 December 1749 in Edinburgh. It occupied premises in Old Fishmarket Close off the High Street for many years.
Edinburgh
OTD 6 December 1752
The Edinburgh stationery and printing firm of George Waterston & Sons was established on 6 December 1752. Originally sealing wax manufacturers, the company soon moved into stationery production .
OTD 30 October 1577
30 October 1577 Thomas Bassendyne died in Edinburgh on 30 October 1577. Together with Alexander Arbuthnot, he printed the first translation of the Bible in Scotland, known as the Bassendyne Bible. The New Testament, printed by Bassendyne, was completed first, and the Bible as a whole is known as ‘the Bassendyne Bible’.
OTD 19 October 1749
William Ged died in Edinburgh on 19 October 1749. He had trained as a goldsmith, but pioneered a system of stereotyping, though he was unsuccessful in persuading printers to adopt it. It became a standard process early in the 19th century.
OTD 15 September 1507
On 15 September 1507 James IV granted Walter Chepman and Andro Myllar a licence to set up a printing press in Edinburgh.
OTD 11 August 1711
Robert Freebairn was appointed Printer to the Queen for Scotland on 11 August 1711 in Edinburgh. He later printed for the ‘Pretender’s Army’ at Perth in 1715.
OTD 8 August 1857
On 8 August 1857, there was a major fire in James’s Court, off the Lawnmarket in Edinburgh’s Old Town, in which the printing works of H & J Pillans was destroyed.
