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.

Tags: Edinburgh | printers

OTD 29 August 1553

John Scot completed the printing of the Catechism on 29 August 1553. It was the first book to be printed in St Andrews.

Tags: Fife | printers

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.

Tags: Edinburgh | Perth | printers

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.

Tags: Edinburgh | printers

OTD 6 July 1907

On 6 July 1907 the Strathearn Herald in Crieff was printed for the first time on the newly-installed Cossar Patent Flat Bed Web Newspaper Printing Machine. The installation had been supervised by its inventor, Tom Cossar of Govan, and it produced every issue until its final run on 28 March 1991. This machine is now in the care of National Museums Scotland.

Tags: printers | printing machines

Talk by Helen Williams

Helen S Williams will be giving a talk on August 31 on Edinburgh's Print Workers and their Organisations.