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.
printers
OTD 12 October 1789
William Collins, founder of the Glasgow printing and publishing house, was born.
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 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.
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.
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
