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A REPUTATION FOR EXCELLENCE
A History of the Aberdeen and Northern Counties Printing
Industry
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Montrose
The 1959 national printers’ strike did not affect the Review
but during that year The Mearns Leader was acquired by the Robertsons.
This was followed in 1965 by the acquisition of The Kincardineshire
Observer, and resulted in all three newspapers being printed at
the Montrose office.
When Mr Robertson died in 1972, a limited liability company was
formed with John Butchard as chairman and managing director. He
served in that capacity until his death in 1980 when he was succeeded
by his deputy Jack Smith. In 1922 a management buy-out took place
and the new board remained in control until the company was purchased
in 1997 by Scottish Radio Holdings plc. Like other local newspapers
in Scotland, the pro-duction of the Review has progressed from the
early hand-setting days of James Watt’s ‘accession of
beautiful types’ through the age of mechanical composition
by Intertype. In the early 1980s Apple Mac systems were introduced
and those have been updated in recent years.
Similarly, during the greater part of last century the handpress
was the only means of printing the newspaper. For many years the
hand power required to print the Review was provided by two of the
town’s lamplighters, Willie Allen and Jimmy Macintosh. In time
they were displaced by the introduction of a gas engine before electric
power became available. For most of this century the paper was printed
by letterpress machinery but this gave way to a Litho Web Coldset
press. More recently a 9-unit Goss Community press has been installed.
Among several other newspapers published in Montrose over the years
were The Mont rose Courier and General Advertiser for the Counties
of Forfar and Kincardine and The Mont rose Chronicle or Angus and
Mearns Advertiser. The Courier first appeared in May 1815 and was
printed and published by Smith & Hall on Friday mornings, issue
gratis. It did not succeed in establishing itself and ceased publication
in May 1816.
The first issue of the Chronicle is dated 19 November 1819. It was
a weekly and consisted ( eight pages. The imprint read ‘Printed
for the Proprietors by Smith & Hall and published at the shop
of J. Smith’. Its short life ended in 1823.
A more successful newspaper was The Montrose Standard and Angus
and Mearns Register, which was launched on Thursday 10 June 1837.
It was printed by William Bennett at Innes Close and published on
Thursday mornings, price fourpence halfpenny. In 1840 the production
of the newspaper was take over by James Watt at his printing office
at Jolly’ Close, 32 High Street.
In 1847, publication of the paper became the responsibility of James
Lawson. When he wa succeeded by Charles Booth, Lawson continued
to edit the Standard.
It appears that the Macaskie family took over the newspaper in 1864
as the imprint changed to ‘printed by James Macaskie residing
at St Peter’s Place, Montrose’. Macaskie had received
his training at the Scotsman office in Edinburgh. When he died in
1874, control of the Standard passed to his widow and then later
to his two sons J. and C.B. Macaskie.
In 1888 the Standard was purchased by John Balfour who remained
proprietor and editor until his death in 1922. He too was succeeded
by his widow who continued to manage the newspaper for the next
twenty years. On her death in 1942 a limited company was formed
in which Balfour’s granddaughter had a controlling interest
with her husband, Duncan Fraser. The Standard continued to appear
until 15 January 1970 when it ceased publication.
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Volume 3 published 1996
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