|
|
A REPUTATION FOR EXCELLENCE
A History of the Aberdeen and Northern Counties Printing
Industry
1 2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
161718192021
2223242526272829303132
Nairn
According to George Bain’s History of Nairnshire, the first
newspaper in Nairn was launched in 1841. There was a great deal
of discussion at the time as to what the title of the paper should
be and among those involved was Sheriff Falconer. It is said that
when shaving one morning he suddenly had the idea that a suitable
name for the newspaper would be the Mirror and that was the title
adopted.
The paper’s first editor and proprietor was Charles Mc Watt
who had been a pupil of Straith’s and later graduated at Aberdeen
University. To begin with, the paper was published once a month,
on market day, but soon afterwards the frequency was increased to
fortnightly.
In 1853 The Nairnshire Telegraph was launched as a weekly newspaper
by James Wilson and a year later the Mirror and the Telegraph were
amalgamated under his management, adopting the Telegraph as its
title. Sadly, McWatt, who had not been in good health, died shortly
afterwards.
Wilson carried on the business until 1864 when he emigrated to China,
no doubt influenced by his uncle, Alexander Wilson, who was in business
in Hong Kong. James Wilson went on to set up a newspaper in Shanghai
but he died shortly before the first number was published.
In the meantime James’s cousin, Hugh Wilson, had taken charge
of the Telegraph and continued to manage the business for several
years before seeking pastures new. Along with his two brothers,
James and John, he moved south to Edinburgh where the trio established
The Edinburgh Evening News.
Over the following years, control of the newspaper passed through
several hands. First of all Patrick Rose Smith, a licentiate of
the Church of Scotland, was connected with the Telegraph. He was
reputed to be a person of outstanding literary ability but after
a brief period he moved to London where he worked for the Athenaeum
and other literary papers.
David Law from Edinburgh was the next editor but, like his predecessor,
he did not remain long in the post. He emigrated to India and for
a period was sub-editor of The Bombay Gazette before returning to
London to study law. Having qualified as a barrister it is said
he obtained an important position with the Times and continued in
that role until his death.
Patrick Smith, a nephew of James Wilson, succeeded Law and managed
the Telegraph for several years, but remarkably he was to follow
in the footsteps of his predecessor. First of all he accepted a
post on The North China Herald and then returned to London to study
law and also became a barrister. For a time he was employed in literary
work by Herbert Spencer, the philosopher. However, the Far East
must have had a special attrac-tion for him, as he returned there
to take up a legal appointment in Hong Kong but died shortly afterwards.
The Telegraph was acquired in 1869 by George Bain who continued
to manage and edit the newspaper with his sister until his death
in 1926. Throughout his long life, George Bain devoted much of his
energy and time to furthering the interests of Nairn. He was curator
of the museum of the Nairn Literary Institute for many years and
his most notable publication was The History of Nairnshire. On his
death, his sister, Jessie, continued to manage the newspaper until
1933.
George Bain’s nephew, also George, who had emigrated to Canada,
returned to Nairn in 1933 and managed the newspaper until his death
in 1959. For the following twenty-eight years Alastair Bain was
in charge of the Telegraph and in 1987 he was succeeded by the present
editor, lain Bain, who had been editor of The Geographical Magazine
for a period.
It is perhaps unique that the newspaper was hand set until the early
1920s when a Linotype s~ acquired. Later, two Intertypes were added
a this method of composition continued until 1988 when it was replaced
by a DTP system. Until 1’ the Telegraph was printed on a Wharfedale
and then for a few months the paper was produced on Northern Star
presses at Elgin. In 1980 a Heidelberg SBGZ was purchased but eight
years later I newspaper returned to Elgin to be printed.
|
|
Volume 3 published 1996
Buy a
copy of the illustrated book?
Download a PDF (8MB)
|
