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A REPUTATION FOR EXCELLENCE
A History of the Aberdeen and Northern Counties Printing
Industry
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Orkney
When researching the history of the Scottish print-ing industry
for this series, it became evident that in quite a number of cases
early printers, like pub-lishers, had their origins in already established
booksellers and bookbinders. The Orcadian’s early beginnings
come into that category. Magnus Anderson started a bookbinding business
in Kirkwall in 1798, the year before his son James Urquhart Anderson
was born. It is thought his business was founded on importing printed
sheets, mainly of a religious nature, from Edinburgh, bind-ing them
in Kirkwall, and selling the bound copies throughout the islands.
James, who attended the local Grammar School, left Kirkwall to serve
a bookbinding apprentice-ship with a firm in Leith. It was during
that period he became interested in printing and spent several weeks
with a Mr Heriot learning the basic principles of the craft.
He returned to Orkney to join his father’s busi-ness but his
experience in Leith had left him with a strong desire to print as
well as bind books. The opportunity came sooner than he could have
anticipated when several local gentry brought to Orkney a small
hand-press and a quantity of type. It is uncertain whether they
meant to indulge in printing as a hobby or whether they intended
to donate the equipment to Kirkwall Grammar School but, in any case,
it found its way there.
James Anderson was quick to respond to a call from the school for
help with their new printing plant as it gave him an opportunity
to put into practice the elementary skills he had acquired from
Mr Heriot. A short time later he took over the equipment and in
the 1820s the Kirkwall Press was established.
Over the succeeding years the business was built up and when his
eldest son, also James, was old enough he was sent to Edinburgh
to serve a printing apprenticeship. On completion of his training,
James jun. took up a post with The Newcastle Chronicle before returning
to Kirkwall in 1854. In the meantime his father has acquired additional
supplies of type and a larger press and so was equipped to launch
a newspaper. On Saturday 14 November 1854 the first newspaper to
be printed and published in Orkney came off the press from a small
workshop in Kirkwall’s old, narrow Victoria Street.
To begin with The Literary and Commercial Advertiser for Orkney
and Zetland, as it was subtitled, appeared monthly in order to minimise
the crippling newspaper tax of the time. When the tax was abolished
a year later The Orcadian became a weekly, as it has remained ever
since.
In 1856 a new concept was tried out to speed up production of the
four-page newspaper. The two inside pages containing world news
were printed in London and sent to Kirkwall by train and boat. The
two outside pages containing local news, advertisements, etc were
already set up and ready to be run off to complete the issue. A
year later, when the same procedure was being continued, the printing
of the inside pages was switched to Edinburgh. This composite printing
continued until 1860 when speedier communications and improved equipment
allowed the paper to be completely printed in Kirkwall.
James Anderson jun. took over the newspaper in 1874 when his father
died. Around this time the printing works moved temporarily to Queen
Street while a steam press was being installed in the old premises.
In 1877 W.R. Mackintosh arrived from Ayrshire to join the editorial
staff. Soon afterwards he mar-ried a daughter of James Anderson
jun. and, when his father-in-law retired in 1895, he acquired the
business. He continued to manage the company until his death during
the First World War.
He was succeeded by his son, James Anderson Mackintosh, who controlled
the business and the newspaper until 1938.
During the latter part of that period he was responsible for many
technical changes, not the least of those being the introduction
of Linotype composition and in 1931 the installation of a Cossar
press.
For six years after his death in 1938 the company was managed by
his widow. When she died in 1944 the business was run jointly for
the next five years by Mrs Robert Miller (then Miss Elizabeth Mackintosh),
a daughter of James Mackintosh, and her sister Thelma. In 1949 Mrs
Miller took complete control of the firm.
In 1980, after studying business management and journalism, James
Miller a great-great-great-grandson of the founder of The Orcadian,
returned to his home in Orkney and one year later entered into partnership
with his mother Elizabeth. In 1987, when The Orcadian became a limited
company, James was appointed Managing Director and continues in
that role today.
The company suffered a serious set-back in 1972 when the printing
works were gutted by fire but service was soon restored at its original
location in Victoria Street. In 1996, however, a new print centre
was opened at Hatston which houses a fully operational computer
suite incorporating the latest family of Apple Mac hardware. The
centre-pieces of the print room are a four-colour Heidelberg press
and a four unit Lem Lino News web machine, which are in marked contrast
to the original press operated by the founder of The Orcadian, James
Urquhart Anderson.
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Volume 3 published 1996
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