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A REPUTATION FOR EXCELLENCE
A History of the Aberdeen and Northern Counties Printing
Industry
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161718192021
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Northern Counties - Arbroath
It is thought that the first printer in Arbroath was one Peter Cochrane.
It appears he was in busi-ness at the end of the eighteenth century
when the first publisher in the town, John Findlay, launched The
Arbroath Magazine in 1799. Twelve monthly numbers of the magazine
appeared before it ceased publication in 1800. The most important
work published by Findlay, and printed by Cochrane, was an edition
in two volumes of Holinshed’s Scottish Chronicle.
A periodical called The Arbroath Argus appeared in 1835 but, although
edited and published in Arbroath, it was printed in Edinburgh by
Peter Brown. The publisher was John Bremnar, book-seller and printer,
the editor being John Sands, an Arbroath lawyer. The Argus was a
four page quarto paper, published monthly, price threepence. It
became evident from the success of the Argus that there was a need
for a newspaper in Arbroath, and so towards the end of 1836 the
monthly publication changed its name to The Arbroath Journal and
became a weekly. Another event of note was the setting up of a printing
plant in premises in Homer’s Wynd, later Commerce Street, to
undertake the printing of the Journal in the town. The paper did
not exactly flourish and ceased publication in 1842.
In November 1838 the first number of The Arbroath Herald was published,
consisting of eight pages and priced fourpence-halfpenny. Although
a marked improvement on the Journal, it encountered financial problems
and ran for only thirteen months. During that short life it was
edited by Robert Anderson, a young Arbroath lawyer, while James
Duff was printer and publisher.
Following the, in the event temporary, failure of the Herald, The
Arbroath Guide was launched in March 1842, first as a four-page
newspaper but later varying in extent. The first proprietor and
editor was Ben Kennedy, a native of Caithness, who for a period
had been editor of The John O’Groat Journal. In 1853 Thomas
Buncle, who had been acting as manager, was offered a partnership,
and on Kennedy’s death in 1861 he became sole proprietor. It
is interesting that two later editors of the Guide also came to
Arbroath from The John O’Groat Journal. The first of these
was D.M. Luckie who served for six years from 1856. He was followed
in 1862 by George Hay who is perhaps best know for his History of
Arbroath.
The ownership of the Guide remained in the hands of the Buncle family
until 1972 when it was acquired by Jack Neiland. Although in the
following years the business expanded into new fields, the Guide
itself ceased publication in May 1978.
In 1856 The Arbroath and Forfar News and Angus Advertiser made a
brief appearance. It was printed and published on Wednesdays, price
fourpence-halfpenny, by John Mitchell, who had previously edited
The Montrose Review. Due account had not been taken of initial setting-up
costs and, although excellently produced, it survived for little
over a year.
The reappearance, in February 1885, of The Arbroath Herald was due
to the efforts of John Brodie, a Borderer from Selkirk. Having served
his apprenticeship with The Southern Reporter and subsequently managing
the newspaper for about nineteen years, Brodie left Selkirk in 1877
on being offered a management post with Aberdeen University Press.
He stayed in Aberdeen for only two years before moving to Arbroath
to take over a stationer’s firm in the High Street. Following
a disastrous fire within a few weeks of starting up in business,
Brodie began planning new premises at 10 to 12 Brothock Bridge to
accommodate both a shop and printing works.
The first issue of the resurrected Herald consisted of four pages,
but the second number was increased to six pages and it was enlarged
yet again after twelve weeks. In those early days the Herald was
a free newspaper and continued to be published gratis until September
1887, when it was sold for one penny.
It was around this time that Brodie was joined by James Salmond
to form the firm Brodie & Salmond, with its headquarters at
Brothock Bridge. Sadly, the locally popular Salmond died at the
early age of forty. Brodie was to suffer a more grievous loss when
his twenty-one year old son died a year later.
The young man was being trained for the business and so, following
his death, Brodie turned to his twenty-four year old daughter Margaret
for edito-rial help.
During the period leading up to the First World War, and indeed
throughout the difficult wartime years, Brodie not only kept the
business running successfully but also invested in new plant including
a first colour lithographic press. In 1920, when he was seventy-four,
John Brodie decided to retire and the Arbroath Herald Ltd company
was estab-lished with himself as chairman.
Some years before this, working for the firm was George Lowe who
had started modestly as a ‘paper laddie’. Brodie had taken
a liking to the young man and encouraged him to progress through
the company with such success that when he died Lowe became an active
partner. Miss Brodie continued to hold the editorial reins while
Lowe became responsible for the printing operations. In 1958 Miss
Brodie died aged eighty-one and was succeeded as editor by George
Shepherd.
One of the most prestigious publications of the company is The Book
of the Braemar Gathering. Lowe’s long connection with the Royal
Gathering was recognised when he was appointed a member of the Royal
Victorian Order in 1982.
In recent times the company has embraced new technology and typesetting
is by a computerised system. Photo litho has become the predominant
method of printing the Herald and other work.
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Volume 3 published 1996
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