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A REPUTATION FOR EXCELLENCE
A History of the Aberdeen and Northern Counties Printing
Industry
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A History of the Edinburgh Printing Industry, the first booklet
in the series A Reputation for Excellence, gives a brief account
of the advent of printing to Scotland. It is known that a patent
was granted by King James IV in September 1507 to Walter Chepman
and Andro Myllar ‘burgessis of our town of Edinburgh’.
At His Majesty’s request they were authorised ‘for our
plesour, the honour and profitt of our realme and liegis to furnish
the necessary materials and capable workmen to print the books of
the laws and other books necessary which might be required’.
The partnership set up business in the Southgait (Cowgate) of Edinburgh.
From that time until the end of the seventeenth century royal patents
were issued to the trade, thus confining print-ing to a select number.
The introduction of printing presses to Scotland proceeded slowly.
The beginnings in Edinburgh in 1507 were followed after forty-five
years by St Andrews in 1552, Stirling in 1571 (for a brief period),
Aberdeen in 1622, and Glasgow in 1638. These workshops were quite
small, one-man or two-men shops at the most, and it was not unusual
for a printer to collect his gear and move from one place to another.
The three earlier books in this series give accounts of the history
of printing in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dundee and Perth. This fourth
endeavours to cover a much wider area: the first part deals with
the history of printing in Aberdeen while the sec-ond part attempts
to encompass what we have called the Northern Counties.
During the latter part of this century, the print-ing scene in Scotland
has changed dramatically. In the Scottish cities, including Aberdeen,
the number of printing companies is much reduced, due almost entirely
to the introduction and ready availability of new technology. This
has enabled even medium-sized businesses to undertake their own
printing requirements and, in addi-tion, High Street ‘printers’
have emerged to compete with the remaining traditional commercial
printing firms.
The picture throughout the Northern Counties is somewhat different.
The main suppliers of print have always been the local newspaper
firms and they continue today to cater for the needs of their communities.
The second part of this book-let is therefore largely devoted to
recording briefly the history of local newspapers in the north,
many of whom have already celebrated their own hun-dredth anniversary.
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Volume 3 published 1996
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