On Thursday 24 May 2012 Dr Aileen Fyfe of the University of St Andrews will give a lecture entitled Edinburgh’s Industrial Information Revolution as part of the Understanding Technology series, at National Museums Scotland, Chambers Street, in cooperation with the Institute for the Study of Science, Technology and Innovation, University of Edinburgh. Her topic is the nature and availability of printed information which was radically transformed in mid-nineteenth century Britain, thanks to the arrival of new print technologies and expanding reading audiences.
This talk will examine that revolution from an Edinburgh perspective, considering the availability of machinery and expertise, and the particular challenges faced by publishers in North Britain who sought to compete with London publishers in a national market. Publishers William & Robert Chambers were among the first in Edinburgh to adopt steam-printing and stereotyping, which they believed would enable them to fulfil their ambitions of mass popular education. These printing technologies became part of a complex system — incorporating railways, steamships and the postal service -“ which enabled W. & R. Chambers to build a national, and then international, business dedicated to the diffusion of information and the promotion of popular education.
Venue: Learning Centre Seminar Room, National Museums Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF. Admission free.
Please register with Maureen Kerr on 0131 247 4274 or m.kerr@nms.ac.uk