On the 23 October 1903, Bartholomew printed 2,040 sheets of maps destined for publication in the latest work by Harry de Windt. Harry de who? I hear you ask. Well, one of the best things about the Printing Record is that the maps it contains can reveal interesting but often forgotten stories of people, places […]
A recent acquisition: ‘A dramatic dialogue between the King of France and the Pretender’
Earlier this year we bought a 12-page pamphlet containing the poem ‘A dramatic dialogue between the King of France and the Pretender’ (Shelfmark: RB.m.701). The work was printed in London in 1746. Interestingly, it is not recorded in David F. Foxon’s ‘English verse, 1701-1750 a catalogue of separately printed poems with notes on contemporary collected editions’ (London: Cambridge […]
Cronin on My Scottish Bookshelf
A certain doctor of Tannochbrae used to be the mainstay of my television childhood, so it was with some very clear monochrome images in my head, that I picked up the recent Birlinn edition of A.J. Cronin’s Dr. Finlay’s Casebook.
African soccerscapes: how a continent changes the world’s game
(Photo credit: Hurst & Co.) (Image above shows cover image of the book which is the title, African soundscapes: how a continent changed the world’s game, and images of stamps representing African soccer players) As evidenced by this years World Cup, Africa has a passion for soccerball. Soccer (or football) is the most popular sport […]
John Buchan on my Scottish bookshelf
It is now 70 years since the death of John Buchan in Canada in 1940 and he remains a popular figure courtesy of regular adaptations in various media and some handsome reprints of his books.The Thirty Nine Steps is the most famous title, but there are many others worth exploring.
500th Anniversary of the Aberdeen Breviary display
After our display marking the anniversary of the Scottish Reformation, we travel back in time half a century for our new Visitor Centre display, to celebrate the completion of the printing of the Aberdeen Breviary in 1510. The Aberdeen Breviary, so called because it was compiled under the direction of William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen, is […]
The first Scottish printed Bible
Page from the Bassandyne Bible Today is the last day of our Reformation display, and for a final post I would like to write about the first Bible printed in Scotland, generally called the Bassandyne Bible, after its printer Thomas Bassandyne. Bibles certainly circulated in Scotland before the Bassandyne Bible was published – printed editions […]
Reformation ‘Reasoning’
One of my favourite examples of what people could do with printed books during the Reformation is John Knox’s account of his dispute with a Catholic Abbot. In 1562 Knox, as commissioner of the General Assmbly, undertook a three-month inspection of churches in the south-west of Scotland. It was on this occasion that he […]
Oor Wullie at NLS
This week Modern Scottish Collections has been in the news re our recent purchase of the first two Oor Wullie annuals.
The Evolution of a Map
It is largely agreed that John Bartholomew & Son. Ltd. can lay claim to a distinguished and deserved reputation as regards the quality of their maps and their ability to innovate. Successive generations pioneered new projections, new types of content and even new methods of folding, but arguably the pinnacle of all of this innovation […]