Ainslie, Hew (1792–1878), brewer and poet, was born on 5 April 1792 at Bargeny Mains in the parish of Dailly, Ayrshire, only son of the three children of George Ainslie, a butler on the estate of Sir Hew Dalrymple Hamilton. His mother's name is unknown, but ...
Article
Ainslie, Hew (1792–1878), brewer and poet
T. W. Bayne
revised by Douglas Brown
Article
Balfour, John (1715–1795), bookseller and printer
Warren McDougall
Balfour, John (1715–1795), bookseller and printer, was born in South Leith, Edinburghshire, on 1 December 1715, the ninth among the sixteen children of the manufacturer and shipbuilder James Balfour (1681–1737) and Louisa Hamilton (1686–1750). When he was three the family moved to the ...
Article
Bassandyne [Bassendyne], Thomas (d. 1577), printer and bookseller
A. J. Mann
Bassandyne [Bassendyne], Thomas (d. 1577), printer and bookseller, was a native of Scotland, although his place of birth, parents, and details of his early life and education are unknown. He is believed to have learned the art of printing abroad, possibly at Paris...
Article
Bell, John (1735–1806), bookseller
Richard B. Sher
Bell, John (1735–1806), bookseller, was born on 24 November 1735, the middle child of the Revd John Bell (d. 1767), minister of the parish of Gordon in Berwickshire, whose father, Robert, and grandfather John were also Church of Scotland ministers, and Elizabeth Ewing (...
Article
Brown, James Duff (1862–1914), librarian and compiler of music reference books
K. A. Manley
Brown, James Duff (1862–1914), librarian and compiler of music reference books, was born on 6 November 1862 at 3 Reid Terrace, Stockbridge, Edinburgh, the second of seven children of James Brown of St Fergus, Aberdeenshire, a bookkeeper, and his wife, Margaret Douglas of ...
Article
Bryce, John (bap. 1717, d. 1787), printer and bookseller
R. A. Gillespie
Bryce, John (bap. 1717, d. 1787), printer and bookseller, was baptized in Glasgow on 10 March 1717, the younger son of Patrick Bryce, hammerman, and Janet Watson. Nothing more is known of his background or early life. His name first appears in a ...
Article
Burel, John (1565x8–1603), merchant and poet
Jamie Reid-Baxter
Burel, John (1565x8–1603), merchant and poet, was the son of Edinburgh's wealthiest flesher, Harry Burel (d. 1587), and his second wife, Isobel Abernethie (d. 1616), who were married in January 1565. Nothing is known of Burel's schooling, but he was a good Latinist. About 1592 he married ...
Article
Charteris, Henry (d. 1599), printer and bookseller
Joseph Marshall
Charteris, Henry (d. 1599), printer and bookseller, was descended from the house of Charteris of Kinfauns, Perthshire, but no further details of birth or parents are known. The precise extent of his involvement in late sixteenth-century publications of Scottish vernacular and neo-Latin writing has yet to be fully established, but he was certainly involved in the publication of over forty books, some twenty of which he actually printed. He patronized printers such as ...
Article
Darling, James (1797–1862), bookseller and bibliographer
Leslie Howsam
Darling, James (1797–1862), bookseller and bibliographer, was born in Edinburgh. He was apprenticed to the Edinburgh publisher Adam Black in 1809 and became active in the Scottish Presbyterian church. On moving to London in 1818, Darling entered the theological bookselling business of Ogle, Duncan, and Cochran...
Article
Donaldson, Alexander (bap. 1727, d. 1794), bookseller and printer
J. J. Caudle and Richard B. Sher
Donaldson, Alexander (bap. 1727, d. 1794), bookseller and printer, was baptized in Edinburgh on 24 November 1727, the second son of James Donaldson (1694–1754), a wealthy linen manufacturer who served as the town's treasurer in 1726–7, and Elizabeth Weir (d. 1768). His grandfather ...
Article
Drummond, Peter Robert (1802–1879), bookseller and agriculturist
Gordon Goodwin
revised by Douglas Brown
Drummond, Peter Robert (1802–1879), bookseller and agriculturist, was born at Madderty, Perthshire, the son of John Drummond, a small farmer, and his wife, Jean Gow. He was educated in Madderty, and in early life worked as a carpenter. He attained skill as a maker of picture frames, which brought him into the society of picture dealers and allowed him to gain some knowledge of art....
Article
Duncan, William Augustine (1811–1885), newspaper editor and customs official in Australia
Gordon Goodwin
revised by H. C. G. Matthew
Duncan, William Augustine (1811–1885), newspaper editor and customs official in Australia, was born on 12 March 1811 at Bluefield, Towie, Aberdeenshire, the son of Peter Duncan and his wife, Mary, née Macdougal. He was educated with a view to being ordained in the ...
Article
Ged, William (1684/5–1749), goldsmith and stereotype founder
John Burnett
Ged, William (1684/5–1749), goldsmith and stereotype founder, was probably born in Dunfermline, son of William Ged, said to have been a member of the family of Ged of Baldridge in Fife. He was apprenticed to Robert Inglis, goldsmith, in Edinburgh in 1696, and his own mark was entered with the ...
Article
Gow, Niel (1794–1823), music-seller and composer
See Gow, Nathaniel
Article
Hamilton, Gavin (1704–1767), bookseller and paper maker
Warren McDougall
Hamilton, Gavin (1704–1767), bookseller and paper maker, was born on 11 February 1704 at Cramond, near Edinburgh, the third son and one of the sixteen children of the Revd William Hamilton (1669–1732) and Mary (bap. 1676, d. 1760), daughter of John Robertson...
Article
Hart, Andro (b. in or before 1566, d. 1621), bookseller and printer
A. J. Mann
Hart, Andro (b. in or before 1566, d. 1621), bookseller and printer, whose parentage, date and place of birth, and education are unknown, first appears as a merchant burgess of Edinburgh in February 1587, when it is assumed that he was at least twenty-one, and as a bookseller soon after. His bookshop and printing house were located separately on the same close on the north side of the ...
Article
Laing, William (1764–1832), bookseller and publisher
Murray C. T. Simpson
Laing, William (1764–1832), bookseller and publisher, was born in Edinburgh on 20 July 1764, the son of William Laing (1729–1795), merchant tailor, and Mary, née Strachan (b. 1721). After education at the Canongate Grammar School, he was an apprentice compositor between 1778 and 1784. Thereafter, owing to weak eyesight, he set himself up as a bookseller and stationer, and prospered. Specializing in secondhand material, particularly foreign books, he filled a lacuna in the ...
Article
Murray, John [John [i] Murray] (1737–1793), bookseller and publisher
See Murray family
Article
Smith, John [known as John Smith, youngest] (1784–1849), bookseller and publisher
Antony Kamm
Smith, John [known as John Smith, youngest] (1784–1849), bookseller and publisher, was born in Glasgow on 28 March 1784, eldest son of John Smith (1753–1833), known as John Smith, younger, and Margaret Bryce. Smith's grandfather, John Smith of Finnieston (1724–1814), the youngest son of the second laird of ...
Article
Urie, Robert (bap. 1713, d. 1771), printer and bookseller
R. A. Gillespie
Urie, Robert (bap. 1713, d. 1771), printer and bookseller, was the son of John Urie of Holmhead and his second wife, Isobel Murdoch. He was baptized in Cathcart, near Glasgow, on 19 December 1713. John Urie was apparently a man of some importance, since the witnesses to his marriages and to the baptisms of his children were the owners of substantial estates in the area. A ...