As Scotland celebrates 500 years of printing, historian Ronnie Scott selects 10 treasures from a remarkable collection at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow
A darkened room in a quiet corner of a city library is showcasing a vital part of Scotland's cultural heritage that is usually kept under lock and key. As Scotland celebrates the 500th anniversary of printing, the Mitchell Library in Glasgow has put a representative sample of its extensive holdings of antiquarian and rare books on show to mark the occasion.
The Guid Black Prent exhibition, which highlights more than 100 publications spanning half a millennium of printing, includes some of Europe's most important early books, as well as the first works printed in Scotland.
The exhibition was researched by Enda Ryan, senior librarian for archives and special collections in the Mitchell,with the help of Ralph MacLean of Glasgow University and Adam McNaughtan, a singer and song collector. The choice of books reflects the Mitchell's collection and complements the other anniversary exhibitions being mounted by other institutions, such as the National Library of Scotland. Enda Ryan said: "The idea was to highlight the Mitchell Library's holdings of early Scottish printing, early Glasgow printing, chapbooks, broadsides, maps, newspapers and so on.
"I hope people will get some idea of Scotland's history through print: the religious controversies, relationships with England and Europe, the progress of education in Scotland, a wee hint at the achievements of the Scottish Enlightenment and of achievements in many fields of knowledge."
Amid the riches that the Mitchell has put on display, in dimmed surroundings to ensure the books are not damaged by strong light, there are 10 outstanding treasures: 1. One of the earliest books in the Mitchell's collection is De Bello Judaico (The Jewish War), an extremely rare copy of a history written in the first century by Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived in Rome, describing the Jewish revolt against the Romans in AD 66-70. This copy was published in Latin in Rome in 1475, and has very attractive hand-coloured initial capital letters at the start of each section. The Mitchell has 45 books printed before 1501, which are known as incunabula, from the Latin for swaddling clothes, referring to the infancy of printing.
2. The Liber Chronicarum (Book of Chronicles), which was produced in Nuremberg in 1493, is a beautiful example of an incunabulum printed from carved wooden blocks, with hand-coloured illustrations. Both the text and the illustrations were cut into wood blocks, which were then combined to print each page. The Chronicles were published and printed by Anton Koberger, the godfather of Albrecht Dürer, the German painter and printmaker. The book on display, which was given to the Mitchell by Livia Gollancz of the well-known publishing family, is open at a map of the known world, stretching from Ireland to India.
3. The most important exhibit on display is a fragment of The Wallace, a long poem written in Scots by Blind Harry, produced by Chepman and Myllar in Edinburgh in 1508, and one of the first books printed in Scotland. There are no complete volumes of this edition, but in 1827 David Laing, an Edinburgh antiquarian and librarian, discovered 20 fragments, which had been used by a binder to stiffen the boards of a later book. The Mitchell has 13 of the fragments, one of which is reproduced below.
4. The first complete Bible to be printed in Scotland was produced by Thomas Bassandyne and Alexander Arbuthnot in Edinburgh in 1579. The Bassandyne Bible, as it is known, was an English translation of the second edition of the Geneva Bible, and is the earliest bible in which Roman type, rather than Gothic (also known as blackletter or Old English), was used. By order of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, every parish in the country subscribed to its publication, and every well-off household was obliged to buy a copy.
5. Another religious work, The Protestation of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, was the first book to be printed in Glasgow. Printing came late to the city, and this volume dates from 1638, more than 100 years after the first books were produced in Edinburgh. Published by George Anderson, it records how the General Assembly voted to resist Charles I's attempts to re-impose episcopal church government on Scotland, leading to the Covenanting period in Scottish history. The illustration above shows the title page of the book.
6. Another treasure is the Kilmarnock Edition of Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, by Robert Burns, produced by bookseller and printer John Wilson in 1786. Burns wanted to see his poems in "guid, black prent", and invited the public to subscribe to an edition of 612 copies. The money was raised, the book was published in July 1786 and the first print run was almost sold out within four weeks. The success of the book - which includes the poems To a Mouse and The Cottar's Saturday Night - persuaded Burns, who had planned to emigrate to Jamaica, to remain in Scotland and to pursue his literary career.
7. Robert and Andrew Foulis, who printed The Gentle Shepherd by Allan Ramsay in Glasgow in 1796, were booksellers, printers and publishers in the city. Their editions of classical works such as the Iliad and the Odyssey were regarded as accurate and elegant, and were eagerly bought by collectors across Europe. The volume is illustrated with 12 aquatint engravings by David Allan, a Scottish painter who trained for 10 years in Italy. The Foulis Academy, established by Robert in 1753, was the forerunner of Glasgow School of Art. The illustration, above, shows Patie, the shepherd of the title, with Peggy, his love.
8. The Mitchell Library has a large collection of chapbooks, which are small printed pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, folk tales and almanacs, generally sold in the street by a chapman, or peddlar. Glasgow had a vigorous tradition of producing these cheap and popular works, between around 1750 and 1850. The exhibition includes a variety of chapbooks, including a biography of Robert the Bruce, the stories of Molly O'Rigge and Tom Thumb and a poem called The Beggar's Rant.
9. The library also has an extensive selection of broadsides printed in Glasgow. These inexpensive works, usually printed on one sheet of paper, were widely circulated between around 1700 and 1900. Like the chapbooks, they were on a wide range of subjects, but many reflected the happenings of the day, such as political and religious controversies, or crime and public hangings. The Mitchell's holdings include 3000 single sheets published by the Poet's Box in Glasgow.
10. The exhibition concludes with Nagasawa Cantrips, a large hand-made book created in 2004 by Elspeth Lamb and a recent purchase by the Mitchell. Lamb, a graduate of Glasgow School of Art, is one of Scotland's leading printmakers. The book was partly produced on paper made by the artist during a residency in Japan, and printed using both traditional and digital techniques. This blend of cultures and skills sums up the eclectic nature of the Mitchell's exhibition, and highlights its policy of acquiring significant printed works for the benefit of the people of Glasgow.
- Guid Black Prent is at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, until September 30. There are associated talks by Karen Cunningham, Adam McNaughtan, Ralph MacLean and Elspeth Lamb. Phone 0141 287 2999 for details.
The apprehension of a bodysnatcher in the act
Broadsides often reported crimes and punishments. One sheet, published in Glasgow in 1823, recorded an instance of bodysnatching and was headed: "Another churchyard pirate, who was caught in the High Church Yard the burying ground in front of the Cathedral on Thursday Morning, the 1st May, with a dead body." The text reads: "Glasgow, May 1st, 1823 - This morning, another of those disgusting scenes occurred, which produces horror in the minds of the living concerning the bodies of the dead. As the watchman was on duty near the High Church, he observed a fellow coming over the wall from the burying ground. He instantly sprung his rattle, and with the assistance of some people had him secured. When seized, he had in his possession the body of a man put up in a sack, which, along with the culprit, was taken to the Police Office. The depredator keeps the shop of a medical person in town. The body was claimed this morning by the wife and son of the deceased. The name of the deceased was John Dempster, a labourer, who was hurt some time since at the new building at the foot of Montrose Street. He died in the Royal Infirmary, and was buried on Tuesday. The poor woman was in a most melancholy condition, on beholding, in such a way, the countenance of her husband. We refrain from entering into farther particulars, until an investigation of the affair by the proper authorities be laid before the public."
