Activities & Events

To mark the quincentenary of Scotland's first printed book, printing will be one of the themes for Doors Open Days in September 2008. www.doorsopendays.org.uk/
Contact: Abigail Daly AbigailDaly@scottishcivictrust.org.uk

The Chepman and Myllar Prints: Digitised facsimiles with introduction, headnotes, and transcription
In 1508 the partnership of Androw Myllar and Walter Chepman brought printing to Scotland. In 2008 the Scottish Text Society and the National Library of Scotland are celebrating the 500th anniversary of that event by publishing a DVD of prints produced by Chepman and Myllar in or close to 1508. The DVD contains digitised facsimiles of each of the twenty printed items. Each facsimile is accompanied by a transcription and a headnote explaining the print’s literary significance and technical features. There is also an introduction by the general editor, Sally Mapstone, which sets the Chepman and Myllar press within the context of early sixteenth-century Scotland and Scottish book history.
Chepman and Myllar’s early publications brought into print works by two of medieval Scotland’s most celebrated poets, Robert Henryson and William Dunbar. They also contain less well-known but important poems and prose in Scots and in English by other writers. The prints feature a wide variety of genres:  romance; fable; advice to princes; chivalric treatise; lyric; dream vision; along with a classic example (by Dunbar and Walter Kennedy) of the celebrated Scots genre of ‘flyting’, a stylised but scurrilous exchange of poetic insults.
This edition gives readers informative access to Scotland’s earliest texts. It is easily navigable, and will become a vital teaching and research tool. Available: April 2008.
www.scottishtextsociety.org/

The Local Word and Image: 500 Years of Printing in Scotland at Provost Skene's House, Aberdeen, AB10 1AS 17 November 2007 – 16 November 2008.
This free exhibition will trace the development of printing in the city from 1622 (when Edward Raban was appointed Aberdeen’s first printer), through the publication of the first newspaper in Scotland and into the 19th century when Aberdeen was a major printing centre.
A second display, featuring prints gifted by Peacock Printmakers (now Peacock Visual Arts) to Aberdeen Art Gallery, will examine printmaking as an artistic process. During the year the room will be re-hung displaying a range of works from the establishment of Peacock Printmakers up to the present day.
Open: Monday - Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 1-4pm
Further details: info@aagm.gov.uk
www.aberdeencity.gov.uk
Contact: Christopher Croly CCROLY@aberdeencity.gov.uk

Rival voices: history of the Aberdeen Press: exhibition telling the story of Abderdeen Journals and also featuring their rivals, over many years. Central Library, Rosemount Viaduct, Abderdeen, AB25 1GW. Part of Scottish Local History Week, the Local Studies Department of the Central Library in Aberdeen is putting on an exhibition . From 22 April to 31 May.
http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ACCI/web/site/xev_EventDetail
.asp?id=1394

Website looking at the history of printing in the North East.
Contact: Iain Beavan  i.beavan@abdn.ac.uk

Book of the Month from the Dunimarle Library. Duff House, Banff, AB45 3SX. All year.
Duff House is celebrating 500 Years of Printing in Scotland 1508-2008 by hosting a changing display of twelve books from an eighteenth century family library. 
The Dunimarle Library forms part of a collection of paintings, furniture, glass, metalwork and china once owned by the wealthy Erskines of Torrie, who owned an estate near Dunfermline in Fife and now on long-term loan to Duff House from the National Galleries of Scotland. Here, in over 4000 volumes, is a snapshot of the interests of various members of the Erskine family and a fascinating glimpse of the times in which they lived.
The aim of this project is to highlight items from the collection and to celebrate 500 years of Scottish printing by exploring the wealth of information to be discovered by looking at books. The display will explore the texts, the illustrations, the book plates and bindings, as well as the evidence of past owners and their interests.
The display starts in January with a rare edition of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” printed in Edinburgh in 1695. The display starts in January with a rare edition of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” printed in Edinburgh in 1695. John Erskine, the youngest son of the family, studied this work in Latin when he was just eleven years old!
www.duffhouse.org.uk
Contact: Rachel Kennedy Rachel.Kennedy@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Wayzgoose: excursions, sports and socials in the printing industry.  SAPPHIRE project travelling exhibition. Montrose Library, 214 High Street Montrose, DD10 8PH. Tel: 01674 673256  10 – 28 March 2008.
This exhibition recounts the vibrant community life of those who worked in the printing industry and associated trades in Scotland in the twentieth century. Touring exhibition and offers of further venues are welcome. www.sapphire.ac.uk Email: sapphire@napier.ac.uk 

The Kilmarnock edition, South Museum, The Dick Institute, 1 Elmbank Avenue, Kilmarnock, KA1 3BU. A newly-built, working replica of the printing press used by publisher John Wilson to print Robert Burns’ First Edition (or Kilmarnock Edition) in 1786 will be unveiled at the Dick Institute, Kilmarnock on 2 August 2008. The press can be operated under supervision and will form part of a series of Robert Burns and printing related displays. From July 2008, free.
Contact: jason.sutcliffe@east-ayrshire.gov.uk
www.visiteastayrshire.com; www.futuremuseum.co.uk: www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk

Printing, North Museum Gallery, The Dick Institute, 1 Elmbank Avenue, Kilmarnock, KA1 3BU. An exhibition of East Ayrshire Council Arts and Museum collections relating to the history of printing – from some of the earliest printed books, through local newspapers and even calico printing. 26 Feb – 26 May 2008, free.
Contact: jason.sutcliffe@east-ayrshire.gov.uk
www.visiteastayrshire.com; www.futuremuseum.co.uk: www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk

Ink, Main Gallery, The Dick Institute, 1 Elmbank Avenue, Kilmarnock, KA1 3BU. Highlighting the 500th anniversary of printing, Ink makes reference to the way in which we make marks, and the use of repetition and reproduction of those marks by hand or by machine.  ‘In~The~Fields’ new interactive work makes reference to 1508, and the loss of the hand-written in favour of machine-made marks. Using solar power to generate energy which is activated by movement, visitors to the gallery will create their own ink marks within glass spheres as if by magic.
Taryn Takahashi’s work is based around the idea of repetition in print making, and the loss and fragmentation of marks through this process. Takahashi’s fake chandeliers refer to cheap machine made reproductions of what was once a fine art object, similar to that of the hand written to print and finally to photocopying. 5 April – 24 May 2008, free.
Contact: Phillipa.aitken@east-ayrshire.gov.uk
www.visiteastayrshire.com; www.futuremuseum.co.uk: www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk

The Faculty of Advocates, owners of Sir Walter Scott’s books at Abbotsford, will be mounting a series of small exhibitions at Abbotsford during 2008.  The exhibitions of Scottish imprints from Sir Walter Scott’s library will run throughout the period while the house is open to the public from 17 March until 31 October.  Scott’s library contains some early and rare Scottish imprints and covers the period to 1832.  The exhibition case is in the ticket office, and books will be changed approximately every 6 weeks. Abbotsford House, Melrose, Roxburghshire, TD6 9BQ. Tel: 01896 752043. For details of opening hours and how to get to Abbotsford please visit the Abbotsford website at www.scottsabbotsford.co.uk/
Contact: Andrea Longson andrea.longson@Advocates.org.uk

Robert Smail's Printing Works (National Trust for Scotland), 7-9 High Street, Innerleithen, EH44 6HA. Tel: 0844 493 2259.
Come and visit the National Trust for Scotland's fully operational Victorian printing works during the year of the printed word and try setting type the Chepman and Myllar way! Robert Smail’s is a working Victorian Print Works in the Borders town of Innerleithen, originally set up by Robert Smail in 1866 as a jobbing printer.
Living History Tours on the last Saturday of the month until the end of October. http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/52/
Contact: Gen Harrison gharrison@nts.org.uk

Work in print. An exhibition at Kelso Town Hall, Kelso, during St James Fair, 6 - 7 September 2008, to celebrate Kelso’s contribution to 500 years of printing in Scotland.  We are currently asking for help from the public to locate artefacts relating to printing in Kelso.  Further details can be found at www.kelso.bordernet.co.uk/town/69.html
We will also be hosting a small scale exhibition – entitled Work in Print in Kelso Library for Local History Week, 21 – 26 April 2008. This will focus on the Kelso Archive, a unique collection of papers providing an insight into life in Kelso during the eighteenth century.

Read all about it: the National Library of Scotland's newspaper exhibition. January to March 2008. Tweeddale Museum and Gallery, Chambers Institute, High Street, Peebles, EH45 8AJ.
www.scotborders.gov.uk/outabout/museums/index.html

The Power of the Press: 500 years of printing in Scotland. This touring exhibition and learning project for schools investigates how the printed word has developed in Scotland since the sixteenth century.  It presents a history of printing methods and printed material from the Borders and Scotland, through reconstructions of different aspects of printing and displays of printing equipment and printed matter.  There will also be a series of formal education activities and associated talks.  For further details contact the Scottish Borders Council’s Museum and Gallery Service, tel: 01750-20096; email museums@scotborders.gov.uk
Old Gala House, Scott House, Galashiels, TD1 3JS. 22 March-24 May.
Harestanes Visitor Centre, Ancrum, Jedburgh, TD8 6UQ. 5 July-25 August.
Coldstream Museum, 12 Market Square, Coldstream, TD12 4BD. 30 August-24 October.
Tweeddale Museum and Gallery, Chambers Institute, High Street, Peebles, EH45 8AJ. 1 November-January 2009.
Hawick Museum, Wilton Lodge Park, Hawick, TD9 7JL. January-May 2009.
www.scotborders.gov.uk/outabout/museums/
Contact Jeremy Weston jweston2@scotborders.gov.uk

Dei Donum - celebrating 500 years of printing in Scotland and learning in Dundee Dundee Central Library, Dundee Central Library, The Wellgate, Dundee, DD1 1DB. 31 March to 26 April 2008
Dundee has one of the oldest public library services in the western world. A fine collection of classical and theological works, originally maintained for their use by the monks of Lindores, was transferred to the Town Council as early as 1442. All but a few of the works were destroyed by fire in 1841, the devastating effects of which were largely overcome with the assistance of Victorian benefactors. The rich collections within Dundee Central Library bear eloquent testimony to their generosity, and Dundee thereby regained a literary collection befitting its status as a leading Scottish city.
The exhibition will feature priceless works such as the "Good and Godly Ballads" [1567?], Biblia Sacra (1476), and the illuminated Antiphon [c. 1550]. Dundee City Archives will contribute the "Buke of the Howlat" (fragment from the press of Chepman and Myllar), plus a number of pre-reformation liturgical works and archival material from local printers.
D C Thomson may be widely known as the producers of the "Beano" and the "Dandy", currently celebrating their 70th anniversary, but the company and its predecessors have been publishing a number of quality regional and national newspapers since 1801. Dei Donum will feature images ranging from those depicting sophisticated printing machinery to a facsimile of the first edition of the "Dandy".
The exhibition will be supported by artefacts from the McManus Museum, a website and presentations. www.deidonum.org   www.dundeecity.gov.uk/centlib/
Contact David Kett david.kett@dundeecity.gov.uk

First Edition: 500 Years of Print in Scotland. Visual Research Centre, University of Dundee, Dundee Contemporary Arts, 152 Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4DY. Public day of printing. 4 April 2008. Free, open event.  1pm-8.30pm. Reading to take place after 7pm.
To commemorate the 500th anniversary of the first printed article in Scotland, it is proposed to hold a public day of printing at the Visual Research Centre, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. The event will be based creatively on the original first printed document in Scotland, a John Lydgate’s poem ‘The Complaint of the Black Knight’, printed on April 4th 1508 by Printmakers Chepman and Myllar in the Cowgate, Edinburgh.
Artist printmakers Scott Hudson and Paul Liam Harrison will collaborate with Designer Andy Rice to produce a series of screenprints based on the original texts and print devices currently held in the National Libraries of Scotland and National Archives of Scotland.  The print production will take place on 4th April 2008, exactly 500 years to the day of the first print edition.  The print process it self will be a live performance which will be an open invitation for a public audience to observe and engage with the production of the poem through all stages of it’s development as a printed art work to it’s final display as a site specific composition that will form the backdrop for a public reading from the original poem. During this time the audience will have the opportunity to take away elements of the printed matter as way of a keepsake for their attendance at the event.  www.500years.co.uk www.dca.org.uk and www.vrc.dundee.ac.uk
Contact: Scott Hudson scott.hudson@dca.org.uk

Dundee in print. Day conference on 19 April 2008 in the Glasite Hall, St. Andrew's Church, King Street, Dundee.
The Friends of Dundee City Archives will be holding a day conference on the topic of "Dundee in Print".  This, the latest of the very successful series of conferences organised by the Friends, is designed to tie in with the programme of events being arranged to commemorate 500 Years of Printing in Scotland and, specifically, the Dundee Central Library exhibition Dei Donum.  It will provide an opportunity to consider various aspects of the impact of the printing industry on Dundee from the 16th century to the present.
Speakers will include Dr Margaret Mackay, Director of Archives at the School of Scottish Studies in Edinburgh, who is an expert on the 15th century Scots poem "The Buke of the Howlat [Owl]", an early printed fragment of which was found used as a binding in one of the Dundee notaries' books now in the City Archives. 
There will be an opportunity to hear about the surprisingly wide range of printed material in the custody of the City Archivist.  Key figures in the history of Dundee printing will be considered and other topics to be covered will include the printed Dundee street directories, Dundee newspapers and Valentine's postcards.  There will also be a presentation on the collection of printed ephemera brought together by the late 19th century Dundee antiquarian, Alexander Lamb - a fascinating accumulation of papers that reflect his wide interests.  Following an introduction by one of the organisers, there will be an opportunity to visit the exhibition in the Central Library.  A buffet lunch will be included in the cost for the day.
For tickets at a cost of £20 and further information, contact Dundee City Archives by emailing archives@dundeecity.gov.uk or telephoning 01382 434494.

Artistic Impressions. 11 April - 31 May. Main Library, University of Dundee, Smalls Wynd, Dundee, DD1 4HN. An exhibition by the University of Dundee Museum Services in collaboration with the University Library and the Centre for Artists Books, focusing on the use of print in art, from etchings and screenprints to limited edition artists books. http://www.dundee.ac.uk/museum/impressions.htm
Contact: museum@dundee.ac.uk

Centre for Artists Books Open Afternoon, 23 May As part of the Artistic Impressions exhibition in the main University Library, the Centre for Artists Books at the Visual Research Centre will be having a free open afternoon on Friday 23rd May 2-4pm. Although artists have been involved in illustrating and publishing books for centuries, it is only since the 1970s that the term Artist’s Book has been widely recognised as a distinct form of art. The Centre for Artists Books at the University’s Visual Research Centre has a collection of over 500 artworks that reveal the extraordinary variety of forms that Artists’ Books can take. Why not come along to find out more about this unique art-form and the fascinating collections held in the Centre?
Contact: museum@dundee.ac.uk or 01382 384310.

Imprenting within our Realme. CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group: annual study conference, to be held at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, 10-12 September 2008.
www.cilip.org.uk/specialinterestgroups/bysubject/rarebooks/
events/conference08

The Twelfth Triennial Conference on Medieval and Renaissance Scottish Language and Literature will take place in Edinburgh from June 30 to July 4, 2008. Hosted by the University of Edinburgh's School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, the conference will include papers by established and upcoming scholars on a wide range of Scots, Gaelic, Norse and Latin topics embracing poetry, language, prose, drama, music and history. Special attention will be given to the beginnings of Scottish printing 500 years ago and to themes of celebration and commemoration more widely.
Workshops will offer opportunities to explore Gaelic place-names, Scottish heraldry and the sound of Older Scots, and a programme of special events and entertainments will enhance delegates' experience of this rich period in Scottish cultural history (full details of these available from 1 May).
Registrations are welcome and conference details can be found at www.medren2008.info while enquiries can be made to scottish.studies@ed.ac.uk

Printing roadshow, sponsored by Heidelberg UK, comes to Edinburgh's Princes Street beside the National Galleries.  Free demonstration of a modern lithographic printing press, printing souvenir posters to take away. Friday 4 April, 9.30am-4pm. Saturday 5 April, 9am-2pm.

Advocates Library, Parliament Square, Edinburgh, EH1 1RF. The Advocates Library is planning an exhibition featuring its own and other materials highlighting the link between the Scottish printing trade and the practice of law in Scotland.  Examples from the library’s unique 18th century collections of printed Session Papers will be displayed.  The exhibition will be open to the public as part of the Scottish Courts programme of events in Parliament House for Doors Open Day, 27 September 2008.  Further details will be posted on the Faculty of Advocates website at www.advocates.org.uk
Contact Andrea Longson andrea.longson@advocates.org.uk

On 4 April 2008, marking the 500th anniversary of the printing of John Lydgate’s 'Complaint of the Black Knight’, the Centre for the History of the Book at Edinburgh University hosted a dinner in the splendid surroundings of the Playfair Library Hall in the Old College of the University of Edinburgh.
The evening began with a drinks reception at 7pm, and we are pleased to announce that the Guest of Honour was Magnus Linklater. For a report see www.hss.ed.ac.uk/chb/500years.htm

The only working Monotype installation in Scotland, and a Private Press, celebrating 40 years in business. Plans for 2008 include: launch of French translation of ‘Tam O’Shanter’; ‘500 years anniversary’ printing keepsake available to purchase; visitors and demonstrations by appointment. Tel: 0131 336 2849
www.the-old-school.demon.co.uk/chepman-myllar.htm
Contact: Harry McIntosh machot@supanet.com

A commemorative plaque was unveiled on 4 April 2008 in Edinburgh's Cowgate near the site of Walter Chepman and Androw Myllar's printing press. The plaque is sited at the corner of Blackfriars Street and the Cowgate.

Scottish Popular Press, 1 September - 31 October. Edinburgh Central Library, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EG.  Tel: 0131 242 8070.
A display on the development of printing in Scotland illustrated by examples from the popular press through the ages including the Bassandyne Bible which will itself be on show from 13-18 October.
Central Library and Community Libraries will also be hosting a series of themed events, workshops and competitions for young people and adults.  For more information visit the library's website from Monday 25 August. www.edinburgh.gov.uk/libraries
Contact: Alison Stoddart alison.stoddart@edinburgh.gov.uk

A number of the Edinburgh Bibliographical Society lectures in their series for 2007/2008 are related to the theme of printing in Scotland over the last 500 years.  Details are available on their website at: mcs.qmuc.ac.uk/EBS/

eca Main Building Foyer and printworkshop, Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9DF. eca Main Building Foyer and print workshop, Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9DF. 4 - 11 October 2008
To celebrate 500 Years of Print in Scotland and also the opening of the new print workshop at Edinburgh College of Art (eca) we are hosting a series of events in October 2008. The print facility is home to our 140 year old Columbian Press, there will be demonstrations on its use in conjunction with displays of evolving print techniques, up to the modern digital method. Alongside these presentations there will be a small exhibition of student work created within the print facility in the foyer of the college’s Main Building, with guided interactive tours of the newly integrated print workshop and a further display of printed work; the academic involvement from students of Graphic Design is also planned. It is also anticipated there will be joint projects between departments and Robert Smail's Printing Works.  The event will be open to schools' visits arranged by eca's Wider Access Officer with the potential to extend to weekend openings for the general public.
Contact: Petra Pennington (Exhibs Co-ordinator) p.pennington@eca.ac.uk
Contact: Zoe Patterson z.patterson@eca.ac.uk

Edinburgh Printmakers, Workshop and Gallery, 23 Union Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3LR. Tel: 0131 557 2479
To celebrate the anniversary of 500 years of printing, in 2008 Edinburgh Printmakers will run demonstration classes highlighting how printmaking techniques are used by contemporary artists with an insight into how these techniques have evolved from printing techniques.
Gallery 1: Velvet. Group exhibition of prints by artists using mezzotint. Stuart Duffin, Nan Mulder, Judith Rothchild and Kouki Tsuritani. 24 May – 5 July.
Judith Rothchild will demonstrate the process of mezzotint in relation to her practice on Saturday 24 May at 11am. Space limited: email office@edinburgh-printmakers.co.uk or tel: 0131 557 2479 to book a free place.
Galleries 2 and 3: Akram Rahmanzadeh, imprint. Exhibition of woodcuts, drypoints and monoprints. 24 May – 5 July.
Artist's Talk: Akram Rahmanzadeh will talk about her ideas and the role of printmaking in her practice on Saturday 31 May at 2pm. Free
Open Day: Saturday 14 June 2008 11-5pm. Packed with Free events: free printmaking workshops and demonstrations, exhibition tours and gallery talks, frame sale, raffle
All Galleries: Exhibition of new prints by Chad McCail commissioned by Edinburgh Printmakers. 19 July – 6 September. Artist's Talk: Chad McCail will discuss his recent works created in the studio at Edinburgh Printmakers. 23 August, 2pm. Free.
Printmaking courses: Summer school, Weekend courses, evening classes, and taster classes, for details see www.edinburgh-printmakers.co.uk
Contact: Alastair Clark, Assistant Director studio@edinburgh-printmakers.co.uk

Wayzgoose: excursions, sports and socials in the printing industry. SAPPHIRE travelling exhibition. The Library, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton Campus, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS .Tel: 0131 451 3577  15 – 29 February.
This exhibition recounts the vibrant community life of those who worked in the printing industry and associated trades in Scotland in the twentieth century. Touring exhibition and offers of further venues are welcome.  Email: sapphire@napier.ac.uk  www.sapphire.ac.uk www.hw.ac.uk/library

The People Behind the Books: the Book trade in Scotland.  A Free exhibition in the Museum of Edinburgh, 142 Canongate, Royal Mile, Edinburgh, EH8 8DD. 13 September  2008 - 17 January 2009.  Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm.  This exhibition charts the history of the people who worked in the various industries involved in the creation of books and other printed material in Scotland.  It documents the working lives of individuals involved in book production; from authors, editors, papermakers and printers right through to booksellers, librarians and finally the Scottish readers who bought and borrowed the books that were produced.  The exhibition utilises material gathered over the last ten years by the Scottish Archive of Print and Publishing History Records (SAPPHIRE) and allows a unique glimpse into the lives of the 'People Behind the Books'.  The exhibition contains a number of exhibits, exhibition panels, film footage of the various stages of book production as well as a unique opportunity to hear the voices of individuals from all stages of production talking about their working lives.
Organised tours are welcome- please contact the Museum of Edinburgh.  Tel: 0131 529 4143  www.sapphire.ac.uk

Wayzgoose: excursions, sports and socials in the printing industry.  Free exhibition in the Library, Merchiston Campus Colinton Road, Napier University, Edinburgh, EH10 5DT. 7-18 January 2008. Supported by the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council).  This exhibition recounts the extraordinarily vibrant community life of those who worked in the printing industry and associated trades - papermaking, publishing and bookselling - in Scotland in the twentieth century. It records the activities of various sporting clubs associated with those trades and details the tradition of the annual works day away for whole families or, in the case of the paper mill villages, whole communities. It covers gala and sports days organised by owners or by unions or by the workers themselves. The exhibition contains a number of exhibits, information posters, and an AV display using home movie footage and the voices of those who worked in these industries. Touring exhibition and offers of further venues are welcome. Organised tours are welcome: contact sapphire@napier.ac.uk

Bound for Glory: the Bible as Book in Scotland, an exhibition to celebrate five hundred years of the printed word in Scotland runs at the Library, Merchiston Campus, Napier University Colinton Road, Napier University, Edinburgh, EH10 5DT, until December 14, 2007.
The exhibition celebrates the printing, publication and distribution of the Bible in Scotland, in recognition of the significant role that the Bible played in the development of our printing and publishing industries. It is the only book that has remained continually in print over the past five hundred years. The exhibits are drawn from the wider Edward Clark Collection of rare books held at Napier University. http://www.news.napier.ac.uk/press/articles/article_10420.htm
A series of public lectures complemented the exhibition.
Dr K.J. McCann (Cambridge University)‘The Early Work of the British and Foreign Bible Society in Scotland.’
Prof Ian Campbell (Edinburgh University) ‘Reading and Mis-Reading the Bible.’
Dr Richard Holloway ‘How to read the Bible.’
Prof David Jasper (Glasgow University) ‘The Bible in Conversation: The Art of the Good Story.’
Dr David McKitterick (Cambridge University) 'For Kirk and Gentlemen's Tables: The business of Bible publishing'
Dr Femke Molekamp (University of Sussex) ‘The Geneva Bible and its Readers.’
Contact: a.mccleery@napier.ac.uk

There will also be a series of smaller one-day book-related events throughout 2008. Contact Alistair McCleery a.mccleery@napier.ac.uk

Cities of Literature, Cities of Reading: one-day symposium organised by the  Scottish Centre for the Book in partnership with the Scottish Arts Council and Edinburgh City of Literature on Friday, 20 June 2008, Craiglockhart Campus, Napier University Edinburgh.
Contact Alistair McCleery a.mccleery@napier.ac.uk

The National Archives of Scotland will support and co-operate with other organisations in celebrating the inception and development of printing in Scotland. www.nas.gov.uk Contact Tristram Clarke Tristram.Clarke@nas.gov.uk

On 4 April 2008, the original of John Lydgate The complaint of the Black Knight, printed by Chepman and Myllar, 4 April 1508 will be on view to the public, George IV Bridge, 10am-5pm.
2008 summer exhibition: Imprentit: 500 Years of the Scottish Printed Word, 30 June--mid-October.  Exploring what the printed word has meant to Scots over 500 years by showing the role of books in Scotland and books that have mattered to the Scots. Accompanying the exhibition, there will be educational activities and a series of events. National Library of Scotland,George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EW.
Spread of Scottish Printing: web feature, listing all cities, towns, and other places in Scotland with a printing press before 1900, and identifying  their first presses.  For each place with printing before 1801 there will be access to a digitised version of the first or another early product of its first press. www.nls.uk
Contact: Brian Hillyard b.hillyard@nls.uk

Map Library Display of engraving tools from the Bartholomew collections (until mid-June). www.nls.uk/digitallibrary/maps
Contact: maps@nls.uk

Printed wishes Hawthornden Court, 12-14 February 2008., 10.30-12.30, 13.30-16.00. National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF. Celebrate 500 Years of Printing in Scotland by making your own beautifully printed postcard to send to a loved one or friend. Use the stamps supplied to design your own message then post it directly from the museum.  Free, drop in.
Labels marking 500 years of printing in Scotland have been put by relevant objects in the Museum of Scotland.
Other events are under consideration.  www.nms.ac.uk
Contact Alison Taubman a.taubman@nms.ac.uk

'Book Swap' Tuesday 1 April 2008, 11am-2.00pm, Venue: Adam House, 3 Chambers Street, Edinburgh TBC, Free drop-in event.
Publishing Scotland in collaboration with Edinburgh University and Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature are hosting a massive Book Swap on 1 April 2008. Bring along a book you'd like to recommend and swap it for another. Scottish publishers will be donating books of all kinds to get the event started - children's, academic, history, outdoors, biography, novels. The event is free, so are the books, you just need to bring a book along!

www.publishingscotland.org

For a report see www.scotsman.com/books/Huge-book-swap-marks-500.3924646.jp  Contact: Susanne Gilmour susanne.gilmour@publishingscotland.org

Small exhibition displaying horticultural/natural history books printed in Scotland. The earliest will be Hortus Medicus Edinburgensis (1683) which is believed to be the earliest ‘horticultural’ book printed in Scotland. 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh, EH3 5LR. May and June 2008. www.rbge.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions
Contact: Jane Hutcheon j.hutcheon@rgbe.ac.uk

Written on the body. An exhibition at the Suregon's Hall Museum, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9DW.  www.edinburgh.surgeonshall.museum July-December 2008.  Admission: £5/£3 (conc)  0131 527 1649
Contact: Dawn Kemp dawn.kemp@rcsed.ac.uk

Online exhibition, 50 Treasures from Scottish Catholic Libraries, to mark 500 years of Scottish Printing. It will include some digitised highlights from our collections and summary histories of our libraries. www.scottishcatholicarchives.org.uk
Contact Andrew Nicoll andrew.nicoll@scottishcatholicarchives.org.uk

Portraits of individuals linked to the printing trade on show. Autumn 2008. www.nationalgalleries.org 
Contact: Imogen Gibbon igibbon@nationalgalleries.org

5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8DT. Free access to the Library premises.  www.spl.org.uk
In a Different Light. Glimpses of the fleeting; language distilled to its essence; perception given breath on paper. Julie Johnstone creates minimal yet resonant works exploring the visual and linguistic nuances contained in short phrases. Her hand-bound books, cards and screen-prints pursue the beauty of the ephemeral, with a gentle and contemplative simplicity. An exhibition of new works from her Essence Press imprint. www.essencepress.co.uk  Saturday 19 April – Saturday 19 July 2008. Mon-Fri 11-6 pm, Sat 1-5 pm. Free.

Embracing the Ephemeral. A practical workshop with Julie Johnstone, editor of Essence Press. Exploring concepts of beauty, lightness and the ephemeral, this workshop will look at alternatives to the traditional book as a means to give physical context to individual poems and text pieces. Participants will be asked to submit several short text pieces in advance. Small book forms and cards will be created during the workshop, illustrating the use of desktop publishing software, inkjet printing, and hand-binding techniques. Numbers limited, booking essential. £15/£10. Saturday 14 June 2008, 10-1 pm (3 hours) 

The Space of the Page. Is the page a mere support for the poem, or can it be a space in itself, charged with possibility and implication? Taking Stéphane Mallarmé's Un Coup de Dés as a starting point, and looking at different approaches in the work of Charles Olson, Eugen Gomringer, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Edwin Morgan and others, this exhibition will draw on the Scottish Poetry Library's extensive twentieth century collections to explore how words can resonate within the space of the page. Curated by Thomas A Clark and Julie Johnstone. Friday 26 September – Saturday 20 December 2008. Mon-Fri 11-6 pm, Sat 1-5 pm. Free

By Leaves We Live: a celebration of art and poetry publishing. The Scottish Poetry Library’s annual one-day poetry and art book fair is now in its fourth year celebrating the work of small publishers and artists. A lively mix of stalls, displays and talks run throughout the day – all are welcome to drop in to browse or buy, and meet publishers, artists and poets from Scotland and Ireland. A major event in the poetry publishing year. Saturday 27 September 2008. 11-6 pm. Free
Contact: Lilias Fraser lfraser@spl.org.uk

The Centre for the History of the Book is planning a series of seminars. www.hss.ed.ac.uk/chb/  Email: chb@ed.ac.uk  Contact Bill Bell b.bell@ed.ac.uk

Website featuring the Aberdeen Breviary of 1510.
http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resources/collections/
specdivision/ch200803.shtml
Contact: Dr Joseph Marshall joseph.marshall@ed.ac.uk

An exhibition centred on Sir Walter Scott and the Waverley Press is planned in the Writers Museum. Lady Stair’s Close, Edinburgh, EH1 2PA. July – December 2008.
Contact: Elaine Greig elaine.greig@edinburgh.gov.uk

‘Winter warmth’ 8 November 2008 – 6 January 2009. With contemporary work by artists and makers from across Scotland celebrating 500 years of printing will be showcased at Callendar House and the Park Gallery, in the annual Christmas selling exhibition 'Winter Warmth'. It will highlight the diverse aspects of contemporary print making.
At the same time Callendar House has a series of specially-constructed areas which take visitors back in time to the early 19th century, to see a printmakers, grocers, clock makers and working Georgian kitchen. Our printmaker can be seen in the workshop on a working printing press. Please contact Callendar House, Falkirk, FK1 1YR, in advance of your visit for demonstration times.
 www.falkirk.gov.uk Callendar.house@falkirk.gov.uk
Contact Emma. Roodhouse emma.roodhouse@falkirk.gov.uk

Mitchell Treasure of the Month for April 2008: Blind Harry’s Wallace. The earliest Scottish printing to be found in the Mitchell library, which consists of 12 fragmentary pages of Henry the Minstrel’s poem on William Wallace printed by Chepman and Myllar in 1508.The Mitchell Library plans an exhibition of its valuable historic printing items.

In print – the Mitchell celebrates 500 years of printing in Scotland An exhibition displaying the many fine examples of Scottish printing, publishing, binding and illustration from the Mitchell Library’s collections. July and August: dates to be confirmed. Mitchell Library, North Street, Glasgow, G3 7DN. www.csglasgow.org
Contact Marion Beaton Marion.beaton@csglasgow.org

Printing roadshow, sponsored by Heidelberg UK, begins at Glasgow Metropolitan College, North Hanover Street, G1 2BS, 9.45am-5pm.  Free demonstration of a modern lithographic printing press, printing souvenir posters to take away. www.glasgowmet.ac.uk

Glasgow Metropolitan College, the only college in Scotland providing Printing education, is planning a series of exhibitions celebrating 500 Years of Printing in Scotland.  The exhibition will be shown in the foyer of the college located at North Hanover Street, Glasgow during their student’s exhibition week commencing 2 June.
The exhibition will comprise of a number of exhibits of students work with a Printing theme.
HND Photography will show a series of images produced from their visits to 3 Glasgow based Printing companies:  John McCormick & Co, John Watson & Co Ltd, Bell & Bain.
HND Journalism students will contribute a narrative upon the print media.
HND Digital Media for Design & Print students will show corporate imaging and promotional material for the event.
HND Television students intend to produce a short film with a central theme of the modern printing industry.
HND Multimedia students will produce a website on Print.
www.glasgowmet.ac.uk/500yearsofprinting.aspx

Out of Print will feature the works of the research cluster of the same name at GSA. 24th March - 19th April 2008. Atrium Gallery, GSA, Foulis Building, 167 Renfrew Street Glasgow G3 6RQ.  The title of the show “Out of Print” refers to the ways in which emerging technologies have challenged practice and how practice has, in turn, adapted through interrogation and reflection.
The scope of the work from the five contributors moves from the typographic elements and traditions of letterpress through comic books, landscape photography and international graphic foraging, through to the interface between digital media, optics and colour theory.
Edwin Pickstone works as Artist in Residence at GSA exploring the value of letterpress technology as it exists today. Working with broken and outdated metal type from the dump bin, Pickstone produces non-conformist structures which acknowledge the strict traditions of ink, leading and setting whilst exploring another set of innovative aesthetics.

By contrast are the visionary landscapes born of time as both content and process found in the works of Andy Stark whose work is photographically generated and “Embrace the idiosyncrasies of both the traditional and digital print.”
The non-genre comic work of illustrator Marc Baines, is further explored through autographic silk-screens and simple offsets. Biographical narrative and folk traditions navigated through the print surface, its physical presence and immediacy of process.
Steve Rigley collages and montages fragments from discarded sheets found within print works worldwide. These found elements act as catalyst for another complex intellectual journey which explores the process of printing as a metaphor for cultural exchange.
Artist Paul Stickley looks to extend the scope of print through representing the immersive colour experience of his installations in a series of digital prints, each derived through an iterative process of photography and projection. www.gsa.ac.uk
Contact: Steve Rigley s.rigley@gsa.ac.uk

Making our (Book) Marks: a beginner’s course to create personalised designs for our own book collections.  This course will look at the ways readers have, throughout history, put their personal stamp on their favourite books.  Printed ‘ex libris’ or book plates are often small, beautiful decorative inserts that mark books as belonging to us. They can include mottos, symbols or illustrations that hold a significance for the owner. Working with an experienced printmaker, participants will be shown how to design and print their own individual ex-libris. Course duration: 6 weeks. Start date: September 2008. For further details, contact:  Glasgow Women's Library, 81 Parnie Street, Glasgow, G1 5RH.  Tel: 0141 552 8345  Email: info@womenslibrary.org.uk
www.womenslibrary.org.uk
Contact: Sue John sue.john@womenslibrary.org.uk

Scottish imprints from the College Library. Medical, botanical and local history books will be on display in the College Library.  Free admission.  12 May - 23 May 2008. Launch evening 9 May 2008 7-9pm with a demonstration of book restoration by Jim Vallance at 7.30pm. College Library, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, 232-242 St Vincent Street, Glasgow, G2 5RJ. www.rcpsg.ac.uk/FellowsandMembers/Library%20Services/Pages/mem_splibcourses.aspx Contact Carol Parry carol.parry@rcpsg.ac.uk

In Aedibus Academicis: the Glasgow University Press. A small display highlighting the contribution that Glasgow University has made to Scottish print culture in the Special Collections showcase: Glasgow University Library, Hillhead Street, Glasgow, G12 8QE, Level 12. From mid May until the end of August. For opening hours see: special.lib.gla.ac.uk/general/hours.html 
From the end of May, this will be supplemented by a web exhibition (with the same title) exploring in more depth the work of printers associated and appointed by the University of Glasgow, from the first book printed in Glasgow by George Anderson in 1638 through to the last Glasgow University Press, the Maclehose Company. special@gla.ac.uk
special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/index.html
Contact: Julie Gardham J.Gardham@lib.gla.ac.uk

Clò Trom  - Gaelic Printing in the Highlands, 1778-1901 or Clò Trom - Clò-bhualadh sa Ghàidhlig air a’ Ghàidhealtachd, 1778-1901. Exhibition at Inverness Library on books printed in Inverness and other Highland towns in Gaelic (and English), also covering the output of Charles Fraser Mackintosh, who died in 1901 and was a prolific local historian and Gaelic speaker.  April-June 2008 in Inverness Library, Farraline Park, Inverness, IV1 1NH.  The exhibition will also be available as a ‘Virtual Exhibition’ on the Am Baile website: www.ambaile.org.uk
Contact Norman Newton Norman.Newton@highland.gov.uk

Read all about it: the National Library of Scotland's newspaper exhibition. 17 May – 6 June 2008. Elgin Library, Cooper Park, Elgin, Moray, IV30 1HS www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_1435.html

Pen and print: the records of printing and publishing in Scotland.  Scottish Records Association conference, Friday 21 November 2008. Perth Conference Hall. Further details:  www.scottishrecordsassociation.org/

Printing in Perth Exhibition on the local printers/publishers the Morison family in the A K Bell Library during March 2008. Entry is free of charge, open 9.30- 5 Monday Wednesday and Friday, 9.30 – 8pm Tuesdays and Thursdays and 9.30 – 4pm Saturdays. A K Bell Library, York Place, Perth, PH2 8EP.
On Thursday 28 February at 2pm, Sara Ann Kelly, Local Studies Librarian, will give an hour-long talk to the Friends of the Archive, on 'Local Studies and 500 years of printing'. A K Bell Library Theatre. £2 to non-members.
www.pkc.gov.uk/libraries
Contact Sara Ann Kelly SAKelly@pkc.gov.uk

Read all about it, National Library Newspaper exhibition at the A K Bell Library. 12 June to 31 July 2008. Entry is free of charge, open 9.30- 5 Monday Wednesday and Friday, 9.30 – 8pm Tuesdays and Thursdays and 9.30 – 4pm Saturdays.A K Bell Library, York Place, Perth, PH2 8EP. www.pkc.gov.uk/libraries
Contact Sara Ann Kelly SAKelly@pkc.gov.uk

Scotland's first public lending library, founded by David Drummond, 3rd Lord Madertie, at Innerpeffray, between Auchterarder and Crieff, is marking the 500th anniversary of printing in Scotland with changing displays of Scottish imprints. Innerpeffray Library, Crieff, Perthshire, PH7 3RF. Tel: 01764 652819. www.innerpeffraylibrary.co.uk/index.htm

'Press Here' – a small traditional letterpress workshop using the same hand-set lead type process that Andrew Myllar brought to Scotland and which survived largely unchanged in principle for nearly the full 500 years since then. Visitors are welcome to call in and see the process in action, handle some of the tools and materials, and possibly even make a print themselves. The workshop uses largely 20th century equipment (including some typecasting machines). So if you want to find out what a Stereotype, a Fudge Box, a Hell Box, or a Slug are, or why your computer offers you ‘Times New Roman’ and measures its size in ‘points’, call in and satisfy your curiosity.

Admission free, but please phone 01828 628001 in advance to arrange a visit. Open almost every Monday,. Most times can be accommodated, but the workshop will be closed on Sundays and throughout August. Parking space and disabled access.
Contact: John Easson Easson@quartopress.fsnet.co.uk

'Printing': a display of items of local printing and some printing artefacts. 25 July - 23 October. Shetland Museum and Archives, Hay's Dock, Hay's Dock, Lerwick, Shetland, ZE1 0WP www.shetland-museum.org.uk/

The Special Collections Department of St Andrews University Library will mark the 500th anniversary of printing by mounting an exhibition exploring the history of printing in Fife. Exhibits will range from the first book printed in St Andrews in 1552 to the products of a contemporary private press. A programme of events and activities will accompany the exhibition. 10 October - 18 December 2008, Gateway Galleries, North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9SS. Monday-Friday 9.00-17.30, Saturday and Sunday 10.00-17.00. Entrance free. For more information email speccoll@st-andrews.ac.uk  www.st-andrews.ac.uk/specialcollections/
Contact: Elizabeth Henderson eah10@st-andrews.ac.uk

Publishing Scotland: Eneas Mackay, Stirling 1 December 2007-16 April 2008. This exhibition is planned to coincide with the 500th anniversary of printing in Scotland by the press of Chepman and Myllar. Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum, Dumbarton Road, Stirling, FK8 2RQ.
The exhibition focuses on the story of the press of Eneas Mackay, father and son, which operated in Stirling c1880-1943 and became the Stirling Observer Press.  It features the Smiths’ own collection, with that of private collector Stewart Campbell. A booklet, The story of Eneas Mackay, Stirling is available from the Art Gallery and Museum Shop, price £2.50.
Events programme
The Dickens Book Group. 11am each Wednesday. 16 January – 27 February 2008.
Take a fresh look at Dickens and read and enjoy his works in good company. Many of Dickens’ novels were written as serials for journals and magazines. This is a chance to explore the novel as a serial in six sessions, led by Grahame Smith, Emeritus Professor of English Literature and a specialist in the works of Dickens. This new venture complements the 500 Years of Printing season at the Stirling Smith. The first novel will be A Tale of Two Cities, originally printed 1859 and almost never out of print since (Penguin classic edition, available for £5.99).  Tickets: £3 (including coffee/tea and biscuits). Series ticket for all six sessions: £15.
Lecture series: 12 noon every Thursday in the Lecture Theatre
Tickets: £6 (including a soup and sandwich lunch). Series ticket for all eight talks: £42.00
17 January. The Early Press in Scotland. Dr Alistair Mann, University of Stirling, is a specialist in Press and publishing history and will give an overview of its development in Scotland.
24 January. Scottish PEN Event. Professor Richard Roberts will discuss the early years of Scottish PEN. Founded by Hugh MacDiarmid in 1927, it is Scotland’s first international organisation for the freedom of expression. The PEN 80th anniversary exhibition runs together with the Eneas Mackay exhibition. Mackay was a member and supporter of PEN and published works by several of its members.
31 January. Meet the Editor - Alan Rennie, Stirling Observer and John Miller, former Case Room Manager. Chaired by Councillor Colin O’Brien, Chairman of the Smith Trustees. The Stirling Observer’s relationship to the printing trade goes back to 1792, and has been in print since 1836. Alan Rennie has been Editor for the past 24 years. He will reflect on the changes in the past quarter century. John Miller, now an Observer journalist, trained as a printer in the days of hot metal and has unrivalled knowledge of the printing process.
7 February. Scottish PEN Event: how poetry can change the world. Tessa Ransford, Poet and cultural Activist, founder of the Scottish Poetry Library and of the Callum Macdonald Poetry Pamphlet awards will read her poetry speak on PEN, poetry and literary activism.
14 February. Eneas Mackay, Publishing Scotland- Elspeth King, exhibition curator, will look at Eneas Mackay’s Stirling and the nature and output of the Mackay publishing house.
21 February. Street Literature. Folk singer, poet and bibliophile Adam McNaughtan will talk about the broadsides and chap books which entertained and informed people in the past. Adam has created his own broadsides, one of which was a fund-raising song in aid of the purchase of the Smith’s Wallace portrait in 2004. His knowledge of historical street literature is unrivalled.
28 February. The Reverend Robert Kirk and the Aberfoyle Fairies - Louis Stott. Eneas Mackay published a great deal on customs, beliefs and superstitions, including Robert Kirk’s Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies. Historian and bibliophile Louis Stott will look at the publication and the legend.
6 March. Printing in Stirling today. Christopher Steward, head of Stirling Reprographics, the printing house for Stirling Council, will speak on the contemporary business of printing.
www.smithartgallery.demon.co.uk/exhibitions.html
Contact: Dr Elspeth King Elspeth.King@smithartgallery.demon.co.uk

A printing workshop is planned by the Centre for Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling, FK9 4LA.
Contact: Andrew Wheatcroft ajmw1@stir.ac.uk