by Gertrude Burford Rawlings
New York D.Appleton and Company 1901
Knight. Strange to say, we hear no more of Myllar after this. But Chepman comes forward again in
connection with the Breviary (though it is uncertain whether he was its printer), and probably printed
some other books which have been lost. The Breviary is a small octavo in two volumes, the first of which
appeared in 1509 and the other in 1510. It is printed in red and black Gothic characters. The conclusion
of the Latin colophon to the second volume may be rendered as follows :
"Printed in the town of Edinburgh, by the command and at the charge of the honourable gentleman
Walter Chepman, merchant in the said town, on the fourth day of June in the year of our Lord 1510'"
The next Scottish printer, so far as is known, was a certain John Story, though only an Office of Our
Lady of Pity, accompanied by a legend on the subject of the relics of St. Andrew, remains to testify to us
of his existence. It was printed “by command of Charles Steele," and Dr. Dickson dates it at (perhaps)
about 1520.
Rather more than twenty years later, Thomas Davidson became King's Printer in Edinburgh. His only
dated work was The Nevv Actis And Constitvtionis of Parliment Maid Be The Rycht Excellent Prince Iames
The Flft Kyng of Scottis 1540. The title-page of this book consists of a large woodcut of the Scottish
arms, above which is the title in four lines printed in Roman capitals. This book also displays all three
forms of type-black letter, Roman, and Italic. Its colophon, which is printed in Italics, is as follows:
Imprentit in Edinburgh, be Thomas Davidson, dweling abone the nether bow, on the north syde of tile
gait, the aucht day of Februarii, the zeir of God, 1541. zeris..
But there is some of Davidson's undated work which is earlier than this, though it is not known for
certain when he began to print. Of these undated publications, Ad Serenissimum Scotorum Regem
Iacobum Quintum de suscpto Regni Regimine a diis feliciter ominato Strena is notable as affording the
earliest example of the use of Roman type by a Scottish printer, for its title is printed in these characters.
Only one copy is known, and that is in the British Museum. Opinions differ as to its date, but the majority
assign it to the year 1528.
Davidson's most important production, however, was his beautiful folio edition of Bellenden's translation
of Hector Boece's work, Tile hystory and croniklis of Scotland. This, says Dr. Dickson, is “an almost
unrivalled specimen of early British typography. It is one of those gems which the earlier period of the art
so frequently produced, but which no future efforts of the press have surpassed or even equalled." It has
a title-page similar to that of the Nevv Aclis, but the title itself is' printed in handsome red Gothic
characters. Dr. Dickson, to whose learned Annals of Scottish Printing (completed, on account of the
author's ill-health, by Mr. J. P. Edmond) I am indebted for the details of early Scottish typography given
above, assigns this book to the year 1542.
Having seen the printing-press fairly set to work in Scotland, it will not be necessary here to notice its
later productions. But before closing the chapter it will be interesting to observe that Edinburgh was the
place of publication of the first work printed in the Gaelic language. This was Bishop Carswell's translation
of the Scottish Prayer. Book, which was printed in 1567 by Roibeard (Robert) Lekprevik. It is in the form
of Gaelic common at that time to both Scotland and Ireland, and therefore as regards language it
forestalls the Irish Alphabet and Catechism, Dublin, 1571, to which reference is made below. The type of
Carswell's PrayerBook, however, is Roman. The following is a translation of its title - page, made by Dr. M’
Lauchlan;
FORMS OF PRAYER AND administration of the sacraments and catechism of the Christian faith, here
below. According as they are practised in the churches of Scotland which have loved and accepted the
faithful gospel of God, on having put away the false faith, turned from the Latin and English into Gaelic by
Mr. John Carswell Minister of the Church of God in the bounds of Argyll, whose other name is Bishop of
the Isles.
No other foundation can any man lay save that which is laid even Jesus Christ.
1 Cor. 3.
Printed in dun Edin whose other name is Dunmonaidh the 24th day of April 1567,
By Roibeard Lekprevik.
Lekprevik, whose first work, so far as is known, was produced in 1561, printed not only in Edinburgh, but
also in Stirling and St. Andrews, at different times.