Friday 4th April marks the 500th anniversary of printing in Scotland.

To celebrate the occasion, visitors to the National Library of Scotland will have a rare chance to see the last known surviving copy of the oldest printed Scottish book as it goes on display for the day from 10am to 5pm at NLS on George IV Bridge, Edinburgh.

On 4th April 1508, the first copy of The Complaint of the Black Knight, by John Lydgate, ran off the presses of printing firm of Chepman and Myllar. It is the earliest dated printed book in Scotland.

A series of events are taking place across the nation to mark the anniversary in 2008, and this week sees a particularly busy period of activity. The celebrations are being led in partnership by NLS, the Scottish Printing and Archival Trust and the Scottish Print Employers’ Federation.

NLS Director of Collections development Cate Newton said: “NLS is delighted to be taking part in the celebrations for this important event. As Scotland’s National Library, the first printed Scottish book is perhaps the single most significant item in our collections and I hope as many people as possible will come along to have a look at it.”

On April 4th the NLS will also be unveiling a new website which charts the spread of printing throughout Scotland from 1508 onwards. The website includes digital versions of the first items printed in each printing press from 1508 to 1800, from Inverness to Dumfries and from Campbelltown to Berwick-Upon-Tweed.

The display at the National Library of Scotland is a taster for a major summer exhibition on the history of printing in Scotland, which opens at the Library in June. NLS will also be publishing a book to coincide with the exhibition, entitled “Scottish Printed Books: 1508-2008”.

Also on Friday 4th April, a plaque will be unveiled by Councillor Donald Wilson on the site of the former Chepman and Myllar printworks in the Cowgate at 11.00, whilst there will also be the chance for people to get their own souvenir of the day as the Heidelberg Roadshow - a truck bearing a working Heidelberg press - arrives in the grounds of the National Galleries of Scotland from 10am.

Other events taking place during the week include:

• On Thursday 3rd April, the Heidelberg roadshow will be in Glasgow at the Metropolitan College of Art, whilst one of the oldest working printworks in the country, Smail’s at Innerleithen, will be hosting living history workshops. Thursday will see a preview of both the oldest book and for a strikingly exciting modern take on a historical theme as a website is launched which looks at the spread of printing through Scotland. On the site, users will be able to see versions of the earliest printed works made in locales throughout Scotland.
• On Friday April 4th, a special dinner will be held in the Playfair Library Hall in the Old College of the University of Edinburgh. Dundee Contemporary Arts will produce a series of screen prints based on Chepman & Myllar on the day, whilst a free exhibition opens in Kilmarnock on Saturday 5th. In addition, an ongoing series of events and exhibitions will continue across Scotland for the week from Aberdeen to Abbotsford and from Innerleithen to Inverness.

500 Years of Printing in Scotland
Chepman & Myllar
First Scottish Books

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