Printing

Printing reached Scotland from France in the early 16th Century but no records exist of it being recorded in the south west of the country until the 1780s when Peter McArthur introduced it to Kilmarnock. He was succeeded by John Wilson who was responsible for printing the first edition of 'Burns' Poetry' (one of the first ever books printed in Ayrshire). John Wilson also introduced printing to Ayr under the firm 'John and Peter Wilson'. Soon other towns in Ayrshire followed, with Irvine and Beith opening their own print shops. Before 1780, however, the closest printing press had been in Glasgow and even the availability of printed literature was not easy.
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Printing could be a risky business in the early days; expressing your opinion in printed form was widely frowned upon by the establishment and newspaper printers especially, ran the risk of imprisonment and expensive stamp duties. This environment meant that the majority of inhabitants of the region were fairly ignorant towards events outside their own area. The society for the most part was rural and very religious and the only book which most households held was the Bible. With the advent of local printing presses, however, books and newspapers became far more commonplace with stories of the Covenanting Times, Robert the Bruce and William Wallace being popular, alongside more religious works such as 'Pilgrim's Progress' and the works of John Knox. Increased literacy and wider prosperity meant an increased demand for printed material and a new thriving printing industry in the area.

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Ayr (1)
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Trays of Type for Printing
Printers used trays of letters called cases in order to hold type of different sizes and styles. Fro
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Compositing Sticks
These were used to arrange individual pieces of type into words and sentences prior to insertion int
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A Printing Forme
Type is packed tightly into a frame called a forme - ready to be set in the press. The words are arr
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Adana Platen Printing Press
Adana printing presses were small presses operated by hand. The Adana, first advertised in November
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Woodcut Printing Block for The Kilmarnock Standard
Donated by local printers Dunlop & Drennan.
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Printer's plate for Regal Cinema advert
This printer's plate is an advert for the James Bond 007 films 'Dr No' and 'From Russia with Love'. 
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Printing plate for 'Wigtown Bouquet'
Copper printing plate advertising "Wigtown Bouquet".  This perfumed water, described as "distilled f
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Ayr from Castle Hill
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Ayr
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A Close in Ayr
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Miniature Bible
This early printed bible is just a few centimetres across.
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Chap Book
The ‘Chap Book’ is a Scottish term for a form of popular street literature which arose in the early
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The Cotter's Saturday Night
The ‘Chap Book’ is a Scottish term for a form of popular street literature which arose in the early
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Pair of letter press printing plates
Pair of letter press printing plates from Dumfries and Galloway Standard, 1979.    These printing p
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Summa Quae Destructorium Viciorum Appelat…
This is one of the earliest printed books.  Its printer, Anthony Koburger, was one of the most celeb
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