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 THE CELTIC LIBRARY 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 CLARK SUTHERLAND NORTHUP 
 
 CLASS OF 1893 
 
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Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis bool< is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029490665 
 
William Menzies 
 
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IP^o was Scotlanb's 
 Sivst Printer? 
 
 Tim Compenbtous anb breue £rac= 
 
 tatc, in Commendation of 
 
 Tiniivow Xn\llax, 
 
 (Lompylxt be 
 
 Hobcrt Dickson, 
 
 5.5.21. Scot. 
 
 £on&on : 
 
 tEriibner & Co*, Cubgate ^ill. 
 
 ^^ U 1^ I \' 1^ I; f; I T Y 
 
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THIS 
 
 HUMBLE TRIBUTE 
 
 OF 
 
 Regard and Gratitude 
 is inscribed 
 
 TO 
 
 WILLIAM BLADES, Esq., 
 
 author of 
 The Biography and Typography 
 
 OF 
 
 William Caxton, 
 England's Prototypographer. 
 
tDf^o was Scotland's 
 ^ivst printer? 
 
 INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 
 
 TITALTER CHEPMAN has hitherto 
 ' enjoyed even more than the lion's 
 share of the honour attached to the in- 
 troducers of the art of Printing into 
 Scotland ; and so well has he maintained 
 his laurels, that his coadjutor, Androw 
 Myllar, has either received but a trifle of the 
 merit, or been ignored altogether. It may 
 seem a somewhat ungracious proceeding to 
 attempt to detract from the renown which 
 has so long been allowed to adorn Chapman's 
 name ; but on the principle of giving every 
 
6 VyJio was Scotland's First Printer ? 
 man his due, we feel that we are doing but 
 ordinary justice to Androw My liar if we 
 show that he, and not Chepman, is entitled 
 to the high distinction of being designated 
 Scotland's First Printer. 
 
ANTECEDENT KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 PRINTING had been exercised in Scot- 
 land for nearly three hundred years 
 before it was ascertained at what time 
 or by whom the art was introduced into 
 the country. 
 
 The copy of the Breviarium Aberdonense 
 presented to the library of the University of 
 Edinburgh in 1635, must have acquainted 
 those versed in the study of books, that the 
 volumes were printed in Edinburgh in 1509 
 and 1 5 10, at the command and expense 
 of Walter Chepman, merchant in the said 
 city ; and, consequently, that there was a 
 printing-press thus early in Scotland. But 
 the existence of this work appears to have 
 been afterwards lost sight of, as Watson, who 
 
8 Who was Scotland's First Printer f 
 
 published "A History of the Art of Printing," 
 in 1 7 13, was evidently not aware of so early 
 a Scotch-printed book, and, indeed, was 
 otherwise ignorant regarding the establish- 
 ment of our primitive press. 
 
 In 1788 a volume was presented to the 
 Advocates Library, which threw additional 
 light upon our early printed literature. The 
 volume contained eleven separately printed 
 pieces or small quarto books, some of which 
 indicated the printers, place, and date of 
 printing. These pieces proved that in 1508, 
 the year before Walter Chepman printed the 
 first volume of the Aberdeen Breviary, he was 
 associated with Androw Myllar in the produc- 
 tion of the pieces referred to. The earliest 
 dated piece in the volume has the following 
 colophon : — 
 
 " ]^cir cn&iief tije maping aniJ tiiC; 
 port of cfjauccc. ^vaTfftmtit in tljc 
 foutijgait of €tiinJiurgI) tic i©alt«: 
 cfjcjpman antj 3IIntn:oto itipllar tije 
 fourtl^ Uap of aprilc t!)c pl^crc of 
 goti a?.€€€€€. anil toiii. pl[)cri^/' 
 
 This is the most complete piece in the col- 
 lection, having, besides the colophon given, 
 the entire text, and a short anonymous poem 
 
WTto was Scotland's First Printer? 9 
 
 at the end ; the title over the device of 
 Walter Chepman on the recto of the first 
 leaf, and the device of Androw Myllar on 
 the reverse of the last leaf. The colophons 
 of the other two pieces which possess them, 
 show that they were both printed in April, 
 1508; and the remaining six pieces, un- 
 doubtedly from the same press, may be 
 assigned to the same year. Concerning the 
 two last pieces in the volume we will have 
 some interesting remarks to make. 
 
 Herbert was fortunate enough to obtain 
 from George Paton, Edinburgh, a very exact 
 account of the collection in question, so that 
 it found a place in the appendix to the third ' 
 volume of his great work, in 1 790. 
 
 George Chalmers, who was already ad- 
 vanced in his typographical researches when 
 Herbert concluded his extensive labours, 
 applied himself with fresh diligence to ob- 
 tain further information regarding the intro- 
 duction of printing into Scotland. He was 
 able to go back, by means of the unique 
 volume just referred to, as far as the year 
 1508; and he believed that by searching the 
 records deposited in the General Register 
 House, Edinburgh, some additional know- 
 ledge would be acquired upon the subject. 
 With this hope he solicited his friend. 
 
10 Who was Scotland's First Printer? 
 
 Mr. William Robertson, one of the func- 
 tionaries in that establishment, to aid him 
 in his efforts, and that gentleman had the 
 satisfaction of discovering a document which 
 might be said to place the matter at rest. 
 The document was no other than the Patent, 
 or Privilege, granted by James IV to his 
 " lovitis servitouris Walter Chepman and 
 Andro Myllar, burgessis of our burgh of 
 Edinburgh," and "geven under our prive 
 Sel at Edinburgh, the XV day of September, 
 and of our Regne the XXti yer" (1507). 
 It states that these individuals "hes at our 
 instance and request, for our pleasure, the 
 honour and proffit of our Realme and Liegis, 
 takin on thame to fumis and bring hame ane 
 prent, with all stufif belangand tharto, and 
 expert men to use the samyne, for imprent- 
 ing within our Realme of the bukis of our 
 Lawis, actis of parliament, croniclis, mess 
 bukis, and portuus efter the use of our 
 Realme, with addicions and legendis of 
 Scottis Sanctis, now gaderit to be ekit tharto, 
 and al utheris bukis that salbe sene neces- 
 sar,'' &c. It is not essential here to refer 
 more particularly to this most important 
 document further than to observe that we 
 are not aware of any other monarch, in the 
 early days of printing, having been so 
 
Who was Scotland's First Printer 1 1 1 
 
 directly instrumental in introducing the typo- 
 graphic art into his kingdom. 
 
 Our knowledge of Walter Chepman ex- 
 tends over more than thirty years of his life, 
 and we know that he was a person of wealth 
 and influence, and stood well in the estima- 
 tion of his sovereign. Of a highly specula- 
 tive nature, he was ever ready to embark 
 his capital in any undertaking which promised 
 to prove remunerative ; and in the matter of 
 estabUshing a printing-press, where he was 
 assured of royal and episcopal encourage- 
 ment, and would have his position fenced 
 about with legal securities, Chepman would 
 not hesitate a moment Although he was 
 altogether ignorant of the details of printing, 
 yet he was ready to provide somebody whom 
 he could trust with all that concerned the 
 practical direction of the work, and that 
 person was Androw Myllar, whom he ar- 
 ranged to assume as a partner. Of course, 
 Chepman was aware of Myllar's antecedents \ 
 but until 1869 this knowledge was concealed 
 from all enquirers. Previous to that year 
 our information regarding Myllar amounted 
 simply to the following bare facts. In March, 
 1503, he supplied the King with several 
 Latin books, and in December, 1507, fifty 
 shilUngs were paid by the King's treasurer 
 
1 2 WTio was Scotland's First Printer ? 
 
 " for iij prentit bukis tane fra Andro Myllaris 
 wyf." Then we have the mention of Myllar's 
 name in connection with Chepman's in the 
 King's Privilege, in September, 1507, and in 
 the colophons of the books printed by him 
 and Chepman in 1508. These few particulars 
 were really all we knew concerning Myllar, 
 and from them we could gather that he was 
 either a bookseller, or added the sale of 
 books to whatever occupation he followed. 
 It is evident that he was out of the country 
 in December, 1507, when the "iij prentit 
 bukis were tane fra Androw Myllaris wyf." 
 
II. 
 
 M. CLAUDIN'S DISCOVERIES. 
 
 IN 1869 a new and important light was 
 thrown upon Myllar by the appear- 
 ance of the sale catalogue of the 
 books of M. Victor Lazarche, of Tours, 
 which were to be sold in Paris the same 
 year. The catalogue was drawn up by 
 M. A. Claudin, the well-known antiquarian 
 bookseller and learned bibliographer, in Paris, 
 who for a number of years has devoted 
 the greatest attention to the provincial typo- 
 graphy of France. He was struck by the 
 singular character of the device, bearing the 
 name of Androw Myllar, found in a 
 liturgical work dated 1506. As the book, 
 entitled Expositio Sequentiarum, was quite 
 new to himself, and entirely unknown to 
 bibliographers, M. Claudin deemed it worth 
 while to insert fac-similes of both the device 
 
14 Who was Scotland'' s First Printer 1 
 
 and the colophon in the catalogue. This 
 catalogue fortunately came into the hands 
 of the late Dr. David Laing, who at once 
 recognised the device as that used by 
 Androw My liar in the books printed by 
 him and Chepman in 1508. Dr. Laing 
 urged the authorities of the British Museum 
 to endeavour to secure the Book of Se- 
 quences at the sale ; and this they had 
 the satisfaction of doing, although at a cost 
 of forty pounds. This living, speaking wit- 
 ness is so interesting and important in the 
 history of Androw Myllar, that we venture 
 to consider such testimony cheaply pur- 
 chased. The work in question does not 
 indicate where it was printed, nor does it 
 give the printer's name further than that of 
 Androw Myllar on the sill of the device \ 
 but M. Claudin, after a comparison of types, 
 discovered that the book was printed with 
 the characters used by Laurence Hostingue, 
 who exercised his art, along with Jamet Loys, 
 in Rouen, at the date specified. Although 
 it might be somewhat rash to conclude 
 from the mere presence of the device that 
 Myllar was the actual printer of the book, 
 yet why this mark ? Looking at it, however, 
 in connection with what we do know of him 
 in 1508, we feel less hesitation in attributing 
 
Who was Scotland's First Printer i 15 
 
 the production of the work to him ; but any 
 doubt we might have on this point, and 
 especially concerning the fact that Myllar 
 was a thoroughly-trsCined practical printer, is 
 at once set at rest by the conclusive evidence 
 which we will immediately have the pleasure 
 of making public for the first time. Before 
 proceeding to the consideration of this, we 
 cannot help noting the curious and interest- 
 ing coincidence that the device of England's 
 prototypographer should be first found in a 
 liturgical work printed for him by William 
 Maynyal at Paris in 1487 ; so that Caxton's 
 hitherto undeciphered device, as well as 
 Myllar's punning one, had a French origin ; 
 a conclusion which might easily be estab- 
 lished regarding Myllar's, from the circum- 
 stance that it displays two small shields at 
 the top corners, each charged with three 
 fleurs de lis. 
 
 As soon as M. Claudin, who is of Scotch 
 extraction, learned that Myllar was a Scotch- 
 man, he redoubled his efforts to obtain 
 further information regarding him, and early 
 in 1878 he was rewarded by discovering that 
 Myllar was actually the printer of a book in 
 1505. One can imagine the feelings of such 
 a thorough-paced bibliograph as M. Claudin 
 when he stumbled upon a work which yielded 
 
1 6 Who was Scotland's First Printer i 
 
 all the information he desired. Here is the 
 title of the said volume, which had hitherto 
 escaped the notice of every previous writer : — 
 " Multorum vocabulorum equivocorum in- 
 terpretatio, Magistri Johannis de Garlandia: 
 grammatico & latini cupido per maxime 
 necessaria Incipit" The work is a black- 
 letter quarto of sixty-two folios, and bears 
 this colophon : — " Libro qui vocorum quo- 
 rundam vocabulorum secundum alphabeti : 
 una cum' interpretatione Anglie lingue : finis 
 impositus est feliciter. quam Andreas Myllar 
 scotus mira arte imprimi ac diligenti studio 
 corrigi : orthographieque stilo prout facultas 
 suppetebat : enucleatumque sollicitus fuit 
 Anno christiane redemptionis Millesimo quin- 
 gintesimo quinto." There is no place of 
 printing noted, but we may safely assume 
 that Rouen was the locality where the book 
 had its birth, as it was the place where the 
 unique example of this valuable work was 
 discovered. 
 
III. 
 
 MYLLAR A GENUINE PRACTICAL 
 PRINTER. 
 
 THE new and important facts disclosed 
 by the researches of M. Claudin 
 supply us with ample proof that 
 Androw Myllar was a trained printer, that 
 his practical acquaintance with the typo- 
 graphic art was considerable, and that he 
 was in every way qualified to undertake 
 the management of a printing establishment 
 on his own account. We must suppose 
 that Chepman was quite aware of Myllar's 
 qualifications, and would arrange to join 
 him in establishing a printing-press in 
 Edinburgh. It might even be that Myllar 
 had gone abroad to make himself master 
 of the art for the very purpose of re- 
 turning to his native country and intro- 
 ducing it here. Chepman was undoubtedly 
 alive to the usefulness of a local press, and 
 
1 8 Who was Scotland's First Printer? 
 
 he took advantage of a combination of cir- 
 cumstances, which arose in 1507, to favour 
 its establishment. Myllar was prepared, as 
 far as experience went, and doubtless quite 
 willing to assist in the erection of a press in 
 Edinburgh. Chepman knew that Bishop 
 Elphingstone had the Breviary of Aberdeen 
 ready for the press, and that he would rather 
 have it printed under his own immediate in- 
 spection; William Dunbar had plenty of poetry 
 on hand, which he would have no objection 
 to see in print, and the King hirriself was in 
 every way favourable to the introduction of a 
 press into his kingdom. It is a matter of 
 small moment whether we allow that the 
 King took the initiative in the matter, and 
 that it was really " at his instance and re- 
 quest, and for his pleasure," that Chepman 
 and Myllar undertook to establish a press 
 in Edinburgh, or that he was prompted to 
 the good purpose by the literary worthies 
 above named. We may take it for granted 
 that Chepman had made the King acquainted 
 with the important fact that Andrew Myllar 
 was ready to come home and undertake the 
 practical management of the printing-office, 
 and that the opportunity was therefore at 
 hand for the immediate introduction of the 
 art. We are inclined to think that, but for 
 
JVAo was Scotland's First Printer ? 19 
 
 this preparedness on Myllar's part, the estab- 
 lishment of a printing-press in Edinburgh 
 might have been indefinitely postponed. It 
 is significant to note that in December, 1507, 
 a few weeks after the King had granted the 
 Privilege, Myllar was not in the country. We 
 imagine that he was in Rouen, the school 
 where his practical knowledge of printing had 
 been acquired, providing himself with all the 
 essentials which were necessary to enable 
 him to make a start in Scotland. He would 
 select one or two of his old shop-mates to 
 accompany him — men experienced in the 
 various branches of the typographic art, and 
 to whom he would be able to converse freely 
 in their native tongue. 
 
 Among the "stuff" belonging to the 
 printing materials " brocht Iiame " by Myllar 
 we must particularly notice the wood-cut 
 device of Walter Chepman. It is French 
 to the back-bone, and has the principal 
 portions of it borrowed from the mark of 
 Philippe Pigouchet, of Paris. The male and 
 female figures are faithfully copied, even to 
 the small crosses on their knees. The shield 
 has the initials W C very elegantly interlaced 
 ,in the style of the S V upon Simon Vostre's. 
 But in Chepman's, the tree from which the 
 shield depends is an oak bearing several 
 
20 Who was Scotland's First Printer? 
 
 acoms, while in Pigouchet's it resembles 
 a palm bearing a large globular fruit. 
 Chepman's wants the ornamental border, 
 and instead of the chaste letters composing 
 the name of Philippe Pigouchet on the scroll, 
 we have "Walterus chepman" in a some- 
 what heavy black letter. 
 
 Myllar's device may be described here. 
 It is a trifle larger than Chepman's, and 
 displays a windmill, with a miller ascending 
 the outside ladder, carrying a sack of corn . 
 on his back. A shield, suspended, from 
 the stem of the mill, contains a monogram 
 combining all the letters of Myllar's sur- 
 name. In each of the upper corners of 
 the device is a small shield, charged with 
 three fleurs de lis, and in the compartment at 
 the lower m.argin of the mark, is the name 
 of the printer, " Andrpv myllar," in large 
 Gothic characters. 
 
 Chepman's device is found in four of the 
 first nine pieces in the interesting volume 
 so often referred to, and Myllar's in seven. 
 The text is printed with types which have a 
 genuine Norman character, and were likely 
 cut specially for the new Scottish press. The 
 tenth piece is printed with the same charac- 
 ters as are found in many parts of the 
 Expositio Sequentiarum of 1506. It wants 
 
Who was Scotland's First Printer ? 21 
 
 the beginning and the end, but may fairly 
 be attributed to Myllar's foreign press. The 
 eleventh piece, intitled " Here begynneth a 
 gest of Robyn Hode," in which twelve leaves, 
 not consecutive, are present, but the end 
 wanting, is printed with a type identical with 
 that occasionally used by Herman Bumgart, 
 who exercised his art at Cologne about the 
 end of the fifteenth century. What connec- 
 tion this piece has with the others we have 
 not been able to make out. It is impossible 
 to over-estimate the value of this volume, con- 
 taining so many unique relics of our earliest 
 press, since, but for its fortunate preservation, 
 we would have had no proof that the printing- 
 press had been in operation in Scotland so 
 early as April, 1508, or any evidence that 
 Walter Chepman and Androw Myllar had 
 ever printed in company, or that Myllar 
 ever printed in Scotland at all. 
 
 It is to be regretted that research has 
 hitherto failed to discover any trace of 
 Myllar after the date on which his name 
 appears in the colophons of his own works 
 (April, 1508). The veil of obscurity, there- 
 fore, enshrouds the last days of his life, and 
 we are left to conjecture what we please 
 respecting his fate. Of Chepman's future 
 typographic career, we know that it was at his 
 
22 Who was Scotland's First Printer^ 
 
 command and expense that the two volumes 
 of the Aberdeen Breviary were printed in 
 1509 and 1510. The title-pages and colo- 
 phons distinctly tell us so, and refer to him 
 in lofty terms; but it is extremely difScult 
 to gather from them that the honourable man, 
 Walter Chepman, merchant in the city of 
 Edinburgh, was the actual printer of the 
 work. His device occupies the last leaf of 
 both volumes. Just before the first volume 
 was completed, certain merchants in Edin- 
 burgh infringed some of the rights and privi- 
 leges which the letters patent of 1507 secured 
 to Chepman and Myllar. Chepman appealed 
 to the Privy Council, by whom his complaint 
 was duly considered, and decided in his 
 favour. Neither in this complaint, nor in 
 the pages of the Breviary, does Myllar's 
 name appear, and it has consequently been 
 assumed that he must have been dead at 
 this time. We are loth, however, to drop 
 acquaintance with Myllar so summarily, and 
 we would fain believe that, although he does 
 not figure in partnership with Chepman as 
 printer of the Breviary, nor as a pursuer in 
 the action noticed, he still continued to act as 
 superintendent of the printing-house. Want 
 of means may have prevented him sharing 
 the expenses connected with the production 
 
Who was Scotland's First Printer ? 23 
 
 of the Breviary, but he may have been 
 willing to continue his services as a paid 
 workman, allowing Chepman to reap all 
 the glory and all the profit arising from 
 the publication of so important a work. 
 Dr. David Laing, of most worthy memory, 
 who did so much to throw light upon our 
 early printers, and our early literature, 
 proved that Chepman died in the end of 
 the year 1528. 
 
 We have said enough, we think, to show 
 that Androw MyUar was a trained practical 
 printer, and that when he came to Edinburgh 
 to establish its earliest press, he had several 
 years of technical experience to aid him. 
 Chepman, on the other hand, had had no 
 opportunity of acquiring a practical know- 
 ledge of printing, and we believe that, when 
 the Southgait press was put in operation, he 
 was entirely ignorant of the details of the art. 
 But he has undoubted claims to our regard, 
 inasmuch as he was the monied partner in 
 the concern, and supplied the capital, without 
 which the enterprise could not have been 
 carried on. He encouraged the art, like 
 many generous spirits in the early days of 
 printing, but, nevertheless, he was not a 
 printer. He has no claim to be regarded 
 as the "Scottish Caxton,'' and no title to 
 
24 Who was Scotland's First Printeri 
 
 be ranked among the grand old masters of 
 typography. Androw Myllar, however, stands 
 in a different hght, and we unhesitatingly 
 proclaim him Scotland's First Printer. 
 
 We cannot close our remarks before offer- 
 ing a tribute of gratitude to M. Claudin, 
 without whose labours we could not have 
 succeeded in rescuing Androw Myllar from 
 a long and undeserved neglect 
 
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 .This Volume contains the essence of the t^ volumes Dem^ 4to. oq 
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Cornell University Library 
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 Who was Scotland's first printer? : Ane 
 
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