Edinburgh Bibliographical Society

The Edinburgh Bibliographical Society is the oldest continuing society of its kind. Based on an idea by the printer and stationer George Waterston III, the Society first met on 16 January 1890 when Archibald Constable (grandson of Walter Scott’s publisher) was elected president. George Pyper Johnston, who served as Secretary from 1890 to 1932, describes the early years in ‘The Story of the Edinburgh Bibliographical Society’, reprinted in our Journal, number 1, 2006.

The Society meets regularly during the academic year, usually in the National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, although in 2007-2008 some meetings will be held a few doors south at Augustine United Church, as detailed in the programme. There is a dinner in March, and a visit in May. Guests and visitors are welcome to meetings and to the annual dinner, and (depending on places available) to the May outing.

The Society began publishing articles in 1891 and has now begun its third series of printed papers under a new, annual title, Journal of the Edinburgh Bibliographical Society. The Editors invite articles, particularly as they relate to Scottish interests, in the fields of bibliography, the book trade, the history of scholarship and libraries, and book collecting (contact Dr Joseph Marshall by email).

The Society also publish monographs and longer pieces as Occasional Publications. The Editors welcome proposals for these.