TITLE—“MINSTRELSY OF THE SCOTTISH BORDER” (KELSO, 1802) 19 TITLE—“MINSTRELSY OF THE SCOTTISH BORDER” (EDINBURGH, 1803) 23 ST. JOHN STREET _To face_ 24 JOHN BALLANTYNE (_Photogravure_) ” 42 SIR WALTER SCOTT, BART. (_Photogravure_) ” 62 TITLE—“WAVERLEY” 63 THE “GREAT UNKNOWN” _To face_ 82 A PAGE OF THE MS. OF “WAVERLEY” ” 96 OLD WOODEN PRESS AT PAUL’S WORK (_Photogravure_) ” 106 TITLE—“LIFE OF NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE” 129 CORRECTED PAGE-PROOF OF “LIFE OF BUONAPARTE” 131 JOHN GIBSON LOCKHART, LL.D. (_Photogravure_) _To face_ 132 OLD PAUL’S WORK (_Photogravure_) ” 143 ENTRANCE TO THE OFFICES OF OLD PAUL’S WORK 145 WINDOW IN PAUL’S WORK OF THE PRESENT DAY _To face_ 156 DESK USED BY SIR WALTER SCOTT IN PAUL’S WORK 185 SIR WALTER SCOTT’S CHAIR IN PAUL’S WORK 187 THE BALLANTYNE PRESS CHAPTER I ORIGIN OF THE HOUSE The History of the Art of Printing in Edinburgh shows periods of fluctuating progress—times of decadence and revival—at recurring intervals. These are found in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and towards the close of the eighteenth century another period of decadence seems to have arisen, although a few of the printers in the city strove to maintain the fairer traditions of the art and did good work. Among these it is interesting to note that the firms of Neill & Co., Pillans & Wilson, and Oliver & Boyd are survivors of that far-off time. With the origin of the Ballantyne Press at Kelso in 1796, and its removal a few years afterwards to Paul’s Work in Edinburgh, a revival took place which inaugurated a new era for printing in Scotland. The advent of James Ballantyne was productive of great changes, as he helped to diffuse a taste for correct and elegant workmanship till then comparatively unknown. Curwen, in his “History of Booksellers,” referring to the high level of English typography, mentions the Ballantynes of Edinburgh as founding a press, the excellent work of which had gained the good-will of many authors and publishers both in Edinburgh and London. [Illustration: KELSO IN 1797]