Read the texts
From here you can read the full text of 33 items printed in 33 different Scottish towns before 1801. Each item represents the first printing press of a particular Scottish town or village. Often it is the first product that came off that printing press. Sometimes we have chosen a later product because of its importance or because the first item was unavailable.
There are three ways to access the texts:
Map of first printing towns
You can trace the geographical spread of Scottish printing on our clickable map. Each symbol represents one of the first 38 towns in Scotland to have a printing press:
| ∆ | = | 16th-century printing town. |
| □ | = | 17th-century printing town. |
| O | = | 18th-century printing town. |
The symbols are also links to more information about the town, the date of its first printing press, and the printer. From there you can read the text of an early item printed on that press.
The towns and villages where printing presses were set up are all on major roads or lie along the coast. Printing presses, which were very large, could be transported along these routes.