Introduction to the Bartholomew Archive

The Bartholomew Archive preserves the working records of one of Edinburgh's most significant mapmaking firms, John Bartholomew & Son Ltd. It offers a rare and detailed insight into how maps were designed, engraved, printed, revised and distributed during the 19th and 20th centuries.

As one of the most extensive surviving archives of a commercial map publisher, it documents the full lifecycle of mapmaking. While many collections hold finished maps, the Bartholomew Archive also preserves the materials and records that reveal how those maps were created. It provides a unique view of mapmaking as a collaborative process involving many specialised roles, as well as an industrial and commercial system, rooted in Edinburgh but with national and international reach.T

The Archive brings together a wide range of materials that document both the production and business operations of the firm, from initial concept through to finished publication and sale. These include:

• Business records of the firm and family (from about 1820 to 1992)

• A comprehensive Printing Record (1877 to 2002), comprising bound volumes, boxes and map drawers, containing a copy of almost everything printed by the firm

• Approximately 20,000 printed maps and proof sheets used as reference material or preparation copies (from about 1821 to 1992)

• Around 3,000 engraved copper, steel and zinc printing plates (from about 1878 to 1957)

• Approximately 6,000 glass plates (from about 1920s to 1950s)

• The firm's reference library of around 1,100 atlases and books

Together, these materials show how maps were researched, compiled, edited, corrected, and brought to market. They also reveal how different stages of production were connected. Business records (including job registers, order and cost books, day books, and specialist workbooks) document the commissioning, labour, materials, and costs behind each item. These link directly to surviving proofs, reference maps, printing plates and copies in the Printing Record.

This structure makes it possible to trace the development of individual maps in detail, from source material and editorial decision-making through to printing, distribution, and sales. It also enables detailed study of the economics of map production, from initial concept to final sale.

The Bartholomew Archive documents more than a single firm. It captures the wider processes through which geographic knowledge was produced and circulated. Maps in the Archive are shown not as neutral representations, but as carefully constructed objects shaped by editorial judgement, available information and commercial priorities.

It also reflects the development of map publishing over nearly two centuries, including changes in printing techniques, materials, design and markets. Through its detailed records, the Archive provides evidence of how a specialist firm adapted to new technologies and maintained a reputation for quality and authority in a competitive environment.

The Archive is equally significant in its local context. It shows how mapmaking was embedded within Edinburgh's long-standing publishing and printing industries, where skills, labour and knowledge were closely interconnected. At the same time, the firm's output circulated widely, linking the city to national and global networks of information and exchange.

By preserving plates, proofs, drafts and business records alongside finished maps, the Archive makes visible the processes behind the image. It reveals how geographic knowledge was created through skilled labour, collaboration and decision-making, combining technical expertise with commercial and cultural considerations. It also provides a rare opportunity to understand how information was produced, how authority was established and how visual representations shaped public understanding of the world.

As a research resource, the Bartholomew Archive has unusual breadth. It can support a wide range of enquiries, including:

• History of cartography: how maps were made, revised and standardised over time

• Publishing and print history: how a specialist firm operated within wider commercial and cultural networks

• Business and economic history: production costs, pricing, print runs and markets

• Labour history: the roles, skills and organisation of work within a printing and publishing firm

• Local and family history: people, places and networks connected to the firm's activity

• History of knowledge and visual information: how geographic information was created, interpreted and communicated

• Map production and decision-making: sources of information, editorial choices and their impact on finished maps

• Publishing practice and strategy: collaborations with other publishers, product development, branding and reputation over time

A range of catalogues, datasets and online resources support exploration of the Archive.

Catalogues and inventories

• Business records inventory (PDF) [365 KB; 144 pages]

• Maps and plans inventory (PDF) [165 KB; 62 pages]

• Copper plate inventory

Search tools and datasets

• Printing Record catalogue search (maps printed 1877 to 1945)

The Bartholomew firm library

• Browse via Library Search ('Bart.Firm' shelfmark)

Explore the Archive online

• Bartholomew Archive website

• Duncan Street Explorer (interactive exploration of the firm's premises)

• Bartholomew: a Scottish family heritage

Digitised maps

• Bartholomew Half-inch and Quarter-Inch series

• Bathymetrical Survey of Scottish lochs

• Survey Atlas of Scotland (1912)

• Times Survey Atlas of the World (1920)

• Georeferenced Bartholomew Half-Inch layer