Oliver and Boyd was a British publishing and printing firm that traded from 1807 or 1808 until 1990.British Museum: Term Details - Oliver & Boyd (Biographical details)
britishmuseum.org. Retrieved 24 June 2018. The firm has been described as a "stalwart in Scottish publishing".David Finkelstein
"Publishing 1830-80"
in: Bill Bell, ed., ''The Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland, Volume 3: Ambition and Industry 1800–1880'', Edinburgh University Press, p. 97. Retrieved 13 March 2019.

History

The grave of Thomas Oliver, Grange Cemetery

Oliver and Boyd was founded in Edinburgh by two partners: Thomas Oliver (1776–1853)Thomas Oliver (1775-1853)
, gaedin.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2019. and George Boyd (died 1843). The exact foundation year is not known but is believed have been either 1807 or 1808.James Mitchell
Oliver & Boyd
nls.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2019. The firm operated from the 1820s until the 1970s at the same address in Tweeddale Court,Tweeddale Court
, cityofliterature.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019. near the Royal Mile in Edinburgh (the old "Oliver and Boyd" sign remains above the front door of the Tweeddale Court building to this day). It was one of the "auld" firms to survive in the area after the crash of 1825–26. By the 1830s the firm was not only publishing but also printing and bookbinding under the same roof at Tweedale Court, an innovative practice for Edinburgh in that period. By 1836 the firm carried out printing there on a "massive scale". Prior to Oliver & Boyd, printing and publishing in Scotland had been a cottage industry with the printing done on wooden presses and it was only in 1800 that the iron press had been invented.Print room at Oliver & Boyd
, flickr.com. Retrieved 12 March 2019. In the years 1811–1841, Oliver and Boyd issued a number of catalogue's for the firm's juvenile books " selling from a halfpenny upwards" and also printed and published "abridged histories in fancy covers and songbooks". When Thomas Oliver retired and George Boyd died in 1843, the firm remained under family control with George's nephew

Thomas Jamieson Boyd Sir Thomas Jamieson Boyd, (22 February 1818–22 August 1902) publisher and philanthropist, was Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1877 to 1882. He was the catalyst behind the building of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on Lauriston Place. Life ...

being appointed as managing partner in 1843 and then acting as senior partner from 1869 to 1894. In this period the firm gained a reputation in the fields of education and medical textbook publishing and had a strong presence in the British colonial markets. When Benjamin Disraeli visited the firm in 1885 he found the firm did 'everything but making paper'. They were printers, publishers and binders. In 1896 Oliver and Boyd was taken over by three "well-established" Edinburgh booksellers, George and

James Thin James Thin was a Scottish bookseller, stationer and publishing company. It was, until 2002, the principal academic bookshop in Edinburgh, with its main premises opposite Old College, University of Edinburgh on South Bridge. It also had branch ...

and John Grant. During the 20th century the firm maintained its reputation as "educational and general publishers of high standing". In 1962 the firm was acquired by the ''Financial Times'' group and, later,

Longmans Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

acquired its publishing operations. In 1984, a public library known as the

Scottish Poetry Library The Scottish Poetry Library is a public library specialising in Scottish poetry. Since 1999, the library has been based at 5 Crichton's Close, just off the Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town. History and status The library was founded in 1984 ...

was set up in what had previously been a storage area of Oliver and Boyd's Tweeddale Court offices. Oliver and Boyd ceased operations in 1990.

Book series

* Biography and Criticism Series *

Edinburgh Cabinet Library The ''Edinburgh Cabinet Library'' was a series of 38 books, mostly geographical, published from 1830 to 1844, and edited by Dionysius Lardner. The original price was 5 shillings for a volume; a later reissue of 30 of the volumes was at half tha ...

* Modern Writers Series * University Mathematical Texts * Writers and CriticsWriters and Critics (Oliver & Boyd) - Book Series List
publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 22 June 2019.

References

External links

Archives of Oliver & Boyd
at

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in th ...

Books published by Oliver & Boyd
on

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and s ...

Oliver (Thomas) & Boyd (George)
at Scottish Book Trade Index {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver and Boyd Book publishing companies of Scotland Companies based in Edinburgh Publishing companies established in 1807 1807 establishments in Scotland British companies established in 1807 1990 disestablishments in Scotland British companies disestablished in 1990