The first Glasgow directory was published in 1783 by John Tait. This image is taken from a facsimile reprint published in 1871 by Robert Forrester. Page 62 includes surnames from Smith to Scott.
John Smith Jnr was the eldest son of John Smith, who founded Glasgow’s oldest bookshop in 1751. John Smith Jnr joined the business in 1777. John Smith & Sons was a subscriber to the 1787 Edinburgh edition of the poems of Robert Burns and was the poet's agent in Glasgow. A third John Smith, the founder's grandson, joined the business in the early 19th century. The bookshop moved to St Vincent Street in 1835.
During the 18th century, the high price of books led to the growth of circulating libraries which, for a modest subscription price, supplied readers with popular novels. In 1753, John Smith Snr opened Smith's Circulating Library, the first circulating library in Glasgow, which survived until 1828.
Reference: Mitchell Library, GC 914.14351
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
books, booksellers, bookshops, circulating libraries, directories, family history, genealogy, John Smith & Sons, John Tait's Directory, Smith's Circulating Library
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