This story was created for the Google Expeditions project by National Trust for Scotland, now available on Google Arts & Culture
Tap to explore
The Printing Works never embraced new technology and remains a working example of a Victorian era letterpress print shop. Smail’s continues to use movable type and belt-driven machinery to produce many kinds of stationery and typographical artwork.
Tap to explore
On this Expedition, we’ll lead you through each room of the Printing Works and explore the processes and interactions that were a daily part of this Victorian industry, from meeting and greeting customers to setting type and printing customers’ jobs.
Tap to explore
Smail’s Office
If a customer wanted to have some stationery printed, he or she entered the Office and placed an order with the Office Clerk.
Tap to explore
Along with taking orders from customers, the Office Clerk was also responsible for keeping in order the accounts and wages books and other business records.
Tap to explore
The Shop and the Office were the only parts of the building where customers were allowed—they were kept away from the messy, inky and noisy parts of the Printing Works.
Tap to explore
The Old-fashioned Till
This till dates from 1898. It was used for recording sales, but it was not capable of adding. The Office Clerk had to be good at performing addition in his or her head in order to tell customers what they owed.
Tap to explore
The Old Telephone and Telephone Exchange
The telephone, introduced to Smail’s in the late 1800s, provided an easy way—much easier than letters or telegrams—for customers and suppliers to contact the Printing Works. The Office Clerk also used the telephone to speak to employees in the workshop.
Tap to explore
Business Records, Now Archival Collections
The Smails never threw anything away, so the Office is piled high with books, ledgers, and parcels of letters and invoices. These business records help tell the story of the Printing Works and its customers over the last 150 years.
Tap to explore
Shipping Agency Licences
In 1893, Smail’s obtained a licence to sell passages on ocean liners to America. By 1896, customers could also purchase passage to Canada and South Africa. Smail recorded all the passages bought from him, and these records are available online to family historians.
Tap to explore
The Paperstore at Smail’s
Smail’s bought paper in bulk and stored it here on the racks. Pennicuik and Auchendinny were the big nearby papermaking towns, and supplies could easily be brought to Smail’s by railway. The paper for customer jobs and Smail’s own printed stationery is still stored here.
Tap to explore
At either end of this room, there were once waterwheels used to power the presses. The water came from the lade, or mill race, that still runs underneath the Paperstore.
Tap to explore
The Metallic Dust Remover
When a job was printed in silver or gold, the Printer used metallic powders on top of wet ink. The excess dust was removed from the finished job by passing the paper through this machine made of feathers and fur.
Tap to explore
The Pen Ruling Machine
This wonderfully elaborate machine was used for drawing lines onto pieces of paper for ledgers and notebooks. Sheets were fed through individually. The rows of pens were brushed with ink and then lowered onto the paper.
Tap to explore
Gas Pipes
Smail’s relied mainly on waterpower, but in the 1870s, the workshop was also outfitted with gas fittings that ran off Innerleithen Town Gas. Later, a Crossley Gas Engine was used to power the lights and heating.
Tap to explore
Caseroom at Smail’s
The Caseroom at Smail’s is where type was set for customers’ jobs. The Compositor was responsible for selecting the typeface to be used, designing and setting the job and getting it ready to be printed.
Tap to explore
An important part of the Compositor’s job was to take a proof—that is, to make sure that the job was set up without any spelling errors or other mistakes. Only then was it ready for the Printer in the Machine Room.
Tap to explore
Windows and Natural Light
Working with very small type or on intricate compositing jobs, a Compositor needed good lighting. Before the days of electric lighting, the Compositors relied on daylight coming through windows in the roof and on gaslight or candlelight.
Tap to explore
Cases of Type
Each of the 400 cases of type at Smail’s contains a different point size or style of typeface. When the Compositor has selected the typeface, he places it on the rack with the case containing the capital letters on the top and small letters below.
Tap to explore
The Columbian Eagle Press
The Columbian Eagle Press was designed by an American named George Clymer in 1816. It operates on a system of weights and levers. The eagle perched on top acts as the main counterweight and was inspired by the American emblem of the bald eagle.
Tap to explore
Machine Room at Smail’s
Printers work in the Machine Room, where there are five presses. The Printer selects the press to use for a job based on the size and design of the printed product and the number of items to be printed.
Tap to explore
It took seven years to complete an apprenticeship and become a Journeyman Printer.
Tap to explore
Belts and Pulleys
Belts and pulleys, originally powered by water, run most of the presses in the machine room. As the belts turn, the presses are set in motion. Take care! Getting caught in the belts and pulleys could result in serious injury.
Tap to explore
The Wharfedale Reliance Stop-Cylinder Flatbed Printing Press
Purchased in 1886 for less than £100, this press is still used to print larger size jobs. It is the largest press at Smail’s. It took six men to carry in just one side of it when it arrived over 100 years ago.
Tap to explore
The Arab Clamshell Platen
The Arab Clamshell Platen is the oldest kind of printing press in the Machine Room. It is run by a foot-powered treadle. It was normally used by the youngest apprentice Printer, who would have the most energy for treadling!
Tap to explore
Smail’s Shop
The Shop is the first room the visitor enters at the Printing Works. Stepping through the etched glass doorway from Innerleithen High Street, you are in a room lined with shelves and glass-fronted cabinets where items for sale are displayed to the customer.
Tap to explore
Today, the Shop offers many of the same kinds of items sold by the Smail’s in their day, including china mugs, books, birthday cards, and calendars.
Tap to explore
Shop Shelves
In Victorian times, customers would let the Shop’s Assistant know what they wanted from among the items on display. The shelves were filled with goods from floor to ceiling, and the Assistant had to use wooden steps to reach the upper ones.
Tap to explore
Stationery Sets
Today, technology provides us with many different ways of communicating. In the Victorian era, letter writing was very important as the only way to communicate with family members or business associates who did not live nearby.
Tap to explore
Etched Glass Door
Etched glass was a common feature on shop fronts of the Victorian era. The finely-etched glass pane you see here must have made an excellent first impression on customers as they entered the elaborately designed doorway.