Draft:The Fifeshire Advertiser

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The Fifeshire Advertiser

Introduction

During 1965 Kirkcaldy lost its first newspaper. Printed in the High Street for over 150 years, a falling circulation eventually caused it to falter and fade during the 1960’s. It was one of the many provincial newspapers founded during the early part of 19th century.

George Johnston established the first printing press in Kirkcaldy in October 1794. [1]

Newspaper Printing in Scotland

During that century there was considerable growth in the provincial press. Towns like Dundee, Greenock, Ayr, Dumfries, Kelso and Inverness all had newspapers before Kirkcaldy started its own in 1838.

For a few months in 1836 The Fifeshire Journal was initially printed in Kirkcaldy before it was relocated to Cupar. The manager of that journal was John Jeffers Wilson, who within two years, following print jobs in Dundee and Perth, was back in Kirkcaldy.

He rented a house at the foot of Kirk Wynd, setting up a small printing office in one of the rooms. In September 1838 he issued the first edition of The Kirkcaldy Advertiser which was later renamed The Fifeshire Advertiser. [2]

1838 - 1848

The Fifeshire Advertiser ran for 10 years before a new larger size paper was introduced in 1848. It continued as a bi-monthly with a circulation of approximately 700. John Jeffers Wilson (1807-1866) was for twenty-eight years the Editor of The Fifeshire Advertiser.

An editorial comment in the first larger edition provided an indication why the Advertiser had been started, ‘’…we have also created some enemies during the past ten years – as all may expect who wage uncompromising warfare with quacks, imbeciles in office, great selfish monopolists, impudent impostors and canting knaves’’.[3]

Kirkcaldy Newspapers

By the year 1862 the Independent and the Fife Circular were being published in Kirkcaldy followed by the Fife Free Press in 1871. The Fife Free Press was the first weekly newspaper to be printed in the town and was set up by William Greig Livingston, a printer from The Fifeshire Advertiser, and James Strachan. [4]

New Century

The Fifeshire Advertiser’s golden period was probably during the editorship of Lachlan Macbean (1853-1931) who edited The Fifeshire Advertiser (also incorporating the Kirkcaldy Mail) for many years taking the paper from the 19th into the 20th Century. He was also proprietor of the company for forty years. [5]

In 1896 the first linotype machine in Fife was installed in the office, only 10 years since the first machine was in use in the United States. The Linotype was the most significant development in the printing process for 400 years. [6]

Lachlan MacBean

Lachlan MacBean had half a century's association with the Fifeshire Advertiser. He was born at Kiltarlity, Inverness-shire in 1853 and died at Kirkcaldy in January 1931. During his tenure he wrote a volume about the short life of Pet Marjory (published by the Advertiser). He was actively involved in the resurrection of many almost forgotten Gaelic works, gave lessons on Gaelic and compiled Kirkcaldy Burgh Records.

The Advertiser was also a print jobbing shop producing various types of products for the local community as well as the newspaper. Printing and sale of Post Cards (Picture Card) was another of Lachlan MacBean's innovations

It was usual for the editor to also manage the print shop. In 1885 when the Leven Mail was established, published in Leven but printed by The Advertiser, the printing works had moved from 294 High Street, Kirkcaldy to 130 High Street where it was to remain until the firm was dissolved. [7]

Extensions

Until the end of the 1800s the print works at 130 High Street was fairly small and it would have been difficult to manage both the newspaper and jobbing production as they both developed. During 1902 the first extension was built, increasing the floor area by about 50% and increasing the range of print work taken on by Lachlan Macbean.

It was another 30 years before the next large extension took place. It created a dedicated jobbing area, which almost again doubled the size of the print works. This was developed in two stages, starting in 1932 with the second stage completed around 1938. The following, last extension, did not begin until the 1950s, which was built to store paper reels for the newspapers and to provide space for a new newspaper rotary press which was much faster than the very old one still sited in the original part of the now extensive building. [8] [9]

Later Years

During part of the 1950’s and 1960’s the editor of the Advertiser was Donald R P MacIntosh, also the general manager of the company, and the company Chairman was local solicitor Thallon Wood.

At the end of January 1965, the Fifeshire Advertiser merged with the Leven Mail. Its last edition was dated Saturday 30 January 1965. The Fifeshire Advertiser as a print works, and company, continued with general jobbing work and printing the new title, named the Fife Mail. That new title only survived for a little over a year; on Monday 5 September 1966 the Fife Mail was renamed the East Fife Mail. The title had been bought over by the Fife Free Press group of newspapers while The Fifeshire Advertiser company was closed. The popular Fife Mail editor Ian C Paterson continued as editor of the East Fife Mail. [10]

Winding Up

The rotary presses, linotype machines, type cases and setting stones in the High Street print shop were sold before the elderly building was demolished. If you walk to the rear of Boots Chemist’s shop in Kirkcaldy High Street, and round to the left before the doors to the shopping mall, you will be standing near to where part of the old print works stood.

Remarkably, during its 150-year history the Fifeshire Advertiser had only 4 editors.

In 1891 a 13-year-old apprentice (Printer’s Devil) Andrew Black started work with the Advertiser and 60 years later retired as Works Manager in 1951, having spent his whole working life with the firm. [11]

Books

George Hume later wrote about his four training years (1956-1960) at the Fifeshire Advertiser in He said, "They (the Advertiser staff and management) really did help you along, instruct you, and so on. The place was full of good fun." [12]

Andrew Fyall went on to work as a Foreign Correspondent with the Daily Express and recently wrote a book about his life as a journalist. [13

Letterpress Printing

“When I trained as a journalist in the early 1970s, one of the most memorable aspects was to go onto the hectic and noisy printing floor of the newspaper office where I worked and watch the compositors typeset a story I had written. This was the pre-computerised, hot-metal kingdom of the highly skilled and highly literate craftsmen who made the words fit the spaces on the page.”

Lorna Unwin - https://www.scottishprintarchive.org

References

[1] https://digital.nls.uk/printing/title/74486061

[2] The Fifeshire Advertiser Press - https://openlibrary.org/books/

[3] https://www.onfife.com/libraries-archives/archives/   FA microfiche files

[4] https://www.onfife.com/libraries-archives/archives/   FFP microfiche files

[5] https://www.onfife.com/libraries-archives/archives/ FA  microfiche files

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linotype_machine

[7] https://play.hymnswithoutwords.com/people/lachlan-macbean-1853-1931/

[8] https://www.scottishprintarchive.org/resources/links/

[9] http://www.spanglefish.com/fifeshireadvertiser/history.asp

[10] https://www.onfife.com/libraries-archives/archives/  FA microfiche files

[11] https://www.onfife.com/libraries-archives/archives/ FA microfiche files

[12] 'Voices of Scottish Journalists: Recollections of 22 Scottish Journalists of Their Life and Work' -. John Donald Short Run Press,

[13] 'First In - Last Out', Andrew Fyall - ISBN: 9781528926751- https://www.austinmacauley.com/