Editing Archibald Constable (section)

==Life==
[[File:Craigcrook Castle (geograph 2418198).jpg|thumb|330px|Craigcrook Castle]]
Constable was born at [[Carnbee Parish, Scotland|Carnbee]], [[Fife]], son of the land steward to the [[Earl of Kellie]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=981}}

In 1788 Archibald was apprenticed to Peter Hill, an [[Edinburgh]] bookseller, based on the [[Royal Mile#High Street|High Street]] south of the [[Mercat Cross, Edinburgh|Mercat Cross]]. In 1795 Constable started in business for himself as a dealer in rare books, taking a unit immediately opposite Peter Hill, on the north side of the Mercat Cross. He was then living in a house in Calton village on the edge of [[Calton Hill]].<ref>Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1800</ref>

He bought the rights to publish the ''[[Scots Magazine]]'' in 1801, and [[John Leyden]], the orientalist, became its editor. In 1800 Constable began the ''Farmer's Magazine'', and in November 1802 he issued the first number of the ''[[Edinburgh Review]]'', under the nominal editorship of [[Sydney Smith]]; Lord Jeffrey, was, however, the guiding spirit of the review, having as his associates [[Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux|Lord Brougham]], Sir [[Walter Scott]], [[Henry Hallam]], [[John Playfair]] and afterwards [[Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay|Lord Macaulay]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=981}}

In 1802 he published "[[Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border]]" by [[Walter Scott]] and continued a lifelong friendship with Scott from at least this point. Walter Scott was primarily an advocate, and the Edinburgh courts were only 100m from Constable's shop.

From at least 1809 his head clerk [[Robert Cadell]] had a financial interest in the firm and in 1811 he replaced Hunter of Blackness as a partner, and from 1812 was sole partner with Constable.<ref>Kay's Originals vol.2 p.475</ref>

Constable made a new departure in publishing by the generosity of his terms to authors. Writers for the ''Edinburgh Review'' were paid at an unprecedented rate, and Constable offered Scott 1000 guineas in advance for ''[[Marmion (poem)|Marmion]]''. In 1804 A. G. Hunter of Blackness joined Constable as partner, bringing considerable capital into the firm, which thereafter was styled [[Archibald Constable & Co]]. In 1805, jointly with [[Longman & Co.]], Constable published Scott's ''[[The Lay of the Last Minstrel|Lay of the Last Minstrel]]'', and in 1807 ''Marmion''.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=981}} He also published four of [[James Hogg]]'s books, ''[[The Mountain Bard]]'' (1807), ''The Shepherd's Guide'' (1807), ''[[The Forest Minstrel]]'' (1810) and ''Poetical Works'' (1822).<ref name = "Hunter2020">Hunter, Adrian (ed.) (2020), ''James Hogg: Contributions to English, Irish and American Periodicals'', [[Edinburgh University Press]], pp. 19 - 34 & 210 - 211, {{isbn|9780748695980}}</ref>

In 1808 a split took place between Constable and Sir Walter Scott, who transferred his business to the publishing firm of [[John Ballantyne (publisher)|John Ballantyne]] & Co., for which he supplied most of the capital. In 1813, however, a reconciliation took place. Ballantyne was in difficulties, and Constable again became Scott's publisher, a condition being that the firm of John Ballantyne & Co. should be wound up at an early date, though Scott retained his interest in the printing business of James Ballantyne & Co.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=981}} Around 1810 he bought a house at the head of Craigs Close, nearby his shop. The premises was previously the house of [[William Creech]] and historically had been the home of [[Andro Hart]]. The printworks linked to this house seem to have been leased by Constable since around 1800.<ref>Kay's Originals vol.2 p.473</ref>

In 1808 he served as Moderator of the High Constables of Edinburgh.<ref>List of Moderators of the High Constables of Edonburgh, Edinburgh City Chambers</ref> 

In 1812 Constable, who had admitted Robert Cathcart and [[Robert Cadell]] as partners on Hunter's retirement, purchased the [[copyright]] of the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', adding the supplement (6 vols, 1816-1824) to the 4th, 5th and 6th editions. In 1814 he bought the copyright of ''[[Waverley (novel)|Waverley]]''. This was issued anonymously; but in a short time 12,000<!--Gutenburg edition states 12,200 but the internet archive OCR and the different Wikisource OCR indicate that it is 12,000--> copies were disposed of, Scott's other novels following in quick succession.  The firm also published the ''Annual Register''.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=981}}

Constable played a key role in the 1825 purchase of the Astorga Collection by the library of the [[Faculty of Advocates]]. The collection, comprising 3,716 pre-1800 volumes which ones belonged to Spain's [[Vicente Osorio de Moscoso, 12th Count of Altamira|14th Marquis of Astorga]], is now held by the [[National Library of Scotland]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lennon |first=Paul Joseph |date=2024-08-07 |title=Caveat Emptor: The Curious Case of Scotland's Astorga Collection |url=https://academic.oup.com/library/article/25/1/53/7729002 |journal=The Library |language=en |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=53–71 |doi=10.1093/library/fpae008 |issn=0024-2160|doi-access=free |hdl=10023/30422 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> 

Through over-speculation, complications arose, and in 1826 a financial crash occurred. Constable's London agents stopped payment, leading to his failure for over £250,000. James Ballantyne & Co. also went bankrupt, owing nearly £90,000. The collapse of both firms had a significant impact on Sir Walter Scott.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=981}}

Constable started business afresh, and began in 1827 ''[[Constable's Miscellany of Original and Selected Works]]'' consisting of a series of original works, and of standard books republished in a cheap form, thus making one of the earliest and most famous attempts to popularize high-quality literature.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=981}}

[[File:Grave of Archibald Constable, Edinburgh.jpg|thumb|Constable's grave in the [[Old Calton Burying Ground]] in Edinburgh]]
Constable died of [[dropsy]] (which had plagued him for several years) at home, 3 Park Place<ref>Edinburgh Post Office directory 1827</ref> in Edinburgh, on 21 July 1827,<ref>''Archibald Constable and his Literary Correspondents'', by his son Thomas Constable (3 vols., 1873). This book contains numerous contemporary notices of Archibald Constable, and vindicates him from the exaggeration of J. G. Lockhart and others {{harv|Chisholm|1911|p=982}}.</ref> but his firm survived,{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=981}} and the Constable publishing business continued in the twentieth century, issuing a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books. It continues today as [[Constable & Robinson]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/LittleBrownBookGroup/ConstableRobinson/about-constable-publisher.page|title=about-constable-publisher|website=Little, Brown Book Group|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-01-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130110348/https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/LittleBrownBookGroup/ConstableRobinson/about-constable-publisher.page|archive-date=30 January 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Park Place was a small square north of [[George Square, Edinburgh|George Square]] which was demolished later in the 19th century to build the new medical buildings for [[Edinburgh University]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/74415500|title=View map: OS town plan - Edinburgh, sheet 39 - Ordnance Survey large scale Scottish town plans, 1847-1895|website=maps.nls.uk}}</ref>