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Archibald Constable
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{{Short description|Scottish publisher, bookseller and stationer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Use British English|date=November 2017}} [[File:Archibald Constable.jpg|thumb|Lithograph of Archibald Constable published in ''A History of Booksellers, the Old and the New''.]] '''Archibald David Constable''' (24 February 1774 – 21 July 1827) was a Scottish publisher, bookseller and stationer. ==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> ==Family== Constable was first married to Mary Willison (d.1814) daughter of David Willison, a rival Edinburgh printer.<ref>Kay's Originals vol.2 p.475</ref> They lived in [[Craigcrook Castle]] in western Edinburgh.{{sfn|Waterston|Shearer|2010|p=200}} Among their children were a son, Thomas, and a daughter, Elizabeth. Their son, [[Thomas Constable (printer and publisher)|Thomas Constable]] [[FRSE]] (1812-1881) took over his printing business on his father's death. In 1839 he was appointed printer and publisher in Edinburgh to [[Queen Victoria]], and issued, among other notable series, ''Constable's Educational Series'', and ''Constable's Foreign Miscellany''. After Mary's death, Constable remarried in 1818, to Charlotte Neale, daughter of John Neale.<ref>Kay's Originals vol.2 p.475</ref> Thomas Constable married Lucia Anne Cowan, daughter of [[Alexander Cowan]], an Edinburgh paper-maker (who clearly would have had business links with a major publishing firm such as Constables).<ref>Dictionary of National Biography: Thomas Constable</ref> They lived at 11 Thistle Street in [[New Town, Edinburgh|Edinburgh's First New Town]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=List of the Ordinary Fellows of the Society|journal=Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh|date=1 January 1870|volume=26|issue=1|pages=xi–xiii|doi=10.1017/S008045680002648X|s2cid=251579034 }}</ref> Their son was also Archibald David Constable [[FRSE]] LLD (1843-1915), named after his grandfather, and followed in the family tradition as a printer. In 1865 he became a partner in the firm, and when Thomas retired in 1893 the firm continued under the name of T. & A. Constable.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=982}}{{sfn|Waterston|Shearer|2010|pp=199–200}} Their daughter, Elizabeth Constable (d.1818) married his junior publishing partner, [[Robert Cadell]] of [[Ratho]].<ref>Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland: The Grampian Society, 1871</ref> ==Publications== *{{cite book|first=George|last=Barry|author-link=George Barry (author)|title=The History of the Orkney Islands|year=1805|location=Edinburgh and London|publisher=Archibald Constable and [[Longman|Longman Hurst]]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyorkneyis00barrgoog |access-date=January 8, 2021}} *{{cite book |last=Gordon |first=Robert |year=1813 |orig-year=Printed from original manuscript 1580 - 1656|title=A Genealogical History of the Earldom of Sutherland |url=https://archive.org/details/genealogicalhist00gord/page/n7/mode/2up |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Printed by George Ramsay and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company Edinburgh; and White, Cochrance and Co. London |author-link=Sir Robert Gordon, 1st Baronet |access-date=January 2, 2022}} *{{cite book |last=Stewart |first=David of Garth |authorlink=David Stewart (major-general) |year=1822 |title=Sketches of the character, manners, and present state of the Highlanders of Scotland: with details of the military service of the Highland regiments |url=https://archive.org/details/cihm_54082 |volume=II |location=[[Edinburgh]] and [[London]] |publisher=A. Constable and [[Longman|Longman, Hurst]]|isbn=9780665540820 |access-date=January 2, 2022}} *{{cite book |last=Stewart |first=David of Garth |author-link=David Stewart (major-general) |year=1825 |title=Sketches of The Character, Manners, And Present State of The Highlanders of Scotland: With Details of The Military Service of The Highland Regiments |url=https://archive.org/details/sketchescharact04stewgoog/page/n5/mode/2up |volume=I |location=Edinburgh and London |publisher=A. Constable and [[Longman|Longman, Hurst]] |access-date=February 13, 2022}} ==In fiction== The character John Paterson ('the Bishop') in ''John Paterson's Mare'', [[James Hogg]]'s allegorical satire on the Edinburgh publishing scene first published in the ''Newcastle Magazine'' in 1825, is based on Archibald Constable.<ref name = "Hunter2020"/> ==See also== *[[Archibald Fullarton]] *[[George Washington Bacon]] *[[Moubray House]] ==Notes== {{Reflist}} ==References== *{{citation |last1=Waterston |first1=C D |last2=Shearer |first2=A Macmillan |date=8 November 2010 |url=http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp1.pdf |title=Former Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783 – 2002 |publisher=[[Royal Society of Edinburgh]] |access-date=28 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919152306/https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp1.pdf |archive-date=19 September 2015 |url-status=dead }} '''Attribution:''' * {{EB1911|wstitle=Constable, Archibald |volume=6|pages=981–982|mode=cs2}} ==Further reading== *{{cite DNB|last=Henderson |first=Thomas Finlayson |wstitle=Constable, Archibald |volume=12 |pages=32–33}} *{{cite ODNB|ref=none|first=David |last=Hewitt |title=Constable, Archibald (1774–1827) |orig-year=2004 |date=January 2007 |id=6101}} '''Published by Constable & Co.''' * {{cite book |title=Edinburgh Gazetteer |year=1822 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=A. Constable & Co. |url=http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008588215 }} (6 volumes) {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Constable, Archibald}} [[Category:Encyclopædia Britannica]] [[Category:1774 births]] [[Category:1827 deaths]] [[Category:Scottish magazine publishers (people)]] [[Category:British magazine founders]] [[Category:People from Fife]] [[Category:Scottish publishers (people)]] [[Category:Burials at Old Calton Burial Ground]] [[Category:Scottish booksellers]] [[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh]] [[Category:Scottish encyclopedists]] [[Category:Scottish printers]] [[Category:People educated at Edinburgh Academy]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of St Andrews]] [[Category:Humboldt University of Berlin alumni]] [[Category:University of Paris alumni]] [[Category:Scottish company founders]] [[Category:19th-century Scottish businesspeople]] [[Category:19th-century Scottish newspaper publishers (people)]] [[Category:British expatriates in France]]
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