Bob Cuddihy brings journalism to Arran
If you watched STV news between 1972 and 1989 you will almost certainly remember reporter Bob Cuddihy| National Library of Scotland Blog
If you watched STV news between 1972 and 1989 you will almost certainly remember reporter Bob Cuddihy| National Library of Scotland Blog
2025 is the ninetieth anniversary of the launch of Penguin Books one of the UK’s most enduring and successful publishers. From the outset Penguin was synonymous with its branding with their considered logos, fonts and most vividly their colour coded series – orange for fiction, green for crime fiction, dark blue for biography and so on.[1] Sought after as much for the look as the content, books published by Penguin from the mid 1930s until the early 1970s are icons of British book design.| National Library of Scotland Blog
Pictured above is our small shelf of Scottish crime books. Louise Welsh’s novel “The Cutting Room” is not included as our copy was out to a reader at the Library. The story of Scottish crime fiction in 11 books from its dark origins to the present day when Scottish crime fiction is read all around […]| National Library of Scotland Blog
Some authors are embarrassed by their first book. In retrospect it might seem gauche, pretentious, misconceived or a false step. All established authors will of course have written a first book, and it is likely to be reprinted when they become successful.| National Library of Scotland Blog
We recently added the programme for Sugar Ray Robinson’s fight at Paisley Ice Rink to the collections. His visit to Scotland was a big deal and the charismatic and charming Robinson attracted a lot of coverage. He was photographed and filmed pulling pints whilst wearing a snazzy houndstooth jacket in Leith, Edinburgh and gambling with a big pile of chips at the St Tropez Casino in Glasgow. He made an appearance at Ibrox on the day of a Rangers home game against Dunfermline and to balance th...| National Library of Scotland Blog
We were recently pleased to be able to add a complete run of “Scoops” to the collections. “Scoops” was a weekly published by C.A. Pearson of London from 10th February to 23rd June 1934. It is important because it is considered to be the first British science fiction magazine. Our copies are in almost perfect condition perhaps because they are bound in a suitably space-aged looking metallic silver cover.| National Library of Scotland Blog
The picture at the top of this blog is of the first edition of “The Dumb House: A Chamber Novel” (1997). The cover illustration is “The Letter” by Dutch painter Carel Willinik| National Library of Scotland Blog
Above is a detail from the cover of “Deacon Brodie, or, behind the mask” a 1901 novel by Dick Donovan, the complete cover is at the foot of this blog. William Brodie (1741-1788) was a seemingly respectable Edinburgh locksmith and cabinet-maker who was both deacon of a trades guild and a city councillor. By night […]| National Library of Scotland Blog
Sylvia Plath’s closest friends and family were sent a very special card for Christmas 1960. It was a small pamphlet that included her recent poem “A Winter Ship”. Although it was the size and shape of a Christmas card, this was much more than just a simple card . It was the first stand-alone publication by Plath. | National Library of Scotland Blog
The writers Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) and Len Deighton (1929-) were near contemporaries but otherwise would seem to have very little in common. Kerouac was a key figure in the Beat movement, celebrated for his stream of consciousness prose style in “On the Road” (1957) and other novels. Deighton is the bestselling author of well-crafted and carefully researched thrillers including “The IPCRESS File” ((1962) which was adapted into a successful 1965 film starring Michael Caine.| National Library of Scotland Blog
In October 2023 the National Library of Scotland bought a copy of the first Broons book published in 1939 by D.C. Thomson of Dundee Ltd. Now just over a year later we are putting it on public display in our Treasures gallery at our main building in George IV Bridge, Edinburgh.| National Library of Scotland Blog
Desperate Dan made his first appearance in issue 1 of the “The Dandy Comic” in December 1937 as reproduced above. “The Dandy Comic” was arguably Scotland’s greatest contribution to 20th century popular culture at least until a single mother completed her book about a boy wizard in an Edinburgh café in 1995. “The Dandy Comic” changed everything in British comics and would become the model for all future British funny comics including “The Beano” which was launched the follow...| National Library of Scotland Blog
Pictured above are the first editions of the translations of the works of Franz Kafka by Willa and Edwin Muir in order of publication, left to right. Between 1930 and 1949 Willa and Edwin Muir would bring the fiction of Franz Kafka to English readers for the first time and their translations would become the canonical English language editions for decades and remain in print today. “All serious students of fiction are much indebted to Mr and Mrs Edwin Muir for their translations of the work...| National Library of Scotland Blog
