Robert Smail's Printing Works

Robert Smail's Printing Works is a fully functional Victorian era letterpress printing works in the small Scottish Borders town of Innerleithen, now preserved by The National Trust for Scotland as an Industrial Heritage museum showing visitors the operation of a local printer around 1900, while still carrying out orders for printing and stationery. While it may seem hard to believe today, Innerleithen was described as a ‘boom town’ when Robert Smail set up his first business there in 1856. He was inspired to move into printing by his brother Thomas, who already ran a successful printing and bookselling business in Jedburgh. Spurred on by his success, Robert bought the works in 1866 for £500 and set about acquiring the machinery, while still selling books, stationery and fishing tackle. When Robert died in 1890, his three sons took over the business. Robert Cowan Smail swiftly became the driving force behind the firm, sending his two brothers out to canvass for business while he worked long hours on his father’s trusty machinery; he also developed a shipping agency business from the office. The youngest brother Adam served in the First World War but was tragically killed in 1930, struck by lightning while he fished in the River Tweed. The third generation took over in 1950 when Robert Cowan died, passing the business on to his son Cowan. The property came into NTS ownership almost by happy accident. By 1986 Cowan, now in his mid-70s, was keen to retire and very nearly sold the premises to a newsagent. Maurice Rickards, founder of the Ephemera Society, just happened to be passing when he spied the ‘for sale’ sign in the shop window. He alerted the Trust, who made the unprecedented decision of purchasing the works and its contents to keep this precious gem of printing history alive today.