W & R Chambers

Chambers was established in Edinburgh in 1832, by brothers William and Robert. The firm played a leading role in pioneering cheap, good quality literature for middle and working class readers during the 19^th century. Chambers started off with separate bookstalls in Leith Walk, firstly selling second-hand books, then bought-in stock, before moving into printing small pamphlets of popular material such as Burns’poems.

The business expanded, establishing good relations with Sir Walter Scott, and in 1823 moved into premises in Edinburgh itself and continuing to print and publish material written by both Robert and William. As well as continuing to publish books on Scottish subjects, in February 1832 the brothers established a fortnightly journal for the mass-market Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal. It was inexpensive, and its content included fiction, but avoided both politics and religion, and it lasted (renamed as Chambers’ Journal) until 1956.

The firm also published other serials for mass-market, for example, Information for the People and Chambers’ Educational Course, and from 1860, the first edition of Chambers’ Encyclopaedia began to appear in weekly numbers, later collected in 10 volumes. During the twentieth century, the firm remained in business, concentrating on the educational and reference book markets, although it has continued to publish books on Scottish subjects.

The company archive is available at the National Library of Scotland.

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