Abstract James Aird stands at the forefront of music printing in Glasgow, introducing a style of business that had been attempted sporadically in the city prior to his own first endeavours in 1782. His initial establishment opened c. 1776 and grew into a successful music publishing business, with about one hundred attributable works surviving today. Aird survived the financial challenge of sequestration, not uncommon in the local business community, and in the last months of his life faced a bitter legal case. His legacy is evident in the output of his immediate successors, who bought some of his printing plates after his death to establish and sustain their own publishing houses. This article reviews the few details already known about Aird’s career and augments these using newly uncovered archival documents. The appendix provides the fullest list to date of his publications, including lost works.
Elaine Moohan (Tue,) studied this question.