Archibald Constable

[1] In 1788 Archibald was apprenticed to Peter Hill, an Edinburgh bookseller, based on the High Street south of the 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.

Writers for the Edinburgh Review were paid at an unprecedented rate, and Constable offered Scott 1000 guineas in advance for Marmion.

[1] 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).

[4] In 1808 a split took place between Constable and Sir Walter Scott, who transferred his business to the publishing firm of John Ballantyne & Co., for which he supplied most of the capital.

The collection, comprising 3,716 pre-1800 volumes which ones belonged to Spain's 14th Marquis of Astorga, is now held by the National Library of Scotland.

[1] 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.

[16] Their son was also Archibald David Constable FRSE LLD (1843-1915), named after his grandfather, and followed in the family tradition as a printer.

[17][18] Their daughter, Elizabeth Constable (d.1818) married his junior publishing partner, Robert Cadell of Ratho.