Archives of the University of Glasgow

The Clerk's Press is the oldest surviving piece of university furniture and was acquired in 1634 to hold such records.

These collections reflect the contribution and breadth of activity that Scotland's business, industry and enterprise has made past and present to the world economy.

The collections were inaugurated by Sydney Checkland, the first professor of Economic History, in 1959 and have been managed by the University Archives since 1975.

The collection of shipbuilding records, many held on behalf of the National Archives of Scotland, is unrivalled and includes those of John Brown of Clydebank, the builders of the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary, William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton, Lithgows of Port Glasgow and Scotts of Greenock, the world's senior shipbuilder.

Also included are the records of important national and international companies such as North British Locomotive Co, the world's largest locomotive works in 1900; James Finlay & Sons, East India merchants; Gourock Ropeworks Co and their New Lanark Mills, now a world heritage site; J & P Coats, world dominant Paisley thread manufacturers; the House of Fraser department store group; Anchor Line, cruise and emigrant passenger shipping company; Ivory & Sime, Edinburgh investment trust managers; Babcock & Wilcox, boiler-makers; Lloyds TSB, Scotland; and the major Scottish brewing and distilling companies, such as Tennents and Scottish & Newcastle.