ABSTRACT
Glasgow was one of the most important centres of industry in the late nineteenth century but its fortune had originally been made in commerce. As the notion of an Industrial Revolution would suggest, Glasgow was not alone in shifting its focus from commerce to industry. The 'very prudent' method of operating the Glasgow tobacco trade was described by John Gibson. In the middle of the eighteenth century Glasgow traders began to set up agents, resident in the colonies, who received the goods intended to be bartered for tobacco. The Glasgow tobacco trade was relatively short-lived though. The amount of dirty and difficult manual work involved in turn-of-the-century office operations is something which is apt to be forgotten by the modern historian or social scientist. Most academics consider themselves familiar with modern office environments and may tend to carry the picture of those places with them in considering life in the late nineteenth century office.
