ABSTRACT
scottish business history, like Scottish local history, has been left largely to the amateur, in this case, often a partner or employee of the firm. Many such publications are compounded of anecdote and reminiscence, and lack documentation, or are compilations of technical detail, omitting most that is of interest to the economic historian. Some celebrate the centenary or other anniversary of the firm’s foundation; the business expansion of the mid-nineteenth century is responsible for a large crop in recent years. The caption ‘First Hundred Years’ or ‘Jubilee’ appears with wearisome reiteration, occasionally varied by some flowery phrase. They vary very much in extent and quality; some of the better contain valuable background material; particularly surveys of economic conditions at the date of the firm’s foundation. Latterly, there has been a trend towards commissioning a writer—often a journalist—to compose the volume, and admitting him to the company’s records. The nationalisation of some enterprises after the late War encouraged this tendency. Only rarely as yet—notably in Carron Company—has the task been assigned to a professional expert.
