Mitchell was born in Linlithgow on 19 September 1789, into a long-established family of tobacco merchants and burghers. On the death of his father in 1820 he took over the running of the business, which transferred to Glasgow in 1825, initially in Candleriggs and from 1832 in St Andrew's Square.
Mitchell retired in 1859 and moved Moffat, where he died on 21 April 1874 following a fall. He neither married nor took part in public affairs, but his wide reading led to the bequest of £66,998 10s 6d for the establishment and maintenance of a large public library in Glasgow, "with all the modern accessories connected therewith".
The library was to be known as the Mitchell Library, and no books were to be excluded on the grounds of contravening "present opinions on politics or religion". The Mitchell Library was opened to the public in November 1877, initially with 14,432 volumes.
MR. STEPHEN MITCHELL, the founder of the public library in Glasgow which bears his name, was born on the 19th of September, 1789, at Linlithgow, in which ancient and famous royal burgh the family had been long settled. In 1723 Mr. Mitchell's great-grandfather, Stephen Mitchell, was admitted a burgess and guild-brother of Linlithgow, and in the same year established a tobacco manufacturing business which, after the lapse of more than a hundred and sixty years, is still carried on by descendants bearing his own name, a circumstance which can have few, if any, parallels in the records of Scottish trade and industry. The successive heads of the house maintained their position as burgesses of Linlithgow, and the present principal of the firm, Mr. Stephen Mitchell, the fifth of the name in succession (to whom we are indebted for information kindly given), has in his possession the burgess tickets of the founder of the business, dated 1723; of the second Stephen Mitchell, 1766; of the third, 1789; and of the fourth (the founder of the library), 1817.
Mr. Mitchell's life, though a long one, was not eventful. He was educated at the grammar school of his native town, and in 1805 was apprenticed to Messrs. James Anderson & Co., merchants, of Leith and London, for four years. At the expiry of this term he joined the family business at Linlithgow; and after the death of his father, about 1820, assumed the direction of it, in association with his younger brother, Mr. Nelson Mitchell. In 1825 the business was removed to Glasgow, where it has since been carried on, for seven years in the Candleriggs, and since 1832 in St. Andrew's Square. The style of the firm, Stephen Mitchell & Son, has been unchanged for more than a century. Mr. Mitchell retired from active participation in the business in 1859, and from that time till his death lived in retirement, chiefly at Moffat, where he died 21st April, 1874, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. His death was the result of an accidental fall.
In person, Mr. Mitchell is described as tall and handsome; in disposition, reserved; in habit, exact, methodical, and punctual. He was a member of the Church of Scotland. For many years he travelled much on the continent of Europe, principally in France and Germany. He never married; nor did he take part in public affairs. He was a man of wide reading, and in this characteristic may not improbably be seen the suggestion of his munificent bequest.
After providing for some legacies and annuities Mr. Mitchell's will directed that the residue of his estate should be applied in the establishment and maintenance of a large public library in Glasgow, "with all the modern accessories connected therewith." The amount paid by his trustees to the Town Council was £66,998 10s. 6d. The principal provisions of the trust deed, which were embodied in a constitution, were the following:- That the library was to be known as The Mitchell Library; that the amount of the bequest was to be allowed to remain at interest until it amounted to £70,000, or if thought necessary a larger sum, before a commencement was made; that in the selection of books to form the library, no books should be excluded on the ground that they contravene present opinions on politics or religion; that the library should be freely open to the public under suitable regulations; that contributions of money or of books might be accepted; and that collections of books might be kept together and known by the donor's or other distinctive name.
In accordance with the constitution, the Committee appointed by the Town Council, under the convenership of ex-Bailie Salmon, proceeded with the organization of the library, which was opened for public use in November, 1877. The principles upon which the selection of the books proceeded were these: "That the library should represent every phase of human thought and every variety of opinion; that books of permanent value and standard interest should form the principal portion of the library, and that modern books of value and importance should be added from time to time; and that it should contain rare and costly works."
The portrait is from a bust executed by Mr. John Mossman for the Town Council.
The limits of the present notice do not permit even a sketch of the progress of the library. It must suffice to say that it at once gave proof of the reality of the need which it supplied. From the first day to the present time its history has been a continuous record of useful and successful progress. Each year has seen large additions made to its store of books. Each year has seen it visited and valued by very large numbers of the citizens. Opened in 1877 with 14,432 volumes, it now has 58,000. On the first day the number of volumes called for was 186; during the last five years the average daily number has been from 1,200 to 1,400, and the whole number from the commencement more than two millions and three quarters, excluding a use of current magazines and periodicals approaching the same amount.
Of the books acquired about one third in number have been bequeathed or presented. The most important contribution yet received was the bequest by ex-Bailie Moir, of his excellent library of 3,000 volumes and 1,000 pamphlets, together with the residue of his estate, amounting to £11,500, for the purchase of additional books, to be kept together and placed in the library under the name of The Moir Collection. Many other gifts, and some bequests, have been made, which will be found duly recorded in the annual reports issued by the Committee, in the convenership of which Preceptor Wilson succeeded ex-Bailie Salmon in 1878.
The library has hitherto been placed in a building in Ingram Street, and occupies two large flats, of one of which the free use has been very liberally granted by the owner, Bailie Neil. These premises have long been utterly inadequate to the needs of the library. Both as to the placing of the books and the accommodation of readers a very much larger space is required; and the want of it has prevented an even greater progress than has actually been made.
While full attention has been devoted to the provision of good books in general literature, there have been formed three special collections, each of which is now probably much the largest of its kind, and each of which gives promise of becoming a complete representation of the subject it is intended to illustrate.
The largest of these is "The Poets' Corner," a collection of the works of all Scottish poets and verse writers, and of books relating to them. This includes a library of Burns literature, comprising the various editions of his works, numbering about a thousand volumes and pamphlets. The whole number in "The Poets' Corner" is nearly five thousand, and about two thousand authors are represented.
The "Glasgow Collection" includes copies of all "books, pamphlets, periodical publications, maps, plans, and generally all papers which illustrate the city's growth and life." It now contains about 2,500 books, great and small.
The collection of "early Glasgow printing" consists of books, etc., printed in Glasgow previous to the present century. It contains about 850 volumes, the work of more than sixty Glasgow presses, from the fist print executed in Glasgow by George Anderson in 1638; and includes 350 from the famous house of Robert and Andrew Foulis.
It is not possible in the case of a public library to accurately measure the advantage which its visitors derive from it: but when it is seen that year after year numbers of all classes and all ages obtain an acquaintance with the great works of our literature; that students come again and again for the study of the textbooks of their special subjects; that artizans obtain the technical works relating to their several trades; and that in numberless instances time that would otherwise be spent idly or worse, is occupied with instruction or entertainment, it cannot be doubted that a great power is exerted for the good both of individuals and the community. In view of the beneficent influence of the institution he founded, Mr. Mitchell's name will be ever kept in honourable remembrance by the citizens of Glasgow.
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