Thomas Murray & Son

THOMAS MURRAY & SON, Publishers, Wholesale Booksellers, and Stationers, 68, Buchanan Street, Glasgow.

    A very interesting example of continuous and uninterrupted commercial development in Glasgow, in connection with the publishing and bookselling business, is afforded by the important and widely-supported business which, for nearly three-quarters of a century, has recognised Mr. Thomas Murray as its founder. The business, established in 1820, is certainly one of the oldest, as well as the most popular, in Glasgow, and it has always maintained a high-class character for the excellency of the work it has accomplished and for the value of the literary productions which emanate from its busily active press.

    The premises occupied by the firm in Buchanan Street comprise a magnificent shop, having a spacious frontage and a depth of some 90ft. They are fitted throughout with elegant appointments in ebony and gold, while the finest of showcases are appropriated to the display of a large and attractive stock. The most ample space is afforded for the storage of an immense range of books, the wall shelves from floor to ceiling being literally packed to repletion with all the most acceptable literature of the day. The resources which Messrs. Thomas Murray and Son have provided for a widespread reading public are duly displayed by means of the Circulating Library, established on the principle of Mudie’s, in 1872, under the auspices of the “Glasgow Reading Club”

     Another department of the business is devoted to leather goods, of which there is a most comprehensive display. The department of stationery embraces all kinds of writing papers, envelopes, and materials for the use of the school, the office, and the study, and buyers anxious to possess the most elegant novelties in writing material would do well to visit the firm’s splendid emporium before making their purchases in these goods. As booksellers, stationers, and dealers in fancy goods, Messrs. Murray and Son have engaged comprehensively in every conceivable branch and department to which those terms may properly apply. The stock is at all times replenished with the latest and most novel productions in goods alike useful and ornamental from the smallest picture frame to the most elaborate photographic view representative of the scenery of Scotland.

    As publishers, Messrs. Thomas Murray and Son have attained a position which has been well endorsed by the consensus of cultured opinion throughout the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, and in every respect it must be acknowledged that the firm’s business fulfils a very important sphere in the daily commerce of the great commercial metropolis of the Kingdom.

    The personnel of the firm at the present time is confined exclusively to J. H. Gibson, Esq., a gentleman who joined Mr. William Murray in 1874. It may be mentioned that Mr. Thomas Murray, the founder of the business, retired from the concern in 1864, and, to the unspeakable regret of a large circle of friends in all parts of the Kingdom, he died twenty years later. Mr. Gibson, partly at the earnest request of his late partner and partly from a sense of the value which attaches to the conservation of old and honoured mercantile designations, still continues to retain the old firm-style, a course which will assuredly meet the approval of all the elite of Glasgow, whose patronage the house has so long enjoyed. Mr. Gibson is a gentleman who is alike well known and deservedly respected outside business circles. A large share of the popularity which the firm undoubtedly enjoys results from his highly efficient administration ; and, possessing every qualification of practical skill and long experience, his personal courtesy and untiring efforts to meet the requirements of the firm’s clientele have secured for the house he represents a notable measure of appreciation and commercial support.

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