THE doyen of Glasgow artist-engravers was born at
Aberdeen, 11th July, 1814, and began his business career on 10th May, 1831, as
an apprentice with Mr. John Kiloh in the Granite City. Seven years later he was
engaged by Thomas Atkinson, Glasgow, to join his staff as chief engraver. After
Mr, Atkinson's death in 1841, Mr. Dean spent five years with another firm of
engravers; then, on 1st May, 1846, joined the late Mr. J. B. Gilmour in
establishing the firm of Gilmour & Dean. Mr. Gilmour died in 1891, and Mr. Dean
carried on the business himself till 1905, when it was formed into a limited
liability company, with himself as chairman. Among their many works, Messrs.
Gilmour & Dean are well known as producers of the weekly cartoon in The Bailie
newspaper.
While Mr. Gilmour was the business man of the firm Mr. Dean
was the artist and engraver. Among other details of his connection with the
practical work of the firm it may be mentioned that he took sole charge of the
work of designing and engraving bank notes. So successful and so fortunate was
the firm in this department that during the course of the twenty-seven years, in
which millions of notes of the City of Glasgow Bank passed through their hands,
not a single mistake occurred. For many years the whole of the designing of the
pictorial and ornamental subjects in the work of the firm passed through Mr.
Dean's hands. At the present hour no one in the city probably has a greater fund
of anecdotes and reminiscences of the men and manners of the Glasgow of the last
three quarters of a century than Mr. A. D. Dean.
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Index of Glasgow Men (1909)