Andrew Barclay

Andrew Barclay (1737–1823) was a Scottish bookbinder who emigrated from Kinross, Fifeshire, to Boston in the British-American colonies in the mid-eighteenth century. As the American Revolutionary War drew near, Barclay sided with the Loyalists and was compelled to leave Boston when the British were driven out in March 1776. Upon leaving Boston he was assigned a command in charge of getting Loyalist refugees out of Boston to Nova Scotia. Soon after, he continued his trade in British-occupied New York for the duration of the war. Bookbinder's trade labels like Barclay's, found on the inside cover of some of his works, are considered a rarity among books printed in colonial America. Background Andrew Barclay was born in a small rural town called Cleish, near Kinross, Fifeshire. He was the third born son, of four sons, of James Barclay, and his wife, Marion. He was baptized on 31 March 1738. Little else is known of his youth and family life in Scotland. Barclay was one of a group of Scottish bookbinders and booksellers who, at the age of 21, emigrated to the colonies and worked in Boston before and during the War for American Independence. His brother John arrived at Boston six years thereafter. A small percentage of bookbinders ever distinguished their work by including their signature trade label on the inside cover of the works they bound. Subsequently bookbinder's trade labels are seldom found in the various works that were published in eighteenth-century colonial America. The various works bound by Andrew Barclay containing such labels are considered among the rare exceptions to that advent, with only a few known surviving examples. Historians in this field have searched the rare book departments in various public and university libraries for these labels and have only found several examples. They maintain that the books containing binder's trade labels have largely gone unnoticed or unidentified and hope that more examples are yet to be found pending continued searches. Before 1750 most bookbinders established their trade in Boston simply because its numerous religious establishments produced the largest quantity of printed religious literature that needed binding. As the ideals of revolution and independence became more prevalent Barclay sympathized with the Loyalists.