Friends of Kelso Library visit Smails of Innerleithen

Friends of Kelso Library

Visit to Smails of Innerleithen
Friday 19th September 2008

A fascinating afternoon was had by a group of 10 members of Friends of Kelso Library, when they visited Smails of Innerleithen.

The Printworks is a treasure trove of archive material as the Smails did not throw anything away, everything from funeral notices to fair advertising has been kept.
The National Trust for Scotland acquired the property and all the accumulated paperwork and they have transformed the industrial site in to a very interesting visitor attraction.

Rachel was our first guide who took us through all the papers that had been kept, this providing a fascinating snapshot into the social history of the area. Smails were shipping agents for a time and these records gives details of people leaving the country. Rachel told us that the only round trip that was sold was for Mr and Mrs Ballantyne – the knitwear company owners and that was for a trip to New York.

Gen was upstairs in the compositors place – it had lots of natural light to allow them to see the very small type that was used in newsprint. After we had all made a bookmark to remind us of our visit, we moved to the machine room.

Tony took us through the different machines and their practical uses. One of them had to be peddled like a treadle sewing machine, very hard work indeed!

All the staff were very enthusiastic about their place of work and this shone through in their informative talks.

The shop was visited for souvenirs and one or two of the group went on to sample the wares of the famous frozen dessert shop along the street.

RMH