FULLARTON, John Archibald (1804-1882) — Glasgow, Edinburgh & London
Publisher, printer & bookseller; stereotype founder. Produced Robert Scott, A map of Scotland distinguishing particularly the districts or countries inhabited by the highland clans 1842; ‘The parliamentary gazetteer of England and Wales’ 1843, using earlier maps from his father’s ‘A new and comprehensive gazetteer’ 1836, which he also republished; August Petermann, Portions of the Russian empire in eastern and western Asia ca.1850; ‘A gazetteer of the world, or, dictionary of geographical knowledge’ 1850-1856; George Heriot Swanston, Edinburgh & Leith 1851; ‘The royal illustrated atlas, of modern geography’ 1855-1860; George Heriot Swanston, City of Glasgow 1856; John Marius Wilson, ‘The imperial gazetteer of Scotland’ 1854-1857, with maps engraved by Swanston — also used in ‘The county atlas of Scotland in a series of thirty-two maps’ ca.1857; ‘The imperial atlas of England & Wales’ 1868-1872; John Bartholomew 2, ‘A descriptive hand-atlas of the world’ 1871, etc. See BME 2011 for names in bold.
Born in Glasgow 2 Dec 1804, the son of Archibald Fullarton and his first wife Mary McNaughton, who married in 1802. Originally trained as a surgeon and was so described when he married Helen (Ellen) Porteous Frew (1807-1891), with whom he had a number of children, at Glasgow 3 Mar 1829. Had become a partner in ‘Archibald Fullarton & Co.’ by 1835 and took over the business on the death of his father in 1836. In 1839-1840 a copyright action brought by Samuel Lewis of London against Fullarton resulted in the ‘New and comprehensive gazetteer’ being found inherently plagiaristic — an important precedent in copyright law relating to works of reference. The partners in 1846 were Fullarton, John Macnab, and George Godfrey Cunningham, with the last retiring in that year. The firm also had agencies, offices and addresses in other towns, including London. By 1851, two sons — Archibald Fullarton (1830-1911), who later emigrated to the United States, and William Frew Fullarton (b.1833) were working in the business, with a further son, John Fullarton (1836-1871) also involved by 1861. In the first case brought under the new Literary Copyright Act of 1842, Fullarton was again sued for plagiarism in Jun 1852, on this occasion by Sir William Johnston and Alexander Keith Johnston, bringing the action as the ‘Atlas Company of Scotland’. Fullarton was again found guilty, but the jury only awarded damages of £200, a fraction of what the Johnstons had asked (see C&C for details, as well as J. M. Duncan, ‘Report of the trial at the instance of the Atlas Company of Scotland [W. and A. K. Johnston] against A. Fullarton and Company publishers … tried before a jury at Edinburgh’ 1853. Fullarton also had interests in coal and glass companies. John Macnab retired as a partner in 1867, by which time the younger Archibald Fullarton was a full partner. Became a Justice of the Peace 1868. He had retired by 11 May 1881, when he was admitted to Saughtonhall Asylum, Edinburgh, where he died 8 Jun 1882. He was buried two days later in Warriston Cemetery. See BME 2011 for names in bold.
34 Hutcheson Street, Glasgow — 1835-1837
— and Villafield, Glasgow — 1835-1843
— and 6 Roxburgh Place, Edinburgh — 1836-1840
110 Brunswick Street. Glasgow — 1838-1843
— and 12 King Square, Goswell Road, London — 1840
— Pewton Place, Glasgow (home) — 1841
— and 5 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh — 1841-1845
Stead’s Place, Leith Walk, Edinburgh — 1844-1868
— and 4 Argyll Street, Glasgow — 1844-1846
— and 15 College Street, Edinburgh — 1845-1848
— and 1 Argyll Arcade. Glasgow — 1847-1848
— and 106 Newgate Street, London — 1846-1855
— and 40 Union Street, Glasgow — 1849-1860
— 6 Abercromby Place, Edinburgh (home) — 1852-1863
— 12 East Claremont Street, Edinburgh (home) — 1867-1876
— 23 Claremont Crescent, Edinburgh (home) — 1877-1879
— 5 Queensberry Terrace, Edinburgh (home) — 1880-1881
BNA. C&C. Census 1841, 1861-1881. Chubb. SBTI.