MILLAR, Andrew (1705-1768) — London
Map- & bookseller & publisher. Co-published Francis Grant, ‘The British Fishery recommended to Parliament. shewing the great importance of it, to the trade and navigation of this kingdom’ 1734, containing an untitled map of the British Isles, drawn and engraved by Alexander Gordon; sold, with others, Sir William Keith, ‘The history of the British plantations in America’ 1738, with maps; published, with Charles Hitch, Alexander Hamilton, ‘A new account of the East Indies’ 1744, with maps; John Adair (see BME 2011), A compleat and exact map of the Lothians containing the shires of Edinburgh, Haddington and Linlithgow : with a view of the country from Stirlingshire to Berwickshire in which is mark’d out the different marches of the rebels 1745, engraved by Thomas Kitchin and also sold by Mary Cooper (see BME 2011), promising further maps of “all the counties or shires in Scotland; with a general map of the whole” to be “speedily publish’d” (St. James’s Evening Post, Nov 7 1745) — a series which never appeared; John Elphinstone, A new & correct Mercator’s map of North Britain 1746, engraved by Kitchin; Thomas Kitchin, A chart of the coast of Ireland with the western coast of Great Britain 1746; Kitchin, A chart of the German Ocean 1746; Kitchin, A chart of the English Channel the Bay of Biscay with part of the Ocean & Mediterranean 1746; ‘The history of the wars of Alexander the Great : translated from Quintus Curtius … by John Digby’ 1747, with maps; ‘A complete system of geography’ 1747, with some seventy maps by Emanuel Bowen (see BME 2011), co-published with a conger of others; ‘Geographia Magnæ Britanniæ, or, correct maps of all the counties in England, Scotland, and Wales’ 1748, co-published with others; Thomas Kitchin, ‘Geographia Scotiæ’ 1749, with thirty-three maps, co-published with others; Emanuel Bowen, ‘A complete atlas, or distinct view of the known world : exhibited in sixty-eight maps’ 1752, co-published with others; William Camden, ‘Britannia : or, a chorographical description of Great Britain and Ireland’ 1753, including the old county maps of Robert Morden (see BME 2011), co-published with a conger of others, Millar having purchased a tenth-share in the publication in 1752; John Horsley, A map of Northumberland begun by the late Mr John Horsley F.R.S. continued by the surveyor that he employ’d 1754; A plan of Kennebek and Sagadahok Rivers, with the adjacent coasts 1755, engraved by Kitchin; John Mitchell, A map of the British and French dominions in North America, with the roads, distances, limits and extent of the settlements 1755 (eight-sheet), engraved by Kitchin; Charles Lucas, ‘An essay on waters’ 1756, with A plan of the Roman baths and stoves discovered under the Abby House at Bath; Dimitrie Cantemir, ‘The history of the growth and decay of the Othman Empire’ 1756, with a plan of Constantinople; Thomas Shaw, ‘Travels : or observations relating to several parts of Barbary and the Levant’ 1757, with maps, published with William Sandby; co-published ‘The conduct of Admiral Knowles on the late expedition set in a true light 1758, containing Carte de la Rade de Basque, engraved by Thomas Jefferys 1; ‘The proceedings of a general court-martial held in the Council-Chamber at Whitehall … the trial of Lieutenant-General Sir John Mordaunt’ 1758, with maps; James Ferguson (see BME 2011), ‘Astronomy explained upon Sir Isaac Newton’s principles, and made easy to those who have not studied mathematics’ 1759; Anton Friedrich Büsching, ‘A new system of geography’ 1762, with maps; ‘The American gazetteer : containing a distinct account of all the parts of the New World … illustrated with proper maps’ 1762, with Jacob and Richard Tonson — the maps engraved by John Gibson (see BME 2011); Lewis Sorel, A new and accurate chart of the coast of Africa 1763 (two-sheet), etc. Also published The Female Spectator 1744-1746, music, works on anatomy, architecture, fortification, medicine, prints, portraits, etc., and shared in the publication of a number of further map-illustrated works.
Born 8 Oct 1705 at Port Glasgow, Renfrewshire, and baptised 16 Oct, a son of the Reverend Robert Millar (1672-1752), the ecclesiastical historian, and his wife Elizabeth Kelso (1679-1759), who had married in 1702. Educated at Paisley and at Glasgow University, Millar was apprenticed to the Edinburgh bookseller James McEuen, founder of the Edinburgh Evening Courant, Scotland’s first regular newspaper. Millar worked in McEuen’s London shop and by 1727 was able to take over the premises ‘at Buchanan’s Head, against St. Clement’s Church in the Strand’ (Daily Post, 9 Jun 1727). He married Jane (Jean) Johnston (1710-1788), daughter of Andrew Johnston (see BME 2011), who provided a dowry of £500, at St. Luke Chelsea 23 Apr 1730. None of the couple’s children survived infancy. “On Thursday last Mr. Andrew Millar, bookseller in the Strand, presented his Majesty with the History of the Church under the Old Testament, from the Creation of the World to the present Time by the Rev. Mr. Robert Millar, and was graciously received” (Caledonian Mercury, 10 Dec 1730). Free (Stationers) by redemption 5 Dec 1738. He published many of the most notable authors of the period, including James Thomson (papers relating to an action brought by Millar against Robert Taylor over a pirated edition in 1767 are in the Norfolk Record Office), Henry Fielding (an assignment of a book by Fielding to Millar 1742 is in V&A), David Hume, Samuel Johnson, whose dictionary he published, paying well, Johnson noting that Millar had “raised the price of literature”. Papers relating to a number of legal cases involving Millar, mainly concerning copyright, are in NA. In 1742, Millar moved to larger premises in the Strand, reportedly Jacob Tonson’s old shop, opposite Catherine Street. In 1763 he was among the booksellers summoned to the House of Commons to be questioned over the publication of John Wilkes’ notorious North Briton No. 45. Millar handed over to running of the business to his former apprentice and eventual successor Thomas Cadell in 1764. He died 8 Jun 1768 at his Robert Adam-designed townhouse in Pall Mall. “He had not long ago retired from business, with an ample fortune, acquired by forty years unremitting industry and assiduity; in the course of which he published many great and useful works, which do honour to this country … his disposition was chearful, social, and friendly” (Scots Magazine, Jun 1768). His funeral was held at St. Luke Chelsea and he was buried at King’s Road Old Burial Ground (an obelisk erected by Millar to mark the family plot survives at Dovehouse Green). His estate was valued at £60,000, with William Strahan his executor — will in NA (PROB 11/940/163). His widow subsequently married Sir Alexander Grant. Millar’s part in the long-delayed publication of William Adam, ‘Vitruvius Scoticus’, which only eventually appeared in 1811, is given in Harris pp.94-104, throwing much light on the publishing practices of the period. See also Adam Budd, ‘Circulating enlightenment : the career and correspondence of Andrew Millar, 1725-1768’ (2020) and the University of Edinburgh’s ‘Andrew Millar Project’ website.
Buchanan’s Head, against St. Clement’s Church in the Strand — 1727-1742
Buchanan’s Head, over against Catherine Street in the Strand — 1744-1755
Strand — 1755-1764
Apprentices: Robert Spavan 1730 (£40); John Kelsey 1744 (£100); Thomas Cadell 1758 (£105). Employees: Thomas Becket; Robert Lawless; Samuel Bladon.
BBTI. BM. BNA. Chubb. EWP. Harris. Hodson (1984) (1989) (1997). Humphries & Smith. LG. LHD. Maxted (1983) (1984). McKenzie. Moir. NA. ODNB. Rodger. Russell. Tooley.