Burns and Harris, Ltd

Burns and Harris, Ltd (1886 - 2012) was a British printer in Dundee, Scotland. The firm was founded in 1886 by stationer William Burns and William Harris, both employees of printer William Kidd, at 112 Nethergate in Dundee, operating as a stationer, printer, and bookseller. The company combined a retail shop with a printshop behind it, the latter including both letterpress and lithographic processes. By the end of the decade, the company was expanding and moved twice into larger premises in the early 1890s. They were particularly successful in printing colorful labels for distillers and confectioners. Despite their printshop burning down at one point in the early 20th century, the company continued to flourish and in 1927 bought the rights to print the Dundee Directory, which they printed until 1974 and for which they are best known. After the death of the company's founders, it continued to be managed by the descendants of William Burns. The printing business merged with George E. Findlay and Co., Ltd., in April 1995, after which the combined firm operated for several years before closing (one of its former printworks was rehabbed as an office and arts space). The stationary retail arm of Burns and Harris continued to thrive into the 21st century but eventually closed in 2012. An early and longtime employee of Burns and Harris, George Langlands Harley, eventually founded his own firm in 1904, also in Dundee, which later became Harley and Cox in partnership with William Cox and operated until Cox died in 1944.