Iain Dunn
1999/138 Iain Dunn interviewed at his home by Dr Heather Holmes on 24 August 1999
000 Date of start; location in career; art college training; obtaining a job; interview; names of artists; tasks of artists
063 Edwin Brown head of department; progression in Edwin Brown’s career; work undertaken
072 Size of art department; names of artists
078 Roles of artists; Bessie Inglis as botanical artist
093 Work in book layout; aspects of book layout; technical drawing
110 Work of Dennis Carribine; drawings for overseas works
122 Work on book layout; relations between art department and editorial; work in editorial department; work of caseroom; dealing out work; work in preparing layout
161 Length of time to prepare and produce a book
163 Takeover by Thomson Organisation; time and motion study; length of time to prepare a book; nature of preparation
183 Length of time between acceptance of manuscript and printing; not all books highly saleable
196 Ronnie Nelson; coming around the art department; enthusiasm for trains
205 Best sellers were school books
207 Attempts to get into the paperback market; producing illustrations for the book covers
217 Launch of westerns
227 Enjoyment of job; challenging nature of job; works particularly enjoyed; attention at work
248 Difficult jobs; relations with caseroom staff
257 Character of Edwin Brown; smoking; enthusiasm of job
266 Super department to work in
270 Break from Nelsons; working as an advertising manager in Dundee; return to Nelsons; return and notice to go to London or find another job
298 People moving down to London after takeover; difficulties of move
308 Move to work as staff artist on Scotsman newspaper; printing strike in newspaper industry; undertaking of freelance work; decision to go into teaching; teacher training
321 Impact of work in Nelsons and as advertising manager; use of experience in teaching at Melville College; teaching of print to schoolboys
344 Contacts with other departments; knowledge of people in vicinity of department
355 Advantages of one site location of all departments
361 Breaking demarcations; union membership; breaking of demarcations
377 Friendly nature of firm; different atmosphere today
381 Desire to work in Nelsons
384 Community; place of residence; walking home at mealtimes
388 Hours of work; time for lunch; breaks
395 Tea trolley; departmental kettle; way of taking breaks
407 Socialising; dances
412 Flannel dance
413 Annual trip
419 Views of editorial and art department by other departments; importance of their roles
429 Size of editorial department; names of members of staff and their characters
452 Ages of art department
459 Use of typefaces; names; limited range of typefaces; experimentation; keeping within budgets
500 Formula for layout; sizes
512 Working out layout; working with typographer’s formula; calculating layout; working with a budget; making a dummy paste up
562 Did not chose paper; lot of different types of paper used
575 Different editions
589 Move into photosetting; impact
596 Technological change; importance of photosetting and changes in composition; impact of linotype
619 Hand drawn lettering; move to letraset
625 Slowness of adoption of new technology
629 Modern methods of setting did not affect his work
632 Sheets from composing room
637 Composing department; size of department
642 Women employed in bindery; mundane jobs undertaken by women
647 Clothing
652 Art work commissioned to artists outwith Nelsons; names of artists; method of putting on lettering
690 Commissioned artwork and Nelson property
692 Storage of artwork; storage methods today
707 Work of Bessie Inglis and her commissions; notelets of Ben Lawers
729 Flower books; prestige productions
753 Contact with Ronnie Nelson
763 Christmas poem; reaction of workers to the poem
774 Ronnie Nelson’s Christmas cards
782 Contact with Managing Directors; Mr Cairns; relations with Mr Cairns
797 H P Morrison
804 Addressing Ronnie Nelson; relations with Mr Dickson and Miss Yule
813 Lupin calendar for National Trust
817 Hours of work
820 Holidays; length; time of yearEND