The teeming nature of life in eighteenth-century Edinburgh elevated the Old Town’s taverns to a critical role in the city’s social life, and there was ‘no superabundance of sobriety in the town’.

Much of the business life of the city was carried out in taverns where it was even normal for doctors to consult their patients.

The Edinburgh taverns of the eighteenth century are described as having ‘a coarse and darksome snugness which was courted by their worshippers’.

These earlier basic hostelries were swept away during the period 1880–1910, which is recognised as the golden age of pub design. These new pubs were decorated with an abundance of spectacular ornaments to attract customers into their shining interiors.

Product Information:
• ISBN: 9781445652597
• Author: Jack Gillon
• Publisher: Amberley Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 96
• Dimensions: 23.5 x 16.5 x 1cm