James Thin was, until 2002, the principal academic bookshop in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, with its main premises near the University of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

 in Infirmary Street. It also had branches in other cities, including Perth

Perth, Scotland

Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...

 and Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

.

The firm was founded by James Thin (1824-1915), taking over the assets of an earlier bookseller. The business grew and expanded, and brought James Thin a significant role in Edinburgh intellectual society. The author Muriel Spark

Muriel Spark

Dame Muriel Spark, DBE was an award-winning Scottish novelist. In 2008 The Times newspaper named Spark in its list of "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945".-Early life:...

 wrote all her novels on 72-page notebooks from James Thin.

In 1870, James Thin purchased a plot of land in Stow ( Stow of Wedale ) in the Scottish Borders and had a house built which was completed in 1873 and was named Ashlea. This house is still a private residence but is not owned by the Thin family.

The firm developed branches in George Street, The Gyle, Buccleuch Street and Edinburgh University's King's Buildings, Heriot-Watt University

Heriot-Watt University

Heriot-Watt University is a university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The name commemorates George Heriot, the 16th century financier to King James, and James Watt, the great 18th century inventor and engineer....

, Napier University, and Queen Margaret University, as well as the St. Andrews University Students' Association, Crichton College in Dumfries

Dumfries

Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...

 and University of Huddersfield

University of Huddersfield

The University of Huddersfield is a university located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England.- History :The University traces its roots back to a Science and Mechanic Institute founded in 1825...

, and also school bookshops at Fettes College

Fettes College

Fettes College is an independent school for boarding and day pupils in Edinburgh, Scotland with over two thirds of its pupils in residence on campus...

, Merchiston Castle School

Merchiston Castle School

Merchiston Castle School is an independent school for boys in the village of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has about 480 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 8 and 18 as either boarders or day pupils; day pupils make up 35% of the school....

 and Edinburgh Academy

Edinburgh Academy

The Edinburgh Academy is an independent school which was opened in 1824. The original building, in Henderson Row on the northern fringe of the New Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, is now part of the Senior School...

.

In January 2002 the business went into administration. The company's general bookstores were sold in March 2002 to another chain, Ottakar's

Ottakar's

Ottakar's was a chain of bookshops in the United Kingdom founded in 1987 by James Heneage. Following a takeover by the HMV Group plc in 2006, the chain was merged into the Waterstone's brand.-History:...

. In April 2002 the publishing division Mercat Press

Mercat Press

Mercat Press is an imprint of the Edinburgh, Scotland-based publishing company Birlinn Limited. It was established in 1970 as a subsidiary of the bookseller James Thin, and published facsimile editions of out-of-print Scottish works, such as the five-volume The Castellated and Domestic Architecture...

 was bought out by its management, and the rest of the business sold to Blackwell's

Blackwell's

Blackwell UK Ltd is a national chain of bookshops, online retail, mail order and library supply services in the United Kingdom, which has an annual turnover of £74 million...

 of Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

, who now operate the former flagship branch on Edinburgh's Infirmary Street.

The accounts, administrative and staff records of the firm are deposited in the National Library of Scotland

National Library of Scotland

The National Library of Scotland is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. It is based in a collection of buildings in Edinburgh city centre. The headquarters is on George IV Bridge, between the Old Town and the university quarter...

(Acc. 12384).