Mercat Press is an imprint

Imprint

In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...

 of the 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...

-based publishing

Publishing

Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...

 company Birlinn Limited

Birlinn Limited

Birlinn Limited is an independent publishing house based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Established in 1992 by Managing Director Hugh Andrew, Birlinn Limited is composed of a number of imprints, including, among others:...

. It was established in 1970 as a subsidiary of the bookseller James Thin

James Thin

James Thin was, until 2002, the principal academic bookshop in Edinburgh, Scotland, with its main premises near the University of Edinburgh in Infirmary Street. It also had branches in other cities, including Perth and Dundee....

, and published facsimile editions of out-of-print Scottish works, such as the five-volume The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland by MacGibbon and Ross

MacGibbon and Ross

David MacGibbon and Thomas Ross were Scottish architects. Their practice, MacGibbon and Ross was established in 1872 and continued until 1914...

. Mercat was bought out by its management after James Thin went into administration in 2002, becoming an independent publisher. In 2007 Mercat Press was taken over by Birlinn Limited

Birlinn Limited

Birlinn Limited is an independent publishing house based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Established in 1992 by Managing Director Hugh Andrew, Birlinn Limited is composed of a number of imprints, including, among others:...

, another Edinburgh-based publishing house, who now publish outdoor books, such as walking, climbing and cycling guides, under the Mercat imprint.