First ever ‘Broons annual’ secured for the nation – after 84 years

National Library expected to put rare compliation on public display

They have been unwrapped as Christmas gifts for more than 80 years.

Delving into the annual compilation of the comic strip tales of tenement life for The Broons, “the happy family that makes every family happy,” was a festive tradition for generations of Scots at home and abroad.

Now the first ever edition of The Broons annual has been secured for the nation – due to its crucial place in Scotland’s literary and publishing history and its rarity.

National Library curator Ian Scott with its newly-acquired first edition of The Broons annual.

Complete editions are believed to be as rare as original copies of the Gutenberg Bible – the first book to be published in Europe.

The National Library of Scotland has announced the acquisition of the annual from 1939 after a long-running search to try to fill one of the most significant gaps in its archives.

Only a handful of the first editions of the annual, which features the work of celebrated comic strip artist Dudley D Watkins, are believed to be in existence.