Archibald Guillan was born on 18 October 1790 in the parish of Kilconquhar, Fifeshire, Scotland. Having completed an apprenticeship in bookbinding in Fifeshire he moved Edinburgh and then to London in 1815, before returning to Scotland the following year and starting his own business. He worked as a bookbinder until the age of 94, before passing away on 30 May 1891 at the age of 101.