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Interleaved copy of Scots Musical Museum, 4 volumes annotated by Robert Burns

Key details

Archive number
NTS/02/25/BRN/02/213
Alt. number
3.3009.a-d
Date
1787 to 1796
On display
No
Creator
Johnson, James (Editor)
Johnson & Co (Publisher)

Description

Interleaved copy of Scots Musical Museum, 4 volumes annotated by Robert Burns.

Interleaved page in the Scots Musical Museum Volume in which Burns has written a version of the words to Auld Lang Syne adjacent to a page of music which he prefaces with the comment "The Original & by much the best set of the words of this song."

This is one of the few original versions of the famous poem by Robert Burns and varies only slightly from the published version in the first verse. This version is the same as that sent to Thomson in Sept 1793.

This copy of Johnson's Scots Musical Museum, was in the possession of Burns's neighbour Robert Riddell at Friars Carse when he farmed at Ellisland.

Burns liked the Scots phrase ‘auld lang syne’ [for old times’ sake] which he thought ‘exceedingly expressive’. In this copy he wrote an improved version of the song alongside poet Allan Ramsay’s earlier work. It is Burns’s words that we use today.

Archive information


Hierarchy

  1. Robert Burns, collection of poems and songs ( )
  2. Interleaved copy of Scots Musical Museum, 4 volumes annotated by Robert Burns