The Scots Musical Museum, Humbly Dedicated to the Catch Club. Instituted at Edinr. June 1771.

JOHNSON, James [Editor]; Robert Burns [Contributor].

$26,000.00

Item Number: 147856

Edinburgh: James Johnson, 1787 and 1790.

First edition, first issue of this influential collection of traditional folk music of Scotland. Octavo, two volumes comprised of volumes one and three out of six, bound in full contemporary calf with gilt ruling to the spines, vignettes to the title pages, engraved throughout with musical stanzas. Presentation copy, inscribed by Robert Burns on the title page of volume one, “To Mr. Whyter from Robt. Burns” and on the verso of the title page of volume three, “Remember me! Ro. B.” Robert Burns contributed some 200 songs, new or adapted to the successive volumes of The Scots Musical Museum. In good condition with bumping and rubbing to the extremities, losses to the hinges of both volumes, splitting to the spine of volume three, final leaf in volume one trimmed by binder into plate mark volumes one lacks five leaves from pages 23-24, 49-52, 93-96. Housed in a custom cloth folding case. Rare.

Widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a "light Scots dialect" of English, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these writings his political or civil commentary is often at its bluntest. He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and after his death he became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism, and a cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish diaspora around the world.