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Tag Archives: Burnsiana

Friday Gem – Some Etchings From Burns, By R. Bryden of Ayr

26 Thursday Apr 2012

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Artist, Ayrshire, Burnsiana, Digitisation, Dumfries, Etching, Friday Gem, Halloween, History, Illustration, Painting, Poetry, Scotland


Following on from this weeks feature on Broughton House,  today’s Friday Gem feature some exquisite etchings of scenes from poems of Robert Burns. Done by the Ayrshire artist Robert Bryden, they have been digitised from a series of signed proof sheets of etchings entitled Some Etchings from Burns. The accompanying texts offer commentary and historical background on the Bryden’s illustrations, and the portrait of Burns after the original by Alexander Nasmyth. These sheets may be proof copies for a limited edition of 50 copies to commemorate the centenary of Burns’s death.

Halloween

The eve of the festival of All Saints, on the last night of October, which goes under the name of Hallowe’en, is now little observed among us. Still, in some country districts, a few of the old practices are kept up. Nuts are burned, and apples “dookit” for, and mashed potatoes eaten in the hope of securing the ring, the thimble, or the threepenny-bit, which foretell the future. Children, too, wander abroad with masks on their faces to counterfeit bogles, while others go about with turnip-lanterns to scare the bogles away. But the old order which believed in these things is fast giving place to the new, which believes in none of them. It was all the more fortunate, therefore, that Burns embalmed the superstitions as well as the fun and frolie of Hallowe’en, before these had for even been forgotten.

“Some merry, friendly, country-folks

Together did convene

To burn their nits, and pou their stocks,

An’ haud their Hallowe’en.”


The Jolly Beggars

This scene takes us to Mauchline, where Poosie-Nancy kept her famous lodging-house. The poem of course introduces us to very low life indeed, but it is drawn with the utmost fidelity, and, besides, there is an elemnt of Bohemianism in most of us which makes us feel considerably at home even in Poosie-Nancy’s howff. In this wonderful cantata, as Carlyle says, “the blanket of the night is drawn asunder for a moment, and in full, ruddy, flaming light, these rough tatterdemalions are seen i their boisterous revel. Every face is a portrait; the strong pulse of life vindicates its right to gladness even here; and we feel that some other night in new combinations, they will again meet and wring from Fate another hour of wassail and good cheer.” Burns thought so little at the time of this poem that he left only one manuscript copy, but this was luckily preserved.

“Ae nicht at e’en, a merry core

O’ randie, gangrel bodies,

In Poosie-Nancy’s geld the splore,

To drink their orra duddies.”

Dr Hornbook

This scene belongs to Burn’s Tarbolton days. In the Freemasons’ Club of that village, of which Burns was a member, there was enrolled likewise one John Wilson, village teacher, who had taken it upon him to eke out a scanty livelihood by selling a few groceries and drugs, and giving a little medical advice in a quiet way. No harm of course in all this if done judiciously; but, ochainie! Burns and Wilson quarrelled one night and Robin, in his mad way, resolved to hit the dominie off in verse, or, as he said to the Dumfries lads afterwards, “to hing him up in sang like an auld potato bogle.” And the result was this terribly characteristic lampoon on the possibly bumptious, but otherwise decent schoolmaster. John Wilson, we are told, was “a dumpy elderly gentleman,” as here represented.

“Ye ken Jock Hornbook i’ the clachan,

Deil mak’ his king’s-hood in a spleuchan!

He’s grown sae weel acquaint wi’ *Buchan

An’ ither chaps,

The weans haud out their fingers laughin’,

And poul my hips.”

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Dumfries Museum & Robert Burns

01 Wednesday Feb 2012

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Burns House, Burnsiana, Clare Melinsky, David Lockwood, Dumfries, Dumfries Museum, Robert Burns

The second feature highlighting partners of the DNBC focuses upon Dumfries.

Burns obviously had close links with the area and after his death in 1796 the esteem with which he is held in Dumfries has only risen. Dumfries itself has been described as a ‘living museum to Burns’. Being based at Dumfries Museum also gives me access to these wonderful surroundings and heritage which the area is steeped in.

These fantastic images of Dumfries Museum, Burns House, and the Robert Burns Centre were all done by the very talented illustrator Clare Melinsky.

The slideshow below is one example of recent efforts to digitise the collections held within the partnership of the National Burns Collection. These Burnsiana postcards had previously been lying dormant. It is hoped that by providing access to the incredibly rich resources of the NBC the legacy of Burns can continue to grow. The postcards themselves represent a unique insight into how appreciative the people of Dumfries are when it comes to celebrating Scotland’s National Bard.

Take a look at some of the amazing images of Burns collected over the years at Dumfries Museum!

Find out more about the origins of Burns associatin with Dumfries by reading exercpts of ‘Celebrating the Legend’ by David Lockwood below:

First Contact

Robert Burns’ first contact with Dumfries and Galloway came in 1787 during a short tour of the Borders with his friend Bob Ainslie, a law student. Following the success of the Kilmarnock edition of his poems he found himself acclaimed as ‘Caledonia’s Bard’ by Edinburgh Society. The 3000 copies of the new Edinburgh edition were selling well and his fame had been further increased by an article about him in the ‘Lounger’, a weekly magazine. He arrived in Dumfries from Carlisle on 4th June. Dumfries Town Council immediately made him an honorary burgess, little knowing that one day he would come here to live. The main reason for his visit was to look at a farm offered to him by Patrick Miller, a director of the Bank of Scotland and chairman of the Carron Company in Falkirk. Miller, an admirer of Burns, had recently purchased the estate of Dalswinton, 6 miles north of Dumfries. He offered him the tenancy of one of the farms, Ellisland, on the banks of the Nith, at an advantageous rent:- seventy pounds a year restricted to £50 for the first three years. Burns had always been doubtful of earning his living by his pen and was looking for another means but when he saw the farm he was not impressed and was worried that the ‘bargain’ might ruin him. In March 1788, despite his misgivings, he signed the lease. Shortly before, however, he had written to Robert Graham of Fintry, a Commissioner of the Scottish Board of Excise, that he “wished to get into the Excise”. Graham, another admirer, used his influence and arranged for Burns to receive a position in the Dumfries area as soon as one became available.

Posted by burnsscotland | Filed under Feature, Partners of the DNBC

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‘Artefact’ Conference Review

19 Thursday Jan 2012

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Artefact, Burnsiana, Centre for Robert Burns Studies, Conference, Dumfries Museum, Empheria, Glasgow, Memorabilia, Robert Burns

Above: The newly unveiled bust of Burns watches expectantly as the conference begins to proceed.

As a follow-up to the recent feature on the Centre for Robert Burns Studies, what follows is my own experience of the annual Robert Burns Conference held at Glasgow University and organised in conjunction with partners of the DNBC.

Below: Dr Pauline Mackay, Research Fellow for ‘Editing Robert Burns for the 21st Century introduces the next speaker.

There were a broad range of speakers presenting papers on all aspects of Burns life, and in particular the culture which Burns inhabited. Topics ranged from farming life (Gavin Sprott from the National Museum of Scotland), to a rare glimpse into the world of the private collector with Dr Bill Zachs. Unfortunately, Andrew Presscott from UCL was unable to make the conference, but was ably replaced by Prof. Gerry Carruthers and his entertaining look into Freemasonry and Burns.

To ensure the conference wasn’t completely left to the device of academics, local councils had the chance to show off rare and previously unseen Burns ‘artefacts’ from their collections. During this segment, I had the opportunity to showcase Dumfries Museums upcoming exhibition ‘Burns and Graham – A Poet and his Patron’ (Burns House, Saturday 21st January – Sunday 15th April).

Below: Kirsten Easdale relaxes after entertaining the conference with some of Burns’ songs.

Above: Delegates enjoying a chance to relax and chat.

I have to admit, before starting work on the Burns Recognition Project my experience of Burns had been rather limited. However, attending the ‘Artefact’ Conference allowed me to gain further insight into the fascinating world which surrounds the life and times of the bard. I thoroughly enjoyed my first Burns Conference and look forward to seeing what exciting strides have been made by this time next year.

Click on the image below to hear another of the conference speakers, Clark McGinn, speaking on BBC Scotland’s Newsweek about the final days of Robert Burns.

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Burns on Future Museum

29 Tuesday Nov 2011

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Burns Mausoleum, Burnsiana, Curator, Dumfries Museum, Empheria, Future Museum, Globe Inn, Piano, Postcard, Queen Elizabeth, Robert Burns, Tam O' Shanter, Teapot

This gallery contains 9 photos.

Being based in Dumfries Museum, I regularly come into contact with the Future Museum site and its impressive collections. In particular, the …

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