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First Commonplace Book of Robert Burns

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The works of Robert Burns > First Commonplace Book of Robert Burns > (1) Front cover
(1) Front cover
Permanent URLhttps://digital.nls.uk/239658430
First Commonplace Book of Robert Burns
DescriptionRobert Burns compiled his Commonplace Book between 1783 and 1785. It contains original poems and songs as well as observations on topics such as poetry and moral philosophy. Some of the works here were later published in Burns’s Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1786). Donated from the Blavatnik Honresfield Library by the Friends of the National Libraries.
ShelfmarkMS.50700
Attribution and copyright:
  • Public Domain - This work is free of known copyright restrictions. For details visit our copyright page. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
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Form / genre: Written and printed matter > Manuscripts
Written and printed matter > Poetry
Written and printed matter > Commonplace books
Subject / content: Scots (language)
Poems
Person / organisation: Burns, Robert, poet, 1759-1796 [Author]
Syme, John (Writer to the Signet) [Editor]
Currie, James (physician, Liverpool) 1756-1805 [Editor]

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The works of Robert Burns
DescriptionPrinted and manuscript items relating to the works of Scotland's Bard, Robert Burns (1759 to 1796). 'Poems, chiefly in the Scottish dialect' was his first published collection of poems. Printed in 1786, it is also known as 'The Kilmarnock Edition'. Burns wrote in his commonplace book between 1783 and 1785, developing his poetic skills and noting down philosophical observations. There is also a volume containing 10 letters and two poems. Highlights from the volume include the only surviving letter that Burns wrote to his father, and part of the lyrics for 'Auld Lang Syne'.
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