Broadside entitled 'Ode to the Memory of Burns' - by R. Carruthers

This ode begins: 'Land of the Bard !---thy shaggy dells / Immingling with the streamlets flow ; / Where Fancy weaves her airy spells, / And Superstition's watch-fires glow---' No date of publication has been recorded on the sheet, but it does state that the ode is to be read at the 'Anniversary Dinner, on Saturday, January 25th'. Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them. Robert Burns (1756-96) remains Scotland's favourite poet, and Burns's night is celebrated all over the year on January 25th. At these dinners it is traditional to eat a meal of haggis, potato and turnip, while speeches are made and poems recited.

Collection

Popular Print in Scotland, 1650-1850

Inventory Number

4502027

Title

Broadside entitled 'Ode to the Memory of Burns' - by R. Carruthers

Object Type

PhysicalObject

Measurements

- 100 x 323mm