Lot 201
Redpath, Jean (1937-2014)
Collection of her guitars and personal effects
Estimate: £600 - £800
Auction: 19 September 2024 from 10:00 BST
Description
2 classical guitars, by Ryoji Matsuoka of Japan, Model No. M30, and Guild Guitars of Hoboken, New Jersey, Mark III, each approx. 95cm from head to foot, in felt-lined wooden case with capo and replacement string packets, the Guild guitar case with United Airlines frequent flyer luggage tag with printed name ‘Miss Jean Redpath’ (both guitars with D string missing);
Jean Redpath's personal copy of A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs, London: T. Preston, c.1800 (4 volumes, 4to, modern red half morocco, ‘Jean Redpath’ gilt-stamped to front boards, various repairs, numerous leaves supplied in photocopy);
Collection of certificates, including from the Royal Humane Society, 1967 (under her married name Jean Johnson, 'for having on 19th July 1967 gone to the rescue of a boy who was in imminent danger of drowning in Loch Fyne'), Commonwealth of Kentucky colonelcy commission (signed by Martha Layne Collins as state governor), Scottish Society of Nebraska, and the Robert Burns Club of Milwaukee, and of honorary doctorates from the universities of Stirling (1988), St Andrews (1990), Glasgow (2009, with associated photographic commemoration volume), Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (2002, with associated group portrait photographs), and others;
Folder of personal correspondence and documents, including bookseller invoices for Scottish music books etc., contracts and schedules relating to tours, concerts, recordings, and interviews, and similar;
Autograph letter from Pete Seeger dated 1999 with small doodle of a banjo, presenting a copy of his autobiography Where Have All the Flowers Gone (present in the lot) and noting that ‘one of the unforgettable experiences of my life was hearing your unaccompanied voice float over Newport near midnight, about 35 years ago’;
Flora Macdonald Award, 1998, metal medal in frame with plaque;
3 original posters, ‘Edinburgh University Folk Song Society presents Jean Redpath’, c.1960, 33 x 25cm, and an original poster for the second Philadelphia Folk Festival, c.1963;
and 2 books inscribed to Redpath including Sean Connery, Being a Scot, 2008, inscribed ‘For Jean, you’ve heard much of this before, all best wishes from Sean & much love from Murray' in silver ink on front free endpaper
Provenance
By descent to the vendor.
Footnote
Jean Redpath (1937-2014) was born in Edinburgh, raised in Leven in Fife and studied medieval history at the University of Edinburgh before travelling to America in 1961 and embarking on a career as a folk musician, becoming famed for her interpretations of Scottish folk songs and in particular her project with Serge Hovey to record the complete songs of Robert Burns. Shortly after her arrival in America Redpath joined New York's thriving folk music scene, focused on Greenwich Village, and lived and performed with Bob Dylan. During the 1970s she was artist-in-residence at Wesleyan University, Connecticut and went on to hold similar positions at Stirling and Edinburgh in her home country. Appointed MBE in 1987, she is remembered as ‘the lass frae Fife who became an internationally renowned folk singer, a cultural ambassador for Scotland who was, for listeners throughout the world, the voice of Scots traditional song, and particularly Burns songs’ (obituary, The Scotsman, 23 August 2014).
