Lot 308
Manuscript Scottish poetry, on 17 sheets
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photography
Auction: 11 October 2017 at 11:00 BST
Description
sent from an unnamed poet to Mr (and occasionally Miss) Cowan, living on the High Street, Haddington, one poem entitled Sabbath Desecration is written on the verso of a summons for Jury duty, dated 1887, and is signed 'Eppie Jamson', although this may be a pseudonym, mostly written on franked wrappers, mostly 30 x 13cm
Footnote
Note: It is unclear who the poet responsible for these poems is, however many of them are written in Scots dialect or reflect Scottish locations. There are also several humorous poems and limericks, such as:
A Gospeller preached at Dunbar,/ From the top of a barrel of tar;/ He knocked the top in,/ And sank to the chin,/ And his swearing was heard from afar.
It appears that some of the poems may have been printed, looking at pencil notes to this effect on the manuscripts. One poem, written in pencil, also sates 'never printed'. The recipient of the poems, Mr Cowan, is variously referred to as 'stationer' and 'bookseller' by the sender, and may have been editing or approving the poems.