Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Robert Burns Collection
- Dates:
- 1784-1829, bulk 1784-1796
- Creators:
- Burns, Robert, 1759-1796.
- Abstract:
- This collection contains approximately 45 pieces of correspondence and manuscripts chiefly in the hand of Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796), dating from 1784. Within the documents, there are approximately 36 different pieces of verse by Burns, including poems, ballads, and songs. The correspondence, often containing lines of verse, primarily consists of one to two letters from Burns to various friends and patrons.
- Extent:
- approximately 45 items in 1 box (26 folders) and 18 loose cases and volumes
- Language:
- English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Robert Burns Collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains approximately 45 pieces of correspondence and manuscripts chiefly in the hand of Scottish poet Robert Burns, dating from 1784. Within the documents, there are approximately 36 different pieces of verse by Burns, including poems, ballads, and songs. The correspondence, often containing lines of verse, primarily consists of one to two letters from Burns to patrons and friends including Robert Cleghorn, Frances Anna Dunlop, Robert Muir, John Richmond, and Burns's printer William Creech. In addition there are also a few later letters consisting of a letter from Burns's brother Gilbert Burns to "Dobie," a letter from painter Alexander Nasmyth to William Cribb, and a letter from Jean Jeffrey Renwick to Henry Brevoort.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Robert Burns (1759-1796) was a Scottish poet and lyricist. His first volume of poems, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect, was published in 1786.
- Acquisition information:
- The collection was assembled from various sources, including: HM 2584, acquired from H.V. Jones, December 1918 (no. 256) HM 7394, received as part of the Gable Collection. HM 13029 and HM 13031, purchased by Henry E. Huntington from William K. Bixby through the Anderson Galleries (Sale 1280, Lots 588 and 589), February 1917. HM 13036-13039, acquired from William K. Bixby, date unknown. HM 13061, acquired from the collection of Henry G. Bohn. HM 34699, acquired from G. D. Smith.
- Processing information:
-
- HM 16300, removed from the Geddes Burns (Call number: 151851).
- HM 13051, 13053-6, and 13058 were originally bound together as a volume of Burns manuscripts and disbound by Huntington Library staff in November 1971.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection consists of material organized in the following 2 series:
- Manuscripts
- Correspondence
Items listed in the finding aid are chiefly housed in individual folders in 1 box, with 18 items separately housed in decorative gilt leather volumes or pull-off cases.
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- © 2015
- Date Encoded:
- Machine readable finding aid encoded by Diann Benti in December 2015 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Items are available with curatorial approval. Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
- Terms of access:
-
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Robert Burns Collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191