"First Commonplace Book" of Robert Burns.

Item

Identifier: MS.50700

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The "First Commonplace Book" of Robert Burns is the earliest collected work written by the poet. Written before he achieved national status following the publication of 'Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect' (1786), Burns himself explained the need to create the volume, hoping that after his death it would fall into the hands of someone who would appreciate their value.

The "First Commonplace Book" contains some of Burns's earliest surviving work and contains examples of Burns's early poetic development. Burns initially showed the volume to a critic known only as 'W.R' who added comments to the text. John Syme, a friend of Burns, also made additions to the volume on 30 August 1797, which Syme noted at the top of page 1. James Currie, Burns's first biographer, made futher minor additions to the text after the volume came into his possession in 1797.

The following two items have been tipped in to the volume:

Letter of James Richardson to William Law on the delivery of the "First Commonplace Book" to Law, 15 June 1891, i;

Quotation of Robert Burns on the "First Commonplace Book", originally written in the Glenriddell manuscripts, 4th quarter of 19th century, ii-iii.

The volume includes the following poetic works by Burns, identified by first line:

'O once I lov'd a bonny lass', pp.3-4; 'Of all the numerous ills that hurt our peace', pp.5-6; 'All devil as I am, a damned wretch', pp.6-7; 'O Thou great Being! what Thou art', p.8; 'The wintry West extends his blast', pp.9-10; 'My father was a farmer upon the the Carrick border O', pp.10-11; 'Behind yon hills where Stincher flows', pp.12-13; 'Here Souter Hood in death does sleep', p.14; 'Here lies Boghead amang the dead', p.14; 'Here lies a chearful, honest breast', p.14; 'O ye! who sympathise with Virtue's pains', pp.14-15; 'Green grow the rashes - O', pp.16-17; 'O Thou, Unknown, Almighty Cause', pp.18-19; 'Why am I loth to leave this earthly scene', p.19; 'Tibby I hae seen the day', pp.20-21; 'My girl she's airy, she's buxom and gay', p.21; 'There was three kings into the east', pp.22-24; 'As Mailie & her lambs the gither', pp.24-26; 'While breers & woodbines buding green', pp.26-30; 'While new ca't ky rowt at the stake', pp.30-32; 'O Thou great Governor of all below' [last stanza of 'Why am I loth to leave this earthly scene, p.19], p.33; 'When chill November's surly blast', pp.33-35; 'Then let us toast John Barleycorn', [last stanza of 'There was three kings into the east', pp.22-24], p.35; 'When I first came to Stewart Kyle', p.37; 'Now breezy win's and slaughterning guns', p.37; 'Altho' my bed were in yon muir', p.40; 'Look not alone on youthful prime', [Stanza to be added to 'When chill November's surly blast', pp.33-35], p.40; 'When clouds in skies do come together', p.41; 'O raging Fortune's withering blast', p.42.

Dates

Creation: 1783-1785.

Creator

Burns, Robert (poet) (1759–1796) (Creator, Person)
Syme, John (Writer to the Signet) (Person)
Currie, James (physician) (Person)
Law, William (mill owner, and bilbliophile) (Former owner, Person)
Law, Alfred (mill owner) (Former owner, Person)
Law, Alfred Joseph, Sir (Knight, politician) (Former owner, Person)

Language of Materials

Burns writes most of his prose in English and most of his verse in Scots.

Conditions Governing Access

Access restricted. Please contact the division of Archives & Manuscript Collections to arrange access (manuscripts@nls.uk). A digital surrogate is available.

Extent

1 Volumes

Additional Description

Custodial History

The "First Commonplace Book" was in Burns's possession at the time of his death in 1796. It was sent to James Currie in 1797 for his edition of the works of Robert Burns. Currie retained the volume and it passed through the hands of his son, William Wallace Currie, and his daughter-in-law, Sarah Francis Currie. In 1861 the manuscript was auctioned by Messrs Puttick [ampersand] Simpson (lot 203) and was purchased by the London bookseller, James Toovey. The manuscript was transferred to another dealer, Basil Montagu Pickering, who offered it for sale in 1868. John Adam, Town Chamberlain of Greenock, purchased it and it remained in his possession until his death in 1879 when it was inherited by his son-in-law, John Duff. After Duff's death it was auctioned in 1888 by Messrs Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge (lot 939) in London. At this point it was now enclosed in a rosewood box with lock and key. It was purchased by the Glasgow booksellers, Kerr & Richardson, who sold it to Thomas Glen Arthur. In 1891 it was sold to William Law of Honresfield. Following Law's death in 1901 it passed to his brother, Alfred Law, on whose death in 1913 it was inherited by Sir Alfred Law, nephew to both of the Laws. The manuscript remained in the family's possession until 2022 when it, along with the Honresfield collection, was purchased by the Friends of the National Libraries on behalf of a consortium of Libraries and Heritage institutions in Scotland and England. In 2022 it was donated to the National Library of Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland who retain joint ownership of the Commonplace Book.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated, 2022, by Friends of the National Libraries, London.

Existence and Location of Copies

A digital surrogate is available to view here.

Bibliography

A facsimile of the volume has been published: "Robert Burns's Commonplace Book 1783-1785 reproduced in facsimile from the Poet's manuscript in the possession of Sir Alfred Joseph Law, M.P." with transcript, introduction and notes by James Cameron Ewing and Davidson Cook (Glasgow: Gowans and Gray, 1938).

A transcription of the volume is availabe in: Nigel Leask, "The Oxford edition of the works of Robert Burns. Volume 1, Commonplace books, tour journals, and miscellaneous prose" (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014).

General

Blavatnik Honresfield Library. After the acquisition in 2021 of the Honresfield library the collection was distributed between various institutions. Collectively the holdings across those institutions are now known as the Blavatnik Honresfield Library in recognition of the generosity of Sir Leonard Blavatnik in supporting the acquisition.