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by greg-in-washington

Happy Robert Burns Day (Scotland) !

In this post, Zeke will examine the presentation of Scottish poet Robert Burns’ works (1759 – 1796) in an 1870 vintage book titled: “The Illustrated Family Burns” on this Robert Burns Day in Scotland.

The Illustrated Family Burns

The Illustrated Family Burns

My literary cat Zeke, editor in chief, decided upon this issue. as Christine and Spike are celebrating in Scotland today. The book has over 700 pages and 100 illustrations, some of which shall be presented here. This particular copy and cover I was unable to find on the internet. The publisher was Belford, Clarke, & Co., Chicago and New York.  Zeke’s favourite Burns poem is “To a Mouse”.

Zeke preferred to post the illustrations for you. He decided not to post any grim, or sad prints, so we concentrate on animals and happy times. There are, of course, a few cats depicted. See illustrations and more!

hare burns 550

lastmay a braw wooer 550

Burns Whistle girl 550

Woodlark burns 550

To a Mountain Daisy

To a Mountain Daisy

Burns Duncan Gray 550

Burns Bessy and cat 550

Note the cat center foreground

burns o poortith cauld 660

The auld farmers new-year morning salutation to his auld mare Maggie

the auld farmers new-year morningsalutation to his auld mare Maggie

My Hearts in the Highlands

My Hearts in the Highlands

postcard

Old postcard St Andrews Scotland

Me in Scotland

Me in St. Andrews Scotland 1988. Hope to do this photo again!

Selkirk Grace
The Selkirk Grace (Job Koelpin)
Happy burns night
(BBC News)

26 Comments

  2. Wow! That’s an awesome book. I love the engravings. This would be a good one to plop into Sabi Saturday. I know it’s a little old (he he he) but you might get some new visitors. Thinks about it. Maybe not. I think you know all the cat people already. Hmmm. Maybe so. I do have a few people following who came over from my haiku blog.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Years ago I used to blog old books and prints like Robbie Burns. Believe me when I say no one was interested. This post was mostly a cut and paste of an old post written for another dead blog of mine for Christine’s benefit. She likes it. It is substandard here again in performance. I must not stray off topic. I always lose. My audience is pretty single minded for the most part. But it is an awesome book!

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      1. yeah, they say keep a blog single focused. But maybe a second blog? It’s a narrow interest though compared to cats. And food. But I think it’s pretty cool.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Happy Belated Robbie Burns Day!
    For the last 2 years we have celebrated Gung Haggis Fat Choy Mom’s job (we did not do it this year) It is a great holiday! It started in Vancouver and you can read about it in Wikipedea.
    Mom is part Scottish and LOVES celebrating Burns and his poetry
    Thanks for posting the illustrations Mom loved them!
    Purrs
    Marv

    Liked by 1 person

    1. The illustrations were engraved on boxwood blocks by the artists. The blocks were inked and then stamped the illustrations on the page. I have quite a few old books with amazing illustrations. Years back before this blog I used to post them, but no one was interested..Thanks for your visit Tabbies! Drink a “wee dram” in celebration tonight if you like!

      Like

  9. Great post. When I was 11, my best friend was from Scotland and she brought a book to school one day written in a Scottish dialect. It was something like English, but really difficult to understand. It was interesting though!

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