The Merry Muses of Caledonia
An Illustrated & Annotated Bibliography

by
Jack Horntip

Last revised 14 May 2020.

If you have other Merry Muses not shown below, please email me. Thanks!  .
 

Title-page from The Merry Muses of Caledonia (1799)
G. Ross Roy Collection, University of South Carolina Libraries

 The Merry Muses of Caledonia: A collection of Favourite Scots Songs, Ancient and Modern, Selected for Use of the Crochallan Fencibles. Printed in the year 1799.  [Printed by Alexander Smellie, Edinburgh] 127p. ; 17.1cm.

Rosebery copy. Photo from the Barke,
 Smith & Ferguson edition of MM (1964).

Copies: Lord Rosebery ; The G. Ross Roy Collection ; The National Library of Scotland (microfilm of Lord Rosebery's copy)

First Edition.  Paper has watermarked dates of 1799 and 1800.  The 1799 watermark matches two books published by Alexander Smellie in Edinburgh (see Brown).  Page 72 is mispaginated "49".

Note that both copies of the first edition are damaged in some way.  The Rosebery copy is missing the half-title page, the title page is missing the words "The" at the top of the page and "Printed in the Year 1799" at the bottom, and, finally, it is missing the table of contents (pgs 123-127).  The G. Ross Roy Collection copy is complete except that at the colophon on the last page where the name of the printer was deliberately defaced so as to be unreadable.

Egerer 51.

 Printer's name defaced on G. Ross Roy's copy:

1799—1999. 

The Merry Muses of Caledonia: A collection of Favourite Scots Songs, Ancient and Modern, Selected for Use of the Crochallan Fencibles. Printed in the year 1799.  127p.  19 cm.

Copies: G. Ross Roy Collection ; The Jack Horntip Collection ; Numerous Other Locations.

Photo-facsimile of the G. Ross Roy copy of first edition.  Printed on chain laid paper. The colophon reads: "This facsimile edition was published by the University of South Carolina Press for the Thomas Cooper Library.  Of this facsimile six hundred numbered copies were printed."

Housed in a slipcase with an accompanying booklet titled "Robert Burns and The Merry Muses" by G. Ross Roy.  Includes index. 

1799—2003. 

The Merry Muses of Caledonia: A collection of Favourite Scots Songs, Ancient and Modern, Selected for Use of the Crochallan Fencibles. Printed in the year 1799.

Copies: The Jack Horntip Collection (HTML & PDF)

Digital reissue of the 1799 first edition.  The text was OCRed from the Legman type-facsimile of the Rosebery edition with additions & revisions from the G. Ross Roy copy.  Originally issued 23 Jan 2003 and last revised 16 July 2006.

Retrieved 22 Apr 2020:  https://www.horntip.com/html/books_&_MSS/1700s/1799_merry_muses_of_caledonia_(various)/1799_crochallan_fencibles_(HC)/1799-2003_the_merry_muses_OCR/index.htm

1804[?].

Photo from Folio / National Library
of Scotland Issue 6, Spring 2003

The merry muses : a choice collection of favourite songs.  Dublin : Printed for the booksellers.  [1804?]. 131, [1] p. ; 19 cm. (12mo).

Copies: National Library of Scotland (Shelfmark RB.s.2046 [MMSID : 9928645033804341])

NOT SEEN.  Description above taken from the National Library of Scotland online catalog where they have a note that reads: "Dated on internal evidence." Photo taken from Folio / National Library of Scotland Issue 6, Spring 2003.  From this blurry image it looks like the statement "Price Three Shillings" is at the bottom of the title page of this printing.  This edition has 131 pages unlike any other known edition.

This is the same size (19cm) as the ca 1825 printing which also has the "Dublin: Printed for the Booksellers" imprint with the "Price Three Shillings".  Perhaps the ca 1825 copy below is an incomplete (lacking contents?) copy of this edition. 

1806.  

The Giblet Pye : Being the Heads, Tails, Legs, and Wings of the anacreontic songs of the celebrated R. Burns, G. A. Stevens, Rochester, T. L—tle, and others, Some of which are taken from the Original Manuscripts of R. Burns, never before published, to which is added, The history of choice spirits and ballad singing.  For neither Pedant nor for Prude, / These Sonnets took their Birth, / But as Dish'd up as Pleasant food, / for Sons of Social Mirth. Shamborough : Printed by John Nox and Sold by the Booksellers. [1806].  136 pages : illustrations ; 14 cm.

Copies: Bodleian ; Harding Collection, Chicago; Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas

Not dated but paper is watermarked "1806".  The poem on the title page is the last verse of George Alexander Stevens' poem "Prologue" in his 1777 book Songs, Comic, and Satyrical. 

1823. 

 The Songs and Ballads of Robert Burns, including Ten never before published, with a Preliminary Discourse and Illustrative Prefaces. 18mo.  London: Printed for William Clark, 52, Pateroster-Row. 1823.  320p.  [J. Barwick (editor)]

Locations: Harvard University Library ; Google Books (scanned from Harvard University copy) ; British Library

This book copies ten songs from The Merry Muses.  These are "Postscript to Yestreen I had a Pint o' Wine," "The Patriarchs," " Ye hae lien wrang, Lassie," "Supper is na ready," "The Union," "Wha'll kiss me now," "The Fornicator," "The case of Conscience," "Jacob and Rachel," and "Donald Brodie."

This book is listed as having a mezzotint portrait frontispiece: "Portrait Engraved by M.N. Bate."  This is lacking in the Harvard University copy.

1823—1825. 

The Songs and Ballads of Robert Burns : including ten never before published with a preliminary discourse, and illustrative prefaces.  London : Printed for Joseph White, 1825.  320 p. : port. ; 16 cm.

Copies: G. Ross Roy Collection

NOT SEEN.  The G. Ross Roy Collection copy has a portrait of Burns.  Description taken from online catalog.  This edition was first published in 1823, but the sheets were reissued two years later by Joseph White with a new title page.  Although G. Ross Roy thought that it was a false imprint, there was a Joseph White printer at 48 Ratcliff Highway in the 1820s.  Joseph White, bookseller, Ratcliff Highway, gave testimony against someone that stole two books (see Old Bailey Proceedings, 1st December 1831 <https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/print.jsp?div=18311201>).

Not listed in Egerer. 

ca 1825. 

The Merry Muses; A Choice collection of favourite songs. "Say Puritan [&c.]." Dublin: Printed for the Booksellers. Price Three Shillings, [c. 1825.] 126 p. 12mo. (7.5 x 4.5 in.) ; (19 x 11.4 cm).

Copies: Unknown.

[NOT SEEN]  Listed in Legman.  He says this is at the British Library, Private Case (callmark PC. 31.e.20, from the collection of H. Spencer Ashbee) but we can't find this edition there (or in any library). 

Perhaps this copy is the 1804 printing without the contents pages.  They are both the same 19cm size and they both have "Dublin: Printed for the Booksellers. Price Three Shillings" on the title page. 

1827—1872 (or later). 

All editions of The Merry Muses dated 1827 are falsely dated.  They were printed 1872 or later. 

For the following list, we follow Roy's numbering system in G. Ross Roy's article "The '1827' Edition of Robert Burns's Merry Muses of Caledonia".  We supplement Roy's list with other variants found in Sudduth and from our own collection.

1827—1872.  Roy variant 1:

  The Merry Muses.  A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs Gathered from Many Sources, by Robert Burns.  To which is [sic] added two of his letters and a poem — hitherto suppressed — and never before printed. "Say, Puritan [&c.]"  Privately printed. (Not for sale). 1827. At head: (Not for maids, ministers, or striplings.)  [London: John Camden Hotten, 1872.] xi, 125 p. sq. 16mo

6.2x4.6 in. 15.9x11.6 cm.; page sizes vary somewhat because of folding, [i-ii], blank; [iii], half-title; verso, blank; [v], title page; [vi], limitation (99 copies); [vii]-ix, contents; [x],' blank; [ix]-xi (for xi-xiii), preface; [xiv-xvi], blank; [1]-125, text; [126-8], blank.

Copies: British Library ; G. Ross Roy ;  Google Books (scanned from the British Library copy)

This edition — limited to 99 copies — is assumed to be the earliest. It was accessioned by the British Library 6th April 1881.  The title page has the error "to which is added".  The pagination is faulty.  The only numbered preliminary pages are viii and ix (correct), and x and xi (for xii and xiii).  Compare this with Variant 3 — with no limitation page — below. 

1827—ca. 1880.  Roy variant 2

The Merry Muses, A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs Gathered from Many Sources by Robert Burns. To Which is Added Two of His Letters, and a Poem, — Hitherto Suppressed, — and Never Before Printed.

5.7x4.3 in. 14.4x11.0 cm. Title; verso, limitation (99 copies); [iii]-v, preface; [vi], blank; [vii]-viii, contents; [ 1 ]-124, text. Copies: British Library ; Yale University ; G. Ross Roy ; Google Books (scanned from the British Library copy).

The title page has the error "to which is added". 

NOT SEEN.  Description from Roy.

1827—1881.  Roy variant 3

The Merry Muses, A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs Gathered from Many Sources, by Robert Burns.  To Which are Added Two of His Letters and a Poem—Hitherto Suppressed—Never Before Printed.  Say, Puritan [&c].  Privately Printed. [Not For Sale.] 1827.  90p.

6.5x4.2 in. (16.6x10.6 cm.) Half-title; verso, blank; title page; verso, blank; [i]-iii, contents; [iv], blank; [v]-vii, preface; [viii], blank; [9]-90, text.

Copies: State 1, G. Ross Roy; Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas; State 2, G. Ross Roy, National Library of Scotland.  Copy in British Library the state unknown.

The two states of this edition have nothing to indicate a priority.  The one noticeable difference occurs on the first page of the text, where the lines which separate the words 'Burns' Merry Muses' from the text are different, and the word 'Scottish' has been added in State 2. The title pages of both states have the correct reading 'to which are added two of his letters'.

NOT SEEN.  Description & images from Roy.
 

State 1: State 2:

1827—1894.  Roy variant 6 

 The Merry Muses: A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs gathered from Many Sources. To which is [sic] added two of his letters and a poem—hitherto suppressed and never before printed.

State 1: 6.4x4.4 in. 16.3x11.2 cm. Title page; verso, limitation (90 copies); half-title, verso, blank; [v]-vii, contents; [viii], blank; [ix]-xi, preface; [xii], blank; [1]-124, text.

State 2: Half-title, verso, blank; title page; verso, limitation (90 copies);  [v]-vii, contents; [viii], blank; [ix]-xi, preface; [xii], blank; [1]-124, text.

Copies: State 1: National Library of Scotland, G. Ross Roy.  State 2: The Jack Horntip Collection. 

Two states:

State 1:  Half-title placed after the title page. The only copy seen by Roy was that at the National Library of Scotland, acquired in 1972, and the order of the pages does not appear to have been tampered with. This is the only known edition which has a cut of Burns on the first page of the text.

State 2: Half title precedes the title page, no illustration of Robert Burns on the first page of the text, contents page lists "Libel Summons" as on page 120 but actually printed at 122, and pg number "17" at the inside gutter.  State 2 has a connection to Roy Variant  7, state 1, as it shares the peculiarities of that edition (e.g. same decorative illustration at the head of the text, the page number "17" at the inside gutter, and the Libel Summons printed at pg 122).  State 2 is not listed in Legman, Roy, or Sudduth.
 

State 1: State 2:

Notes on Variants 6 & 7: The ca 1894 date for Roy variants 6 & 7 is because there was a copy of Roy variant 6 (or 7) at auction in 1895.  See Book Prices Current, Vol. IV (1896), Covering the year 1895, Listed on pg 94:

Burns (R.)  Merry Muses (one of 90 copies reprinted), mor., g.e., privately printed, 1827, 8vo. (93)  Chapman, £1

 

1827—c. 1894.  Roy variant 7

The Merry Muses: A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs gathered from Many Sources. To which is [sic] added two of his letters and a poem—hitherto suppressed and never before printed. 

6.2x4.9 in. 16.0x12.4 cm. Half-title; verso, blank; title page; verso, limitation (90 copies); [v]-vii, contents; [viii], blank; [ix]-xi, preface; [xii], blank; [1]-126, text.  Copies: State 1, G. Ross Roy.  State 2, G. Ross Roy Collection

Two states: 

State 1: Half title precedes the title page, contents page lists "Libel Summons" as on page 120 but actually printed at 122, page number 17 appears on the inside near the gutter instead of the outside of the page. 

State 2: Same as State 1 above except the half-title follows title page, no page number on page 35, and a gutter width that is significantly wider (suggesting a different impression).  Not seen.  Variant 7, State 2 is not in Roy.  Description is from Sudduth where it is listed as a variant of Roy, Merry Muses, 7. 

Variant 7 (both states) show a connection to Variant 6, State 2 as it shares the decorative illustration at the head of the text, page number 17 at the inside gutter, and the Libel Summons mistakenly printed at pg 122.

 1827—1903.  Roy variant 4, States 1A, B & C:

The Merry Muses, A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs Gathered from Many Sources. By Robert Burns.  To Which Are Added Two of His Letters and a Poem—Hitherto Suppressed—Never Before Printed.  Say, Puritan [&c.].  Privately Printed.  [Not For Sale.]  1827.

Dimensions:  State 1A, 6.6x4.3 in. (16.8x11.0 cm.) ; State 2B, 7.1 x4.5 in. (17.9x 11.3 cm.) ; State 3,

These measurements in State 2B are true only of the preliminary leaves which, in fact, vary slightly in height and width.  The text of State 2B, however, measures uniformly 18.0x11.4 cm. [tc], title page; verso, blank; [i]-iii, contents; [iv] vi (for v) vi, preface; [9]-90, text.

Copies:

State 1A: G. Ross Roy Collection (copy 1). 
State 1B: No known repository copy.  Description from online bookseller.
State 1C: G Ross Roy Collection (copy 2) ; The Internet Archive (scanned copy from York University, Toronto); Indiana University ; National Library of Scotland; The Jack Horntip Collection (copy 1 (lacking pages), copy 2 (lacking pages)). 

State 2A: No known repository copy.  Description from online bookseller. 
State 2B: G Ross Roy Collection (copy 3).  G. Ross Roy (copy 4), Harvard University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Blacksburg, Virginia. 

State 3: The Jack Horntip Collection ; The G Ross Roy Collection (?)
 

The date of this edition, 1903, was taken by Legman from the accession date of the copy in the Bodleian Library. 

Variant 4 is complex.  State 1, 2, and 3 are designated by the different title pages used in each.  State 1A with only one type of paper, the three typographical errors, and with pages transposed is the earliest state.  We have noted that when typographical errors have been corrected in later states, the corrected pages are printed on different, low quality (age-toned) paper with slightly different typesetting.  State 3 has yet again a different title page, some of the pages are whiter pages, and the yellow pages of the corrected. 

State 1A, 1B, 1C: The ruled lines used on the title page are thin and there is a slight downward curve on the first ruled line (that ends at the beginning of the "S" of "Striplings").  The printing on the title page is somewhat more compact than in state 2. 

State 1A: Page numbers 34 & 35 transposed with 22 & 23.  There are typographical errors:  On p. 9, "On the lips..." is rendered "On the iips..." ;  On p. 51, "The beauteous maid lay in a trance," is mistakenly rendered "The beauteous made lay..." ; On p. 73, "I've called it Sportsman's Hall." is rendered "I,ve called in Sportsman's Hall."  Location: G. Ross Roy Collection (copy 1)

State 1B:  This has the same title page and all the typographical errors as 1A but corrects the pagination.

State 1C: Page numbers 34 & 35 transposed with 22 & 23.  There are two of the three typographical errors.  Pg 51, "The beauteous maid lay in a trance," is correct but is printed on yellowed (age toned) paper.  Location: The Jack Horntip Collection.
 

State 1D: All printed on one type of paper. All typographical errors are present.  Pages 69-72 are misbound.   The pagination goes: title page; verso, blank; [i]-iii, contents; [iv], vi [for "v"], vi, preface; [9]-78,71-72,69-70,73-90, text.

States 1A,B,&C: 

Roy variant 4, States 2A&B:

The Merry Muses, A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs Gathered from Many Sources. By Robert Burns.  To Which Are Added Two of His Letters and a Poem—Hitherto Suppressed—Never Before Printed.  Say, Puritan [&c.].  Privately Printed.  [Not For Sale.]  1827.

In both State 2A and State 2B, the ruled lines on the title page run 2-3 mm. longer and are thicker.  The first ruled line ends at the end of the "S" of "Striplings". The quality of the paper in State 2A&B is much poorer.  The text is a line-for-line type-reset reprint with slightly larger spread lettering. 

State 2A:  This state corrects two errors in State 1:  On p. 9, "On the iips..." is corrected to "On the lips..." ; On p.51, "The beauteous made lay in a trance." is corrected to "The beauteous maid lay in a trance.".  But 2B retains the error on p. 73 "I,ve called in Sportsman's Hall." 

State 2B: This corrects all three typographical errors in State 1:  On p. 9, "On the iips..." is corrected to "On the lips..." ; On p.51, "The beauteous made lay..." is corrected to "The beauteous maid lay in a trance," ; On p. 73, "I,ve called in Sportsman's Hall." is corrected to "I've called it Sportsman's Hall." 

States 2A&B:State 3:

Roy variant 4, State 3

The Merry Muses, A Choice Selection of Favourite Songs Gathered from Many Sources by Robert Burns.  To which are added Two of his letters and a Poem--hitherto Suppressed--never before printed.  Say, Puritan [&c.].  Privately Printed. (Not for Sale).  [No Publisher, No Date, No Location].  Title page; verso, blank;  [v],vi-vii,[viii] (blank), preface ; [i]-iii, contents; [9]-90, text.

This is a version of Roy, Merry Muses, 4.  It has a new title page without a date, the preface & contents are printed anew but the first page of text (pg [9]) is identical to the to Roy variant 2 (see images above).  The book is printed on three different types of paper with three type-fonts.

Misbound: "Contents" (pages [i]-iii) is bound after the "Preface" (pages [v],vi-vii,[viii] (blank)).

  Printed on three different types of paper.  The title page & preliminaries, pgs 49-52 and 89-90 are bound in by the binder with tabs.  Pages 25-32 and pages 69-72 are on notably whiter paper with no age-toning in these two sections.

The paper for the preliminaries and the error pages p. 9, "On the iips...", p.51, "The beauteous made lay in a trance.", p. 73 "I,ve called in Sportsman's Hall." is a yellowed poor quality paper. 

Although variant 4, state 3 is not listed in Legman, Roy, or Sudduth, there is a book that matches this Merry Muses in the University of South Carolina's online catalog:

The merry muses : a choice collection of favourite songs gathered from many sources / by Robert Burns ; to which are added two of his letters and a poem—hitherto suppressed—never before printed.

Publication Info. [S.L. : s. n.,; 1827 ca, [i.e. 1920?]]
Call No. PR4322 .M42 1920b
OCLC # 31638254
Description 90 p.; 16.
Referenced Not in Roy.
Local Note:  "Contents," : p.[1]-iii--misbound following p.[viii].
Original dark green cloth.
Location: G. Ross Roy Collection.

The above entry was copied from here http://libcat.csd.sc.edu/record=b2083740~S1

1827—1905.  Roy variant 5

 The Merry Muses, A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs Gathered from Many Sources by Robert Burns.  To Which are added two of the Letters and a Poem—Hitherto Suppressed—Never Before Printed.

4°: A-P⁴ [Q]. 6.8x4.1 in. ; 17.4x10.4 cm. Half-title, verso, blank; title page; verso, blank; [v]-vii, contents; [viii], blank; [ix]-xii, preface; [13]-122, text.

Copy: G. Ross Roy.

The title page is in black and red: "The Merry Muses, [. . .] Robert Burns. [. . .] Privately Printed. [Not for Sale.] 1827." being in red.

Bound in paper vellum and printed on chain-laid paper which is watermarked Van Gelder.

Not seen.  Description from Roy.  Photo from online book catalog.  The title font-face was reused twice: A fake 1885 edition and the City Lights editions.  See below.

1827—1910.  Roy variant 10

 The Merry Muses A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs Gathered from Many Sources, by Robert Burns, to Which is [sic] added Two of His Letters and a Poem—Hitherto Suppressed—And Never Before Printed.  Privately Printed. (Not for Sale). 1827.

8°: n⁸ [A]-H⁸. Blank leaf; half-title, verso, blank; title page, verso, blank; [V]-vii, contents; [viii], blank; [ix]-xi, preface; [xii-xiv], blank; [1]-126, text.

Copy: National Library of Scotland.

Not seen.  Photo from online catalog.

Like Roy Variant 5 [1905], this edition is printed on Van Gelder paper, but the printing is of much inferior quality. An oddity of the makeup is that the chain lines run horizontally. Because the title has the error "To which is [sic] added...", this edition may have been set from Roy 1 [1872], Roy 2 [1880], Roy 6 [1905] or Roy 7 [c. 1910].  Of these possibilities, the relationship to Roy Variant 6, State 1 seems most likely, since "Libel Summons" is listed as appearing on p. 120 in the contents, and does indeed appear on that page.

1827—1920.  Roy Variant 11

 The Merry Muses: A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs Gathered from Many Sources, by Robert Burns.  To which is added To of His Letters and a Poem—Hitherto Suppressed—And Never Before Printed.  Size: 6.1x4.9 in. 15.6x12.3 cm.

8°: n⁸ [A]-H⁸. Blank leaf; half-title, verso, blank; title page, verso, blank; [V]-vii, contents; [viii], blank; [ix]-xi, preface; [xii-xiv], blank; [1]-126, text.

Copy: G. Ross Roy.

NOT SEEN.  Description from Roy.  Like Roy Variant 10, this is printed on Van Gelder paper.  This retains the title error "To which is [sic] added...", and, finally, the "Libel Summons" is listed in the contents as on page 120 — but actually appears on page 122.  This matches both Roy Variant 6, state 2 and Roy Variant 7.

Variant 11, State 2:

 The Poetry of Robert Burns. Edited by W. E. Henley and T. F. Henderson, with numerous illustrations. Centenary edition. London: The Caxton Publishing Co. [1910].  4 v.; 21.8 cm.  Illustrated title pages.  Imprint: "The Caxton Publishing Company Limited, Clun House, Surrey St., W.C."

Label dates inscribed in each volume.

Volumes 1 and 4: Original buff wrappers, backed in green cloth. Printed paper label on spine with dates "1912" (volume 1) and "1910" (volume 4).

Volumes 2 and 3: Original buff printed wrappers, duplicating title page backed in green cloth. Printed paper label on spine dated "1914" (volume 2) and "1911" (volume 3).  Roy, Merry Muses, 11, variant, without frontispieces or illustrations.

NOT SEEN.  Description above from Sudduth.  We need to confirm the Roy, Merry Muses, 11 designation.

1827—c. 1925.  Roy variant 12: 

The Merry Muses A Choice Collection of Favorite Songs Gathered from Many Sources  by Robert Burns to which are added Two of His Letters and a Poem, Never before Printed.  Say, Puritan, &c.  Verbatim Reprint of the MDCCCXXVII Edition. For Myself and my Friends'

6.6x3.8 in. 16.7x9.6 cm. Half-title; verso, blank; title page; [iv-vi], preface; [1J-79, text; [80], blank; 81-82, contents. Copies: G. Ross Roy; Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia ; The Jack Horntip Collection.

5.9x4.9 in. 15.0x12.5 cm. 8°: [A⁸] B-J⁸ Blank leaf; half-title; verso, limitation (100 numbered copies); title page, verso, blank; [vii]-ix, contents; [x], blank; [xi]-xii, preface to this edition; [xiii]-xv, preface to the 1827 edition; [xvi], blank; [l]-126, text; [127-8], blank.  Copies: G. Ross Roy, Harvard University, University of South Carolina, The National Library of Scotland, The Jack Horntip Collection.

A well-produced edition bound in paper parchment, this does not pretend to have been printed in 1827 as the verso of the half-title reads in part: "Privately Printed, May 1930. by a Gentleman of London for distribution among his friends. It is NOT TO BE SOLD or sent through the Post, or shown to Persons of Immature Intellect.  This is No _38_".

A penciled note on verso of the front free endpaper of the National Library of Scotlant's copy (Shelfmark Klr.263) reads: "The preface was written by Stevenson, manager of Fanfrolico and Mandrake presses."

This edition has an new eight page preface in addition to the "1827" preface.

ca 1830. 

 The Merry Muses: A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs. "Say, Puritan [&c.]" Glasgow: Printed for the Booksellers. [Price obliterated, c. 1830.] 107 p. 24to (5.3 x 3.3 in.) 

Copies: British Museum Library ; Google Books (scan of British Museum Library copy)

ca 1830. 

The Merry Muses: A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs.  "Say, Puritan [&c.]" Dublin: Printed for the Booksellers. Price Four Shillings, [c. 1830.] 107 p. 24to (5.5 x 3.3 in.)

Copies: British Museum Library ; Google Books (scan of the British Museum Library copy).

1832.

  The Merry Muses: A Choice collection of favourite songs. "Say, Puritan [&c.]" Dublin: Printed for the Booksellers, 1832. 112 p. 12mo.

Copies: Hornel Library (Broughton House, Kirkcudbright, Scotland). ; G. Legman (photocopy)

NOT SEEN.  Description from Legman.

ca 1840.

The Merry Muses: A Choice collection of favourite songs. "He saw the Minister m[owin]g the Fiddler's wife, And a gude lang bow drew he." London: Printed for the Booksellers. Price 4s.6d. [c. 1840?]

Copies: Hornel Library (Broughton House, Kirkcudbright, Scotland).

This copy also contains a second or preliminary title-page reading: "The Merry Muses . . . Printed in Glasgow, Price 4s." This edition is the only edition that does not give the four lines of doggerel beginning 'Say, Puritan,' on the title-page.

Contents: This is basically a reprint of the c. 1830 edition, almost page for page, containing only 4 new songs (which are not reprinted later). It contains 78 songs, 38 reprinted indirectly from the edition of c. 1800, 5 from the edition of 1806, 10 from the edition of c. 1825, and 26 from the edition of c. 1830. Of the new materials of the edition of c. 1830, this reprint omits "JACK OF ALL TRADES," "THE FEMALE F——-R, OR THE BATTERED BEAU," and the "TOASTS AND SENTIMENTS."

NOT SEEN.  Description from Legman.

1843.

  The Merry Muses : A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs.  London: Printed for the Booksellers.  1843. 162 p. 24to (5 x 3.3 in.)

Copies: British Library ; Google Books (scan of British Library copy).

1843—ca 1880. 

 The Merry Muses : A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs.  London : Printed for the Booksellers, 1843 [ca. 1880]. 108 p. ; 20.5 cm.  (8.3 x 5.2 in.)  

 Copies: G. Ross Roy Collection ; Hornel Library (Broughton House, Kirkcudbright, Scotland) ; Murison Collection.

This book is falsely dated 1843.  Printed on laid paper watermarked H.M. Greville Turkey Mill, not produced before 1871. Legman says this is a reprint of the 1843 chapbook edition directly above.  This reprint has 108 pages ; the original 1843 edition has 163 pages.

Two typographical errors are in Sudduth, pg 139: "...favorite songs."  should read ''...favourite songs."  and  "H.M Geville Turket Mill" should read "H.M Greville Turkey Mill". 

We can confirm there was a printer Henry Methold Greville, Turkey Mill, Wrexham, Denbighshire, North Wales. See The Paper Mills Directory of England, Scotland, and Ireland, for 1871. pg 6.  (See Google Books). 

Photo courtesy of Bill Dawson.

1843.

 Burns's Merry Muses : a choice collection of Favourite Songs.  London: 1843.  8vo. 

NOT SEEN.  Description from online library catalog.  Entry below:

Identifiant pérenne de la notice : http://www.sudoc.fr/122172833

Titre :  Burns's Merry Muses : a choice collection of Favourite Songs / Burns
Date(s) : 1843
Langue(s) : anglais
Pays :  Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande du Nord
Editeur(s) :London : [s.n.], 1843
Description : 1 vol. ; In-8°
Note sur la provenance :  Achat, n°9448, 1875
Worldcat : 494559226

Bibliothèque :
Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire
STRASBOURG-B.N.U.S.
Strasbourg CEDEX, 67070 France

The catalog entry for this needs to be checked. There is no page number and the title is very odd with the "Burns's Merry Muses".  The provenance gives the purchase date of 1875.

1884—ca 1910.

Burns' Merry Muses. A Choice Collection of the Favorite Scot's Songs Selected for the use of the Crohallan Fencibles.  Printed for Private Circulation. Edinburgh. 1884.  On verso of title page: "Edition de Luxe. Limited to 200 Copies of which this is No. 102".  127pp. 

Copies: University of California, Los Angeles ; Internet Archive (scanned from University of California, Los Angeles copy).

Falsely dated 1884.  Uses the American spelling of "Favorite".  This is a poorer production than the "later" "1886" printing. 

The phrase "Favorite Scot's Songs" is used by one ca 1930 edition.

1885. 

 Falsely dated "1885".  See Randall editions below at the 1966 date for more information.

1886—ca1920[?].

Burns' Merry Muses : A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs.  Printed for Private Circulation.  Edinburgh. 1886.  On Verso of title page: "Limited to 200 Copies, of which this is No.  45 ".  124pp. 

Copies: Duke University ; The Internet Archive (scanned from Duke University copy) ; The G. Ross Roy Collection.

The G. Ross Roy Collection and the Duke Library copy both have light gray cloth bindings.  But there are two important differences:

The Roy Collection's copy is unnumbered and it is listed as having "iii, 124p." whereas the Duke University copy is hand numbered and is "v, 124p".  Are these different printings ?

c1890. 

 Forbidden Fruit: A Collection of popular tales by popular authors, including Meitor, Walker, Caesar Cowper, Turnor, Ryder, Wyper, Lover, Howitt Burns. Also the Expurgated [sic] Poems of Robert Burns, known as Burns' Merry Muses, Copied from authentic M.S.S. The whole forming the most unique collection on an all-absorbing topic ever issued. Not for sale. [Scotland, c. 1890.] (at head: Not for Maids, Mothers, or Ministers.)  145 p. sm. 8vo.

Copies: Murison Burns Collection, Dunfermline Public Library ; School of Scottish Studies, Edinburgh (microfilm copy) ; Peter Mendes (photocopy part 1 [first 81p.] only);  Murray Shoolbraid (photocopy part 1 [first 81p.] only)

Photo courtesy of Bill Dawson. Description taken from Legman. 

ca 1893. 

The Merry Muses of Caledonia.  MS copy made for William Hamilton Bruce [by J.C. Ewing(?)].

Location: Andrew Carnegie Library, Dunfermline (Local Studies, 1247a).

 According to Farmer, see 1904 below, William Hamilton Bruce purchased the only known first edition -- previously owned by Scott Douglas -- at auction.  Afterward, he had two manuscript copies made.  One of these was presented Mr. Craibe Angus, of Glasgow and the other to William Ernest Hendley so that a reprint of the first edition could be printed.

Mr. Angus died in 1899 and his manuscript copy was sold at auction by Alexander Dowell, Edinburgh, on the 9th December 1902, for £10 10s, to the Glasgow bookseller Mr. Hugh Hopkins 'for a client.'  (see auction result below).

William Henley died on 11 July 1903 without issuing the printed 1st edition.  So John S. Farmer did a manuscript reissued the second Bruce manuscript.  See 1904 below.

J. C. Ewing "about the year 1893" (according to his note) for an intended edition by W. E. Henley, a project that never happened.  The second Bruce MS was presented to Mr. William Ernest Henley to reprint the 1st edition.  With

Reference found in Bold:  "The Merry Muses of Caledonia," bound volume including transcript and notes by J.C. Ewing, Andrew Carnegie Library, Dunfermline (Local Studies, 1247a).

The Murison Burns Database [<https://www.onfife.com/sites/default/files/Murison%20Burns%20Database%20complete.xls> retrieved 25 Apr 2020] has the following entry:

safe, book, 53, Burns, Robert et al The merry muses:of Caledonia…..use of the Crochallan Fencibles c1893.  One of two copies made by J.C. Ewing for W. Craibe Angus from an original c1800 he had, once owned by William Scott Douglas. X Edges very slightly fragile

From Book Prices Current, Vol XVII (1903), pg 186 we see the following auction result

Burns (R.) The Merry Muses of Caledonia, MS. copy, with Scott Douglas's Annotations of the first edition, on Dutch unbleached paper, title-page in black and red, unbound, n. d. (circa 1800), folio (449) £10 10s.



 

This auction was held by Alexander Dowel (Edinburgh) on December 8th-10th, 1902

ca 1900. 

 The Merry Muses . . . Privately Printed (Not for Sale), [no date, c. 1900?] 104 p. sq. 12mo.

Very poorly printed, and probably issued in Scotland at an indeterminable date somewhere between 1890 and 1920, the Murison Collection having been presented to the Dunfermline Public Library in 1921. (This edition is omitted from, or incorrectly described as of 127 p. in the Catalogue of the Murison Burns Collection, 1953, p. 53.) As noted in The Horn Book (1964) p. 203, this edition adds one authentic Scottish song, "COMIN" THRO' THE CRAIGS O' KYLE," p. 101-2, as an afterthought, probably by the printer, after " LIBEL SUMMONS. " This is a charming metaphoric piece about a ' bonnie lassie, Smuggling whisky in a blether,' and has never been printed elsewhere. Burns' expurgation is printed in Johnson's Scots Musical Museum, no. 328, though of course it cannot now be known how close Burns' prototype text was to the modern text here printed before 1920.
 

Copy: Murison Collection

NOT SEEN.  Description above from Legman.

1904.

  A Unique Relic of Burns (circa 1800) being a carefully collated manuscript copy of a collection of Scots songs, particulars of which will be found on the pages next following; together with a transcript (from the holograph copy in the British Museum) of that rare item, The court of equity, of which only ten copies were printed (1823).  London, 1904.  127 p.; 27.4 cm.

Copies: G. Ross Roy Collection ; Dartmouth University, Rauner Special Collections Library (Shelfmark: Burns PR4322 .U5) ; The Jack Horntip Collection (digital photos).

According to the original four page prospectus bound in, this is handwritten copy of The Merry Muses was copied from the William Hamilton Bruce's handwritten copy of the then only known copy of the 1st edition.  That copy had been owned by William Scott Douglas and it was filled with Douglas' marginal notes.  Done by John S. Farmer (after William Henley's death) in 1904, it claims to be one of 50 copies, it is doubtful that 50 copies where made.

Pages 123–127 (the index) is bound out of order and before the text.

J.S. Farmer MS title-page The Merry Muses of Caledonia
G. Ross Roy Collection, University of South Carolina Libraries

 According to Husemann, the 1904 MS copy of The Merry Muses of Caledonia in the G. Ross Roy Collection is substantively like the 1799 edition except for the following: a "warning" that prefaces "The Patriarch", a second, additional, version of "Ellibanks", and variant of "John Anderson, my jo" that replaces the 1799 version.

According to Sydney Goodsir Smith, in, 1964, 1st Amer. MMC,  pg 89 the "warning" preface to "The Patriarch" is found in Scott Douglass MMC holograph addendum.  He quotes it in full from Douglass' addendum.

The earliest this "warning" is printed is in Chambers 1852. 

Legman (1964), says that there are two songs by Burns in the Kinloch MS at Harvard, "A Wicked Song" and "A Masonic Song".  Legman identifies the song as "The Patriarch".  Does this MS have the introductory preface? 

According to  the Kinloch ms. ends with two songs by Burns, "a wicked song" (i.e. "the patriarch," a Bible travesty, printed in the new edition of the Muses, 1959, p. 67), and "a masonic song," which has lain forgotten in this manuscript for a century and a half.

The second version of "Ellibanks" is the Scott Douglas version.  See McNaught's 1911 Merry Muses, pg 58.

The version of "John Anderson, my jo" in this 1904 MS version is from Merry Songs and Ballads, Prior to the Year 1800, Volume 3.  pg 271. Edited by John S. Farmer and published in 1897.  There it is said to be from The Masque (2nd ed., p 292).

From The Selected Letters of W.E. Henley by Damian Atkinson.  Henley to Lord Rosebery, 14 July 1896. "I purpose...to reprint that very remarkable volume [The Merry Muses] in such a form & in such numbers — (250 copies, say) — as will make a second disappearance impossible."

1905.  Roy variant 16

  The Merry Muses of Robert Burns.  The Waverly Company, North Tonawanda, N.Y. 1905.  128pp.  18.8cm. 

Copies: Kinsey Institute Library (G. Legman's copy) ; G. Ross Roy Collection ; The Jack Horntip Collection (scans only).

Full red cloth binding with white lettering in a box on the front cover (no lettering on the spine). 

Below the illustration the title page is the quote "Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense"
FIRST EDITION.

The illustration on the title page is reproduced on the ca 1910 Roy Variant 8. 


 

Legman copy:

1905.

  The Merry Muses: A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs Gathered from Many Sources. To which are added two of his letters and a poem hitherto suppressed — never before published. [S.L.:s.n.,] 1905. Title page in red and black. Original imitation vellum. 124pp. 18cm. 

NOT SEEN.  The description above is taken from Sudduth.  Although that catalog lists this variant as "Roy, Merry Muses, 5", the following details are contrary to that designation:

1) The date 1905 not bracketed indicates that date is printed on the title page but Roy, Merry Muses, 5 has 1827 on the title page.

2) The book is described as 124 pages but Roy, Merry Muses, 5 has 122 pages

3) No mention of a Van Gelder watermark but Roy, Merry Muses, 5 has that watermark.
 

All these differences make this book unlikely to be G. Ross Roy's variant 5.

 ca 1910.  Roy Variant 8

The Merry Muses of Robert Burns.  Made in fac-simile of original edition. Privately printed for member [sic] of the Caledonian Society. 128pp.

Copies: G. Ross Roy Collection ; The Jack Horntip Collection.

The title-page illustration is copied from 1905 The Waverly Company edition (Roy variant 16). 

This book has a red-brown toned three quarter length portrait of Robert Burns and the Burns cottage with his birth date and death date on the opposite page bound in before the title page.   The three-quarter length portrait of Burns is from Duyckinick's Portrait Gallery of Eminent Men and Women in Europe and America. New York: Johnson, Wilson & Company, 1873 and the image of Burns' boyhood cottage is the title page illustration from Pictures and Portraits in the Life and Land of Burns, (after Thomas Creswick), which was published in London by Virtue & Co. 1838 (see British Museum # 1871,0812.2323).

Verso of title-page reads: 'The original manuscript of these poems was sold at Christy's, London, England, in 1907, for £1,800.'  This statement indicates both the provenance & date of this edition as American & after 1907. 

Roy doesn't provide an illustration of Roy Variant 8, nor does he mention the size, the frontispiece illustration, or the number of pages of variants 8 or 9.  Are his variants 8 & 9 lacking the frontis illustrations?  Why doesn't Roy mention the size or the number of pages ?

 ca1910—1920s.  Roy Variant 9:

The Merry Muses of Robert Burns. Made in fac-simile of original edition. Privately Printed. (NOT FOR SALE.).  119pp

This is directly derived from Roy variant 8.  It shares the red-brown frontispiece illustration of Burns and the Burns cottage with birth & death date facing the frontis but this variant has a newly designed title page.

As above, the verso of title-page reads: 'The original manuscript of these poems was sold at Christy's, London, England, in 1907, for £1,800.'  On the page following is an additional statement: "Of this edition 500 copies have been printed and the type distributed."

We have seen three bindings for this book: A rare full blue cloth copy with gilt lettering on the spine, a very common quarter green cloth with mottled paper boards and a stamped gilt title (using a sans-serif font) on the front cover, and a rare maroon cloth binding (similar to old Encyclopedia Britannica).  There is no title on the spine of the green or maroon cloth printings.

1911. 

 The Merry Muses of Caledonia; (Original edition). A Collection of favourite Scots songs, ancient and modern; selected for use of the Crochallan Fencibles. "Say, Puritan [&c.]" A Vindication of Robert Burns, in connection with the above publication and the spurious editions which succeeded it. [Edited by Duncan McNaught. Kilmarnock: D. Brown & Co.] Printed and published under the auspices of the Burns Federation. For subscribers only. Not for sale. 1911. 135 p. 8vo.

Copies: G. Ross Roy Collection ; The Internet Archive (scanned from the UC-Berkley copy) ; The Jack Horntip Collection.

Bibliography: Egerer 311e.

G. Ross Roy copy has a separate leaf (p. 137-138) containing suppressed letter by Burns in pamphlet binder. "This is an item of excessive rarity. When Duncan M'Naught prepared his edition of The merry muses for the Burns Federation in 1911 this was printed on the last leaf, and that work (limited to 100 copies) was issued without it. I know of no other copy of this leaf. It was supplied to my grandfather by the bookseller James Thin from M'Naught. The letter was first published complete in the "1827" [1872?] Merry muses; first collection in Ferguson, 1931. Probably most other copies were destroyed." --G. Ross Roy.

1911—1927.

 The Merry Muses of Caledonia; A Collection of Favourite Scots Songs, Ancient and Modern, Selected for Use of the Crochallan Fencibles by Robert Burns. "Say, Puritan [&c.]" With Introduction, Notes and Glossary. Privately Printed for Subscribers Only. [Philadelphia: Nathan Young, c. 1927.] xxxi, (33)-143 p. 8vo. (9.3 x 6.3 in.)

Copies: The G. Ross Roy Collection ; The Jack Horntip Collection

This edition changes McNaught's signature to the Introduction from "Vindex" to "Editor," and adds Burns' letter of phallic brag to Robert Ainslie and a Scottish glossary. 

The statement on the verso of the title page: "This edition, printed from type which has been distributed, is reprinted from the only known copy of the genuine Dumfries edition (circa 1800) and is strictly limited to 750 numbered copies for America, of which this is NUMBER ...........  Privately Printed for Subscribers Only."

1911—1927. 

 The Merry Muses of Caledonia; A Collection of Favourite Scots Songs, Ancient and Modern, Selected for Use of the Crochallan Fencibles. 

xxxi, (33)-143 p. 8vo. (9.3 x 6.3 in.). 

Copy: The Jack Horntip Collection.

SAME AS ABOVE except the statement on the verso of the title page reads: 

 "This edition, printed from type which has been distributed, is reprinted from the only known copy of the genuine Dumfries edition (circa 1800) and is strictly limited to 750 numbered copies for Great Britain, of which this is NUMBER 217.  Privately Printed for Subscribers Only."

1911—c1947. 

The Merry Muses of Caledonia: (Original Edition) a Collection of Favourite Scots Songs Ancient and Modern. Selected for use of the Crochallan Fencibles a vindication of Robert Burns in connection with the above publication and the spurious editions which succeeded it. [1947?]. 144, [1] l.; 32.4 cm.

Holograph [handwritten] copy made by B. Burleigh of the 1911 Kilmarnock, Burns Federation edition.  Autograph letter signed from Burleigh to Alex dated November 2, 1947 about having completed the holograph copy, locating a small printer, and war time privations.  Related materials in separate envelope.  Gift of John Mehlberg.  Copy: The G. Ross Roy Collection.

Description in Sudduth.  We have found no indication that there was ever issued a reprint of the 1911 Burns Federation edition.
 

 
ca 1920.  Roy variant 17.

The Merry Muses.  A Choice Collection of Favourite Songs Gathered from Many Sources by Robert Burns.  To Which is Added Two of His Letters and a Poem Hitherto suppressed and never before printed.

6.9x4.5 in. ;17.6x11.5 cm. Title page; verso, blank; 3-4, preface; [5-6], blank; [7]-102, text; 103-104, contents. Copy: Murison Collection.

No date on title page.  Date is the year it was accessioned by the Murison Collection.  A poorly printed edition which Legman suggests was printed in Scotland. It follows Nos. 1 and 2 and some later editions with the reading: 'to which is added two of his letters'.

NOT SEEN.  Description & image from Roy.

ca 1930. 

 Burns' Merry Muses: A Choice Collection of the Favorite Scot's Songs.  Printed for Private Circulation. Printed for Private Circulation.  [No Publisher, No Date, No Location].  Cover title: A Collection of the Unpublished Poems of Robert Burns.  70pp. 

Copy: The Jack Horntip Collection.

Rare.  Not in Legman or Sudduth.  The title of this edition copies the phrase "Favorite Scot's Songs" of the 1884 Edinburgh edition.  Note the American spelling of "Favorite".

ca 1950. 

The Merry Muses of Robert Burns. [No Location, No Publisher, No date (ca 1950)]. 79, [1]pp; 21cm.  Original red wrappers. Sans serif title printed in black.  Eighty-seven poems.  Arrangement similar to the 1905 Waverly edition and the 1910 edition.

Copies: The G. Ross Roy Collection, University of South Carolina. 

NOT SEEN.  Description taken from Sudduth.

1955. 

  American Aphrodite: A Quarterly for the Fancy Free [Vol 4, No.16, 1955] ed.  Samuel Roth.  "The Merry Muses of Robert Burns", pgs 41-82.

NOT SEEN.  A description with the number & names of songs is needed.

1958. 

Bobby Burns' Merry Muses of Caledonia.  Sung by Pal Clayton.  10-inch LP record.  Elektra (catalog no. EKL 155; Vinyl LP)

1. Nine Inch Will Please A Lady, 2. Our Jock´s Broke Yesterday,  3. Now Can I Keep My Maidenhead,  4. Who Will Mow Me Now, 5. Johnny Scott,  6. John Anderson, My Jo, 7. Tommie Makes My Tale Toddle, 8. Tweedmouth Town, 9. Would You Do That, 10. Ellibanks, 11. Beware Of The Ripples, 12. Duncan McLeerie, 13. Muirland Meg, 14. No Hair On It, 15. Cooper The Dundee, 16. Who The Devil Can Hinder The Wind To Blow, 17. Lassie Gathering, 18. The Thrusting Of It, 19. My Bonnie Highland Lad, 20. The Patriarch, 21. Duncan Davison, 22. Know Ye Not Our Bess, 23. A Hole To Hide It In, 24. Can You Labour Lea.

1959. 

 The Merry Muses of Caledonia. Edited by James Barke and Sydney Goodsir Smith. With a Prefatory Note and some authentic Burns texts contributed by J. DeLancey Ferguson. Edinburgh: M. Macdonald, 1959. (Verso of title: "For private distribution to members of the Auk Society only.") 175 p., illus. & facsimiles, 8vo.

1959—1964. 

 Robert Burns The Merry Muses of Caledonia. New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1964.  1st American ed.  224 pp., [4] p. of plates : illustration, facsimile ; 22 cm.

First American Edition (Second Edition overall).  This edition follows the 1959 text, uses the same illustrations and ordering of the texts but with two substantial changes: Robert Burns is now credited on the title page and there is also the addition of a seven page Scottish glossary by Sydney Goodsir Smith.

Anther change is the last paragraph of Smith' introduction where he mentions Gershon Legman's recent discovery of the Allan Cunningham's manuscript in the British Museum Library which "suggests that six songs previously grouped in Section III are actually Burns originals" and indicates "the purified versions of these in the Aldine edition of 1839 are in fact forged expurgations by Cunningham."  The six songs ("Ye Hae Lien Wrang", "Comin' O'er the Hills o' Coupar", "How Can I Keep my Maidenhead?", "Wad Ye Do That?", "There Cam a Cadger" and "Jenny Macraw") still remain in Section III "Old Songs Used by Burns for Polite Versions".

1959—1965. 

The Merry Muses of Caledonia.  Robert Burns; James Barke; Sydney Goodsir Smith.  London, W. H. Allen, 1965.  223 p. : ill.

In W. H. Allen edition, Sydney Goodsir Smith moves six songs ("Ye Hae Lien Wrang","Comin' O'er the Hills o' Coupar","How Can I Keep my Maidenhead?", "Wad Ye Do That?", "There Cam a Cadger" and "Jenny Macraw") from Section III "Old Songs Used by Burns for Polite Versions" into section IV, "Collected by Burns."  The annotation for these songs are amended.  Aside from the new references to Legman, the arrangement of the songs in the 1965 edition is identical to the 1959.

1959—c1965. 

The Merry Muses of Caledonia.  Robert Burns.  Edited by James Barke and Sydney Goodsir Smith with Preforatory Note and some authentic Burns Texts contributed by J. DeLancey Ferguson.

Capricorn Books, New York, c.1965, paperback., 224pp., 18.3 cm. Original orange wrappers.

1959—1966. 

The Merry Muses of Caledonia.  New York NY: Gramercy Publishing Company. 1959.  224 pp.  8vo.  Hardcover.

Yellow cloth boards and spine with black lettering on spine.

Although the only date is 1959 on this book it is a reprint by Gramercy a subdivision of Crown Publishing (a big reprint house).

1959—1970. 

The Merry Muses of Caledonia.  Robert Burns. Edited by James Barke and Sydney Goodsir Smith. With a prefatory note and some authentic Burns texts by J. DeLancey Ferguson.  London : Panther Books, 1970.  223 pages ; 18 cm.

1959—1982a. 

 The Merry Muses of Caledonia. Edited by James Barke and Sydney Goodsir Smith, with prefatory note and some authentic Burns texts contributed by J. DeLancey Ferguson. Edinburgh: Macdonald, 1982. 223p., [3]p. of plates: ill.; 21.5cm.

1959—1982b. 

Bawdy Verse and Folksongs. Written and collected by Robert Burns, introduced by Magnus Magnusson. London: Macmillan, 1982. xxxi, 152p.; 20cm. Original pictorial wrappers.

NOT SEEN.  Listed in Sudduth.  Photo from online catalog.

Most recently (Macmillan, 1982) there has been another re-issue of the Barke-Smith-Ferguson edition with an eleven-page Introduction by Magnus Magnusson.  Unfortunately this Introduction is at the expense of the thirty-two pages of introductory material written by the three previous editors. Most of Magnusson's introduction has little to do with the work at  hand, and nowhere does he mention the edition of which this is so close a copy. Textually it is just another paperback version of the 1964 Merry Muses except that the text has been re-set. The arrangement of the poems is the same, even the headings of the six sections into which the collection is divided are identical; the glossary has been very slightly changed but all the definitions have been taken from the earlier glossary; even the note about spelling has been copied verbatim.

1959—2009.

Burns, Robert, The Merry Muses of Caledonia, Valentina Bold and Bob Dewar eds., Edinburgh: Luath Press Ltd.  2009.  Hardcover.  ISBN 9781906307684.  349 pages : illustrations, music ; 22 cm.  Edited by James Barke and Sydney Goodsir Smith ; with a prefatory note and some authentic Burns texts contributed by J. DeLancey Ferguson ; a new introduction and music by Valentina Bold ; and illustrations by Bob Dewar.

1962a.

Songs from Robert Burns' Merry Muses of Caledonia Sung by Ewan MacColl.  12-inch LP.  Twenty-four songs.  Includes booklet with lyrics and annotations (See 1962b).
 

Songs: 1. The Jolly Gauger, 2. Gie The Lass Her Fairin', 3. Supper Is Na Ready, 4. Wad Ye Do That, 5. Andrew An' His Cuttie Gun, 6. Duncan Gray, 7. I Rede Ye Beware O' The Ripples, 8. The Trogger, 9. My Ain Kind Dearie, 10. The Bonniest Lass, 11. The Modiewark, 12. Todlen Hame, 13. Dainty Davie, 14. Will Ye Na, Can Ye Na, Let Me Be?, 15. Logan Water, 16. Had I The Wyte She Bade Me, 17. Muirland Meg  18. O Saw Ye My Maggie?, 19. The Cooper O' Dundee,  20. O Gat Ye Me Wi' Naething?, 21. Ye Hae Lien Wrang, Lassie, 22. Hoo Can I Keep My Maidenheid?, 23. The Lassie Gath'ring Nits, 24. Blyth Will An' Bessie's Wedding

1962b. 

Songs from Robert Burns' Merry Muses of Caledonia Sung by Ewan MacColl. Edited by Kenneth S. Goldstein and Harry Oster. Edited and Annotated by Kenneth S. Goldstein. Limited Edition. Distributed by Folk-Lyric Records. [Baton Rouge, Louisiana] (1962). 23p. 4to (11 x 8.5 in.).

The booklet accompanied the LP of the same name.  Texts from Barke, Smith & Ferguson (1959).

1962c.  Roy Variant 14

The Merry Muses, A Selection of Favorite Songs Gathered from Many Sources. Originally Collected by Robert Burns.  To Which Are Added One of his Letters — formerly suppressed — And a Group of Merry Toasts and Sentiments.  Hand Made at the Light Year Press, San Francisco for City Lights Books.

This edition provides a selection of texts from the 1872 edition.

The cover & title page uses a photo reproduction The Merry Muses type-font used in Ross Variant 5.  The Ross Variant 5 title is also used on ca 1969 Merry Muses.

 There are two states with priority to State 1.

State 1: Perfect bound with red rubber but the book is not stapled.  The rubber is very delicate and falls apart easily.  This would explain the following state 2. 

State 2: Perfect bound with the red rubber but with staples.  We believe that this was done to reinforce the delicate binding.

Copies:  State 1: G. Legman ; The Jack Horntip Collection.  State 2: The G. Ross Roy Collection.

1962—1964.  Roy variant 15

 San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1962. 40p. ; 18cm. At head of title: Not for maids, ministers, or striplings."

Paper wraps stapled at the fold.  Cover is lacking the statement at the bottom: 'The Mouse's Tail' — See pg 16."  Title page is printed in black only.

Publishing note: "This is an offset copy of the limited letterpress ed. handset and printed in 1962, by Miles Payne, at the Light Year Press, San Francisco."

1965. 

The Merry Muses of Caledonia collected and in part written by Robert Burns. A new edition, now reprinted for the first time in type-facsimile of the unique original.  With additional songs from the Cunningham manuscript and other sources.  Edited by G. Legman.  New Hyde Park, N.Y., University Books [1965].  ixv, 326 p. 22 cm.

1966. 

The Merry Muses & Other Burnsian Frolics an Entirely New Compendium of Scottish Songs & Fragments From the Secret Collection of Robert Burns.  London : Luxor Press, 1966. Eric Lemuel Randall (ed., foreword & notes).  Includes indexes.

191 pages, 2 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations (black and white), portrait ; 19 cm

1885—ca 1969. 

The Merry Muses, A Selection of Favorite Songs Gathered from Many Sources.  From the Secret Collections of Robert Burns.  London: Printed for Private Circulation. 1885 [ca 1969]. Printed on multi-colored paper.  21 cm (8.25 inches) tall.  Cover title.

Copies:  State 1: G. Ross Roy Collection  ; State 2: G. Ross Roy Collection ; State 3: G. Ross Roy Collection, Jack Horntip Collection

State 1: paginated through 128p, with two copies of [4p]

State 2: paginated through 128p, with [4p] following.

State 3: paginated through 132p.

The information the variant states taken from the University of South Carolina online catalog here: http://libcat.csd.sc.edu/record=b2364867~S1

Assuming the most egregious error to have priority, the variant with two copies of 4 unnumbered pages at the rear is marked State 1. 

Purposefully misdated "1885".  This perfect bound trade paperback is an American pirated copy of the Randall (Luxor) edition with no indication of the source of the text or notes.  Printed on multicolored paper.  The cover title uses a photo reproduction "The Merry Muses" type-font that was used in an 1872 edition (Ross Variant 5). 

Page 7 has a poem, "She Skinned It Off", that the editor "A.L.S." attributes to an early edition of The Merry Muses with the date of July 27th, 1869.  There is no known edition of The Merry Muses from 1869.  The poem is an original composition.

1966—1979. 

The Secret Cabinet of Robert Burns: Merry Muses of Caledonia.  Edinburgh : Paul Harris Publishing. 1979.  Series: Gems of British social history series. no. 3.  92 pp., [1] leaf of plates : ill. ; 18 cm.  ISBN : 0904505847

Sixty-one songs with text & notes taken from Randall 1966.  No mention of Randall made in the book. 

1996.

The merry muses [sound recording] : The bawdy songs they didn't want you to hear!  Gill Bowman, Tich Frier, Fiona Forbes, Robin Laing, Scott Murray, Davy Steele and accompanying musicians.  Glasgow : Iona Records, 1996.

Iona Records IRCD 035.

1) The Yellow, Yellow Yorlin' - Davy Steele, 2) My Girl She's Airy, She's Buxom And Gay - Robin Laing, 3) Nine Inch Will Please A Lady - Gill Bowman, 4) Logan Water - Scott Murray, 5) Ye HaeLien Wrang, Lassie - Fiona Forbes, 6) The Bonniest Lass - Tich Frier, 7) As I Cam O'er The Cairneymount - Gill Bowman, 8) O Gie The Lass Her Fairin', Lad - Scott Murray, 9) Cuddie The Cooper -  Tich Frier, 10) Wad Ye Do That? - Davy Steele, 11) Ye Jovial Boys Who Loved The Joys - Robin Laing, 12) Dainty Davie - Fiona Forbes, 13) Muirland Meg - Davy Steele, 14) Gill Bowman How Can I Keep My Maidenhead?, 15) Nae Hair On't - Tich Frier, 16) In Edinburgh Town They've Made A Law - Scott Murray, 17) There Was A Jolly Gauger, A Gauging He Did Ride - Gill Bowman, 18) Duncan Gray - Robin Laing, 19) Duncan Macleerie - Davy Steele.

Burns, Robert.  Merry muses of Caledonia : a collection of favourite Scots songs ancient and modern : selected for use of the Crochallan Fencibles.
[Charleston, SC] : Nabu Press, 2012.  135 p. ; 25 cm.

OCLC # 775656134
Digitally produced facsimile. Original pictorial wrappers. 24.5 cm.
ISBN 9781177219808

NOT SEEN.  Description & photo from online catalogs.

Burns, Robert.  Merry muses of Caledonia.

The Perfect Library, 2015. 230 p.;

CreateSpace. 

ISBN-13
9781515043928

References:

Bold, Valentina. "On Editing The Merry Muses", in Studies in Scottish Literature. Vol. 37 / Issue 1, pp 95-107.  2012.

Brown, Stephen (2012) "Robert Burns, The Corochallan Fencibles, and the original printer of The Merry Muses of Caledonia," Studies in Scottish Literature: Vol. 38: Iss. 1, 92–107. 
Available at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/ssl/vol38/iss1/14

Husemann, Mary M. (2004) "The Uncensured Burns: Two Editions of The Merry Muses of Caledonia," Studies in Scottish Literature: Vol. 33: Iss. 1.
Available at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/ssl/vol33/iss1/34

Legman, G.  The Horn Book: Studies in Erotic Folklore and Bibliography (New Hyde Park, NY: University Books, 1964)

Legman, G.  The Merry Muses of Caledonia. Collected and in part written by Robert Burns.  Edited by G. Legman. New York. University Books, Inc. 1965 :  lxvi + 326pp.

Roy, G. Ross. "The '1827' Edition of Robert Burns's Merry Muses of Caledonia,"  Burns Chronicle, 4th series, v. 11 (1986): pgs 32–45.

Sudduth, Elizabeth A., ed. The G. Ross Roy Collection of Robert Burns: An Illustrated Catalog. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, 2009.
http://www.sc.edu/uscpress/books/2009/3829.html

To Do, Questions, References, and other Miscellaneous Items:

All items with "No Photo" need a scan or photograph of the title page.

Unknown editions:
 

1)  Legman reports that Prof. Joel Egerer notes an edition with the listing 'Edinburgh [no date]'
 

2) The Merry Muses.  Privately Printed, 1888.  12mo, vellum.  Description above is taken from American Book Prices Current, Sep 1 1899 to Sep 1, 1900.  New York: Dodd Mead & Company. 1900.  Pg 64.
 

3) The Merry Muses of Robert Burns, a choice collection of favorite songs, by Capt. Morris, Hewerdine, and other celebrated convivial writers. 1843, in-12. Recueil curieux. [Translates as "Curious Collection"].  NOT SEEN.  Description found in Bibliographie des ouvrages relatifs à l'amour, aux femmes, an mariage, ... Par M. le C. d'I***. Paris: Chez J. Gay, Editeur. 1864.  pg 249.  See Google Books.
 

4) The Merry Muses of Caledonia.  400 pages.  Listed for sale in an undated [ca 1969] erotica catalog by World Wide Book Service, 251 Third Ave, New York, New York. 

See here:  https://archive.org/details/TNM_Adult_oriented_book_catalog_-_World_Wide_Book_20180116_0172/mode/2up
 

5) Burns' Merry Muses. A Collection of Curious and Erotic Poems and favourite songs gathered from many sources, to which are added ten of his letters and a poem hitherto suppressed and never before printed.  Privately printed. [Not for sale]. 1827.  Limited edition to 200 copies, each numbered. $10.00

Description above is from Catalogue of Miscellaneous Books by Walter M. Hill, Chicago, Ill. Catalogue 20, May, 1907.

See here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Catalogues/emLpcKWh1HwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=RA10-PA16&printsec=frontcover&bsq=merry muses

The following MM have the song Langolee ("Ye botanists yield, I've discovered a root")

ca 1830 (dublin), ca 1830 (glasgow), 1843, 1884, 1886, 1905, ca 1908, ca 1930

The following MM have the song Tae Irish Root / The Irish Root ("Ye botanists yield, I've discovered a root")

1827--1872 (all variants),

The Craibe Angus Burnsiana. List of Special Items in the Library. With Notes [by J.C. Ewing]. To be Sold by Auction, Etc. F.P.
Front Cover
William Craibe ANGUS
Glasgow, 1902

Unknown MSS:  According to Notes and Queries, 4th Series, Vol. XII, Dec 13, 1873, pg 470.  Some MSS that formed part of The Merry Muses of Caledonia had been sold by auction by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge.  These manuscripts included six songs: "Nine Inch will Please a Lady" , "Cloaciniad" , "Act Sederunt of the Session" , "The Patriarch" , "The Fornicator", and an untitled song to "My dear Cleghorn".  (see Google Books)

Does this description match what is at the Carnegie Library ?

Book-Prices Current, Oct 1900 to July, 1901. Vol XV.  Pg 107, item 970:

Burns (R.)  Merry Muses of Caledonia, with Autograph Notes by Scott Douglas, also MS. Verses and Corrections, original edition, margins repaired, morocco super extra, tooled sides and back, and morocco and velvet case with lock, 1827, 8vo.  (392)  £5

See Google Books.

Sold at auction by Alexander Dowel, 18, George Street, Edinburgh. Dec 3 (and three following days), 1900. Auction from the library of the late Mr. R. T. Hamilton Bruce, of Grange, Dornoch.

Is this a MS copy?  Or is this an 1827 edition with Scott Douglass' notes? 

The below catalog entry is from https://www.onfife.com/sites/default/files/Murison%20Burns%20Database%20complete.xls (retrieved 25 Apr 2020)

1503 MB088 D20 book 53 Burns, Robert et al. The merry muses: a choice collection of favourite songs…. 1827 1 Privately printed. (Handwritten notes in margins) X 3 Front cover separating. Binding slack

Questions for Sudduth:

1)  On pg 180 (date of 1905), you have the following entry:

The Merry Muses: A Choice Collection of
Favourite Songs Gathered from Many
Sources. To which are added two of
his letters and a poem hitherto suppressed—
never before published.
[S.l.: s.n.,] 1905.
122 p.; 18 cm.
Title page in red and black.
Original imitation vellum.
Roy, Merry Muses, 5.

Several details above are contrary to Roy, Merry Muses, #5 :

1) The 1905 print date not bracketed indicates that date is printed on the title page but Roy, Merry Muses, 5 is dated 1827.

2) The book is described as 124 pages but Roy, Merry Muses, 5 has 122 pages

3) No mention of a Van Gelder watermark but Roy, Merry Muses, 5 has that watermark.

Am I misunderstanding something?  Is this a new variant ?

2)  You have the following description of the "1886" Edinburgh Merry Muses on page 146 of the Catalog :

 

Burns’ Merry Muses: A Choice Collection
of the Favourite Songs.
Edinburgh: Printed for Private Circulation,
1886.
iii, 124 p.; 20.4 cm.
Limited to 200 copies.
Original light gray cloth. This copy
unnumbered. Pons Bequest.
 

This copy is listed as being "iii, 124p." but the Duke University copy is "v, 124p".  Is there an error in the G. Ross Roy Collection catalog ?  Is this an undocumented variant ?

3)  This MM is listed in the University of South Caroline online catalog as not in Roy's The '1827' edition of Robert Burns's Merry Muses of Caledonia.".  But this appears to be Roy, Merry Muses, 8.  See here:  http://libcat.csd.sc.edu/record=b3122893~S1

What about this book makes it NOT a Roy, Merry Muses, 8 ?  Are their copies Roy 8 & 9 that don't have the red-brown frontispiece ?

4)  May I have photos of the following Merry Muses ?   Title page?  First page of poetry?

The merry muses : a choice collection of favourite songs gathered from many sources / by Robert Burns ; to which are added two of his letters and a poem—hitherto suppressed—never before printed.

Publication Info. [S.L. : s. n.,; 1827 ca, [i.e. 1920?]]
Call No. PR4322 .M42 1920b
OCLC # 31638254
Description 90 p.; 16.
Referenced Not in Roy.
Local Note:  "Contents," : p.[1]-iii--misbound following p.[viii].
Original dark green cloth.
Location: G. Ross Roy Collection.

The above entry was copied from here http://libcat.csd.sc.edu/record=b2083740~S1

Copyright © 2001-2020 by The Jack Horntip Collection.  Conditions of Use.