ROBERT BURNS (1759-1796)

Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, is also undoubtedly Scotland's greatest national cult hero. Burns' great appeal lies in his humble origins and hard "ploughman's" life, and in his rustic, unpretentious verse that is so characteristic of Scottish folk tradition. His great fame rests almost entirely on Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect.

After a break in his long relationship with Jean Armour, Burns decided to make a fresh start by emigrating to Jamaica. Burns' close friend, Gavin Hamilton, advised him to publish a volume of his poems to pay for his passage. The result was Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, published on July 31, 1786 in the town of Kilmarnock--a collection of thirty-six poems carefully selected to impress a sophisticated Edinburgh audience. His efforts went beyond his intentions, charming not only the Edinburgh critics, but also the Scottish rural folk, and every generation of Scot since. The ship left for Jamaica without him, and instead Burns journeyed straight to Edinburgh to meet the fortune reaped from his volume's great success.

This copy of the first edition is from the collection of Duncan McNaught, editor of the Burns Chronicle, and contains his signature in pencil on the back end paper.