Poem found in a box of junk written by 'titanic' Scots literary figure

The piece of Scottish literary history was written more than 300 years ago.

A forgotten manuscript written by a “titanic figure” of the Scottish Enlightenment has been discovered in an old box of junk during a house clearance.

The document was written by Edinburgh poet Allan Ramsay in 1719, with the manuscript , a mix of letter and verse, previously unknown.

James Chapelard

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The poem, called Address to the Town-Council of Edinburgh, sets out Ramsay’s plea to Edinburgh City Council to act to prevent the pirating of his works.

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The verse was later published by Ramsay, but it is now believed that the newly- discovered document may have been part of the original sent to the city council as the poet sought protection for his song and verse, which were becoming popular at the time.

It is addressed to the Right Honourable William Neilson Esquire, Lord Provost, and others.

Tommy Alexander, a valuer at Great Western Auctions, where the manuscripts will be sold next week, spent months researching the poem after contacting Scottish universities and literary organisations.

He said: “Prior to now, no manuscript copy of Allan Ramsay’s Address to the Town-Council of Edinburgh was known to exist.

“This significant literary historical discovery sheds new light on his compositional process, as in the seventh line of the poem we can see Ramsay revising his original word choice, which is unrecorded to now.

“Ramsay penned the address as an appeal to the City Council, that they legislate against the pirating of his works.

“This they duly did, decreeing that vendors of Ramsay’s verse were to retain only one third of their profits, with the majority share payable to Ramsay.”

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Were this to be flouted, the vendor was liable to be fined 20 pounds, have their stock confiscated and their licence for future trade revoked.

Mr Alexander added: “Of interest here is the format in which Ramsay presents his poem, that of a letter literally addressed to named members of the Council. It may be the case that it was the receipt of this very document that prompted their intervention.”

Mr Alexander described Ramsay, who is regarded as a major influence on Robert Burns, as a “titanic” figure in the early Scottish Enlightenment.

“As a poet and playwright, as well as a collector of verse, he did much to crystallize the Scottish literary tradition. His influence can be strongly felt through the work of subsequent writers, among them Burns, Fergusson and Scott,” he added.

The manuscript, which was found in a box of “miscelleaneous ephemera”, runs to only the fourteenth line of the poem - "In Rags wi' bluther'd Face".

“We assume therefore that this is the first of numerous pages, with the remainder lost,” Mr Alexander added.

The manuscript is expected to fetch between £800 and £1,200 when it comes up for auction at the GWA Summer Fine Art & Antiques Action on Friday and Saturday.

Other lots at the sale include the painting Crucifixion by renowned Australian artist Roy De Maistre, who has been described as Francis Bacon’s “most important artistic contact in the 1930s”.

The painting, which once hung in Iona Abbey, is expected to fetch between £10,000 and £15,000.

It is believed the painting was bought directly by The Iona Community from the artist.

A painting by Scottish artist Margaret De Courcy Lewthwaiite Dewar, of Baby Mungo lands at Culross, is expected to fetch between £1,500 and £3,000 at the auction.