Magic Lantern Slide with "Auld Lang Syne" by Robert Burns

The words of the song are surrounded by black and white pen and ink illustrations.   Robert Burns created "Auld Lang Syne", perhaps the best known song in the English language, (although it is actually written in Scots),  by reworking a snatch of a traditional song which he had collected. He first wrote down a version of it in 1788 whilst living at Ellisland Farm, 5 miles north of Dumfries.   In 1793 he wrote to George Thomson, his publisher, "...the old song of the olden times, and which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript, until I took it down from an old man's singing".   Magic lantern slides such as this were used at "pictorial  concerts" where the words of songs were projected to encourage the audience to sing along. Before the advent of the cinema, magic lantern shows were popular social gatherings.
Object no :
DMBN101n
Collection :
Creator :
J Lizars, Optician, Glasgow
Place of Production :
NA
Dimensions :
width: 82 mm, length: 82 mm
Materials :
glass
Location :
NA
Related site :
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