Magic Lantern Slide with "There Was A Lad"

The words of the song "There Was A Lad" ("Rantin, Rovin Robin") are surrounded by black and white pen and ink illustrations.   Robert Burns wrote this autobiographical song in 1787, possibly in celebration of his 28th birthday. "Twas then a blast of Janwar win' / Blew hansel in on Robin."   This refers to the circumstances of his birth, during a mid winter storm, which blew down the chimney gable of his parents' cottage and forced his mother and the newly born Robert to seek shelter with neighbours.   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. This is from a set of 72 such slides. Before the advent of the cinema, magic lantern shows were popular social gatherings.
Object no :
DMBN124n
Collection :
Creator :
NA
Place of Production :
NA
Dimensions :
width: 82 mm, length: 82 mm
Materials :
glass
Location :
NA
Accession number :
Lantern Slide, PEOPLE, Robert Burns / 83
Copyright :
Dumfries & Galloway Council
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