Burns centenary book located at charity sale

A chance find at a charity book sale has been found to be a literary gem.

Cassie Kennedy was attending the sale and knew she had stumbled upon something special when she uncovered a copy of The National Burns.
After a bit of online research, she came to realise that the book is indeed historically significant.

The National Burns by Reverend George Gilfillan was first published in 1893, approaching the first century of the Bard’s passing. The title is synopsised as ‘including the Airs of all the Songs and an original life of Burns.’

Excited to share the news, Cassie contacted Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries’s Local Studies department and offered to donate the book to the Murison Burns Collection.

Sara Ann Kelly, local studies officer, at ONFife Archives said: ‘We are extremely pleased that Cassie has chosen to donate The National Burns to us. Having another copy of this historic book in our library will allow us to make this particular text in the Murison Burns collection more accessible to researchers and students, meaning copies of the books can be leant out to other libraries and used in projects with schools and colleges.’

Cassie added: ‘I’m delighted that The National Burns has found its way home. I was immediately drawn to the book and knew I had to buy it. I can’t believe a £2 charity book has found its way into the Murison Burns collection – it’s a story I’d write myself!’

Sara Ann would be interested to hear from anyone who would like to use the material for educational purposes.

The Murison Burns Collection is based at Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries and can be browsed by appointment during the venue’s opening hours by emailing localstudies.dunfermline@onfife.com

Cassie Kennedy is the author of The Kinship Chronicles and more details can be found HERE.

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