Original Auld Lang Syne manuscript on show at the Grolier Club,

March 29-April 5

It is arguably the world’s most famous song, sung on joyous occasions globally, and now a manuscript for Auld Lang Syne, written in Robert Burns’ own hand circa 1788, will go on display at the Grolier Club in New York March 29-April 5, 2008 as part of the city’s 20th anniversary Tartan Week celebrations.

Robert Burns (1759-1796) is Scotland’s best-known and best-loved poet: an enduring national figure with an international reputation. His life was cut short at the age of 37, yet his achievement was extraordinary and is still celebrated today. The manuscript of Auld Lang Syne that will be on display in New York during Tartan Week is one of only six known copies scribed by Robert Burns himself. It is on loan from the Robert Burns Collection at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, which with 4,000 Burns-related items is the largest collection of its kind in the world.

Karen Cunningham, Head of Libraries at Culture & Sport Glasgow, will deliver a lecture on Burns and the Mitchell’s outstanding collection of Burns artefacts, as part of the seminar “It Is Time to Come Home – Homecoming Scotland 2009,” to be held Sunday, April 6, 10am-4pm, at The New York Public Library South Court Auditorium, Humanities and Social Sciences Library, 5th Avenue at 42nd Street. For more information about the seminar, including instructions on how to reserve a place, visit http://www.cometoscotland.com/cgi-bin/whatsnews.cgi?view,4.

By special arrangement with the Mitchell Library, the manuscript of Auld Lang Syne will be on view for one week only leading up to the seminar, free of charge, 10 am-5 pm, Saturday March 29-Saturday April 5, at the Grolier Club, 47 East 60th Street, New York, NY, 10022.

For more information on this special exhibition, call the Grolier Club at (212) 838-6690

Source - ibookcollector newsletter 105.