To get to the National Library of Scotland, it’s a fairly energetic walk uphill from Waverley and across the Royal Mile to George IV Bridge. My FitBit and I agreed that I’d put in a reasonable amount of effort and a reasonable number of steps, so I had the obligatory coffee and cake as reward before heading up to Special Collections.
Snap!
I wanted to look at a piece of music by Rose Smith. I do own a copy – but needed to see if the NLS one emanated from an earlier or later era than the address on mine. It was, alas, identical, so I can be fairly sure that it was sold – and probably published – between 1891 and 1901. Any earlier, and Rose was barely an adult. Any later, and Mozart Allan’s street number would have been different.
Happy Families
There’s another Smith score in my own collection, where NLS didn’t have the precise ‘you might also like’ title that was advertised on the back. The British Library catalogue entry dates the advertised title at 1927. I don’t feel inclined to request a digitised copy. It wouldn’t necessarily confirm Smith’s piece to have been published around then. Smith’s cover art makes me doubt this. Although the first newspaper mention of a music title can be significant, Mozart Allan often continued to fill the inside and back covers of his music with adverts for other things the musician might be interested in, for quite a few years. So unless I can find a definite date earlier than 1925, I’m floundering in the dark.
Anyway, I had two more Mozart Allan scores lined up to view. These were by the same composer as that British Library piece. Both copies turned out to have been printed after 1925, but one of them could initially have been published any time after 1901 – I did find an early newspaper mention.
I’m not sure what I hoped to establish, really. Knowing that a piece of music by someone else, was published between 1901 and 1925, tells me nothing about the Smith piece that I actually want to pin down.
The Saltire Society
Somewhat crestfallen, because I hadn’t made much, if any progress, I was happy to have another coffee (and a blueberry muffin, in the interest of scientific comparison with the recipe I use!), then head to a talk about ‘The Women of the Saltire Society’, which was taking place at NLS this afternoon. There were two excellent speakers, Sarah Leith and Magnus Linklater, giving lively and informative presentations. I definitely need to read more about this organisation!
And then … down the News Steps I went. An unimpressive cuppa (frothy milk in tea?) at Waverley, then back to Glasgow.
As I said, it was a day of highs and lows! A welcome, relaxed day does no-one any harm.
