The Vocalist’s Companion. A Choice Collection of Popular Songs & 3 Other Scots Song Collections

A handsome early 20th c binding in very good condition in half brown calf over marbled boards, titled in gilt over black ground to an attractively tooled spine; ‘Glasgow 1865’ in gilt to spine tail. The ex libris bookplate of ‘David Murray’ is pasted to the marbled endpapers and an ownership inscription to free endpaper recto reads ‘David Murray Glasgow’. Bound in are 4 pocket sized, rare Scottish Songbooks c1850 in very good condition:

1. The Vocalist’s Companion. A Choice Collection of Popular Songs with Music, Original and Selected. Glasgow: Mitchison & Co., undated. Music scores and lyrics to c100 songs. Includes title page. 64 pp. A scarce early edition.

2. The Comic Vocalist: A Collection of The Choicest Comic Songs, Scottish, English, Irish and Negro. Glasgow: John Cameron, 1856. Includes illustrated wrapper and title page. 128 pp. plus 4 pp. ads. A rare item listed in only 1 library worldwide (National Library of Scotland).

3. A Collection of Popular Songs. 256 pp. Undated with no title page or publisher’s details.

4. ‘The Little Gem containing the Newest Songs of the Day’. A One Penny printing for the Glasgow booksellers 32 pp. Blue card wrappers contain 30 songs. A rare item listed at only 2 universities worldwide.