Dear All,

Please find below details of a fascinating new volume 

in the Elphinstone Institute's Occasional Publications 

Series.

This important study of two great men and their ballad 

discussions will be of great relevance to ballad scholars 

and all those interested in the cultural 

traditions and language of North-East Scotland. 

Apologies for any cross posting.

Best wishes,

Ian Russell



THE BEDESMAN AND THE HODBEARER



The Epistolary Friendship of Francis James Child and 

William Walker



Edited and Introduced by Mary Ellen Brown

___________________________________________________________________________

 



'This publication is a mine of information about the North 

East and its song and language towards the end of the 19th 

century, while the letters are a delight to read.'

Ian Olson, The Leopard

 



The Bedesman and the Hodbearer is the second in the 

Elphinstone Institute's Occasional Publications Series on 

the culture and traditions of North and North-East 

Scotland.  The intriguing title describes the epistolary 

relationship between Aberdeen pawnbroker William Walker 

(one of Scotland's foremost authorities on the ballads) and 

Harvard Professor Francis James Child, during the last 

decade of the nineteenth century.  Edited and introduced by 

Professor Mary Ellen Brown, Director of the Institute for 

Advanced Study at the University of Indiana, the book 

brings together for the first time the two halves of their 

correspondence: from the Houghton Library at Harvard and 

from Aberdeen University's Historic Collections, Special 

Libraries and Archives.  Child's monumental The English and 

Scottish Popular Ballads (1882-1898), the standard text for 

ballad studies, was published without an introduction, 

which he had intended to remedy but for his untimely death 

in 1896.  This fascinating correspondence helps the reader 

to gain an insight into Child's method of working, as well 

as the remarkable friendship the two men established.



Aberdeen University Press		ISBN 1 85752 299 0





Order Form



To order a copy of The Bedesman and the Hodbearer, please 

complete and return to:

The Secretary, the Elphinstone Institute, King's College, 

24 High Street, Aberdeen, AB24  3EB, with payment



Please supply ……copy/ies of The Bedesman and the Hodbearer 

@ £11.00 (UK), £12.00 (Europe), £13.50 (outside Europe) 

including postage and packing.



Total:…………..



Cheque/PO/Credit Card (Visa, Mastercard only) 

or Debit Card (Switch only)



Card details:

Type of card …………………. Name on card ………………………… ………..Expiry Date……..



Number of card………………. Issue number if Switch card …………………………….



Please make cheques payable to the 'University of Aberdeen'

Your name & address:



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This form is downloadable at:

www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/research.hti



----------------------

Dr Ian Russell, Director

The Elphinstone Institute

University of Aberdeen

24 High Street

Aberdeen

AB24 3EB

Tel: +44 (0)1224 272386

Fax: +44 (0)1224 272728

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Website:

www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/