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 relevance to ballad scholars and all those interested in the 
cultural traditions and language of North-East Scotland.
Apologies for any cross posting (and encryption!).
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, University of 
Aberdeen, 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:
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Expiry Date ......................
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Please make cheques payable to the 'University of Aberdeen'
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This form is downloadable at:
www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/research.hti#bedesman


----------------------
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/