In June 1958, the Reverend Samuel M. Lindsay, a longtime friend and supporter of Davidson College, donated his collection of Robert Burns poetry to the library. At the time, Reverend Lindsay’s collection was considered to be one of the largest and finest personal collections of Robert Burns poetry in America. Born in the same town as Robert Burns, Lindsay spent his childhood in Ayr, Scotland. He graduated from Andover – Newton in Boston and received his Doctor of Divinity degree from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine and Staley College in Boston.
Lindsay eventually served as Professor of Preaching at Boston University School of Theology for several years before becoming pastor of Euclid Avenue Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio. He also served as a minister to churches in Massachusetts, New York, and Florida. Lindsay was regarded as an authority on Robert Burns and spent his lifetime collecting early editions of Burns’ works.
Of particular importance in this outstanding collection is a rare first edition of Burns’ Poems, printed in Edinburgh in 1787. In addition, the collection also contains a small wooden dressing case made from the rafters in old Alloway Church, the setting for Burns’ “Tam O’Shanter.”
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