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Poems and songs in Scots by the Paisley weaver including his most famous songs Tak It, Man, Tak It and Oh, Sweet Were the Hours. There is also an elegy for the Paisley-born Scottish ornithologist Alexander Wilson. Original full leather, rubbed at edges. Front hinge cracked but binding otherwise intact with no loose or missing pages. Pages tanned almost throughout with contemporary inscriptions on second blank page (James Campbell, Paisley) and back endpaper. Ink marks to title page and faint remains of child's drawings to second blank page and title page. In fair condition only but a very scarce item. More photographs available on request. "David Webster was born in Dunblane, on the 25th September 1787. He was the second of a family of eight children born to his parents, who occupied the humbler condition of life. By his father, he was destined for the Church, but the early death of this parent put a check on his juvenile aspirations. He was apprenticed to a weaver in Paisley, and continued, with occasional intermissions, to prosecute the labours of the loom. His life was much chequered by misfortune. Fond of society, he was led to associate with some dissolute persons, who professed to be admirers of his genius, and was enticed by their example to neglect the concerns of business, and the duties of the family-hearth, for the delusive pleasures of the tavern. From his youth he composed verses. In 1835, he published, in numbers, a volume of poems and songs, with the title, "Original Scottish Rhymes." His style is flowing and graceful, and many of his pieces are marked by keen satire and happy humour. The songs inserted in the present work are favourable specimens of his manner. He died on the 22nd January 1837, in his fiftieth year." ( from The Modern Scottish Minstrel by Charles Rogers). Seller Inventory # 006241
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