John Anderson My Jo.

PrinterPrinted by Kellogg & Comstock American, 1850 - 1851

PublisherPublished by Kellogg & Comstock American, 1850 - 1851

PublisherPublished by Ensign, Thayer & Co. American, 1850 - 1852

Date1851

MediumLithography; printer's ink and watercolor on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 11 1/4 x 8 5/8in. (28.6 x 21.9cm)
Sheet (height x width): 14 x 10 1/16in. (35.6 x 25.6cm)

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineMuseum purchase

DescriptionAn elderly woman and an elderly man sit side by side. He sits in an armchair, the woman in a side chair. He wears a coat, a vest, breeches, and hose and leans on a cane. He is bald. She wears a cap trimmed with ruching, a bodice, an apron, and a skirt. Her bodice and cap appear to be made of velvet. A pair of scissors and a separate pocket are attached to her waist. Printed drapes are in the right background. A cupboard or wardrobe is in the left background. Image is surrounded by a double rule.

Object number1959.37.5

InscribedOn recto, lithographed title beneath image, "JOHN ANDERSON MY JO. / John Anderson my jo, John, / We clamb the hill thegither; / And mony a canty day, John, / We've had wi' ane anither; / Now we maun totter down, John, / But hand in hand we'll go; / And sleep thegither at the foot, / John Anderson my jo. / Burns' Songs. / 418." In pencil: upper left, "Drawer 10 #12"; lower left, "Drawer 10, #12".

On verso, inscribed in pencil: lower right, "Dwr 10"; upper left old and new accession numbers.NotesHistorical Note: The son of a farmer, Robert Burns was born in Alloway, Scotland on 25 January 1759. Although poor, he read widely, and by 1781, had begun to write poetry. His Poems, chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, were an immediate success when they were published in 1786. He died at Dumfries, Scotland on 21 July 1796 at the age of 37.

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