Record

CollectionGB 0231 University of Aberdeen, Special Collections
LevelItem
Ref NoMS 30/2/48
Alt Ref NoMS 30 c.48
TitleThomas Blacklock to James Beattie from Aberdeen
Date25 January 1771
Extent1 Item
Administrative HistoryThomas Blacklock [1721-1791] Poet and writer. He was blind from smallpox at the age of 6 months, but in spite of his handicap he showed an early taste for poetry. He published his first volume of verse in 1746, and another in 1756. He became a Church of Scotland minister in 1759, but he later gave up and took pupils. He introduced himself to Beattie in 1765 by sending him a copy of his 1756 poems. For some time he was an important confidant and poetic adviser to Beattie. Beattie secured a honorary DD of Marischal College for him in 1767
DescriptionLast letter with Dr Odier's thesis was dictated in a hurry. congratulates Beattie on success of Essay. He has heard nothing yet of publication or success of Minstrel. Blacklock writes for Weekly Magazine in character of a farmer called George Tenant, but does not want authorship known. He has assisted Miss Marshall with her Trifler. She has published six numbers, but sales decrease
Access StatusOpen
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