| Collection | GB 0231 University of Aberdeen, Special Collections |
| Level | Item |
| Ref No | MS 3270/1/7/1/2 |
| Alt Ref No | 15 |
| Title | Notebook containing poems written by Lockhart whilst at school, university and during Naval service |
| Date | 1912 - 1916 |
| Extent | 1volume |
| Description | Most of the poems in this book are amusing anecdotes about friends and family: Lockhart wrote introductions to most, explaining to whom or what they referred, often accompanied by a critique of his literary style and analysis of the poems' merit or otherwise: e.g. 'These verses were written to my cousin Jess ... the first verses she ever received ... the first verse is evidently badly constructed for hardly anyone can understand it until I have explained it, and even then they don't appear to see the similie quite clearly'.
Many of the poems were written to his sweetheart, Winnie [Winifred ?], who he had hoped to marry: 'This was sent to Winnie when I was at Haslar Hospital, wearying very much and beginning to realise how very much I loved her ...' It is believed that his mother did not approve of the match and Winifred later married another. |
| Appraisal | The 'Winifred poems' were removed from the notebook prior to deposit, but have since been reunited and placed inside. |
| Access Status | Open |
| Access Conditions | Open, subject to signature accepting conditions of use at reader registration sheet |
| Publication Note | A version of 'A Memory of the Minches', which was later published in the 'Glasgow Herald' is included in the notebook, with background notes on its inspiration. His 'Rhyming Letter to Miss Aitken' (page 1) was published in 'The Gordonian', vol 5 (1), October 1913 (24); 'Chaucer at the Swimming Pond' (page 5) was published in 'The Gordonian', vol 4 (2), Decemebr 1912 (56). |