James Bruce Duncan, folksong collector: papers The collection consist of a number of variously sized volumes or notebooks ruled to record words in longhand or Pitman's shorthand, and music in solfa or staff notation, of folksongs and ballads: indices ot these; collections of notes, song and ballad versions, correspondence, newspaper-cuttings and papers relevant thereto. The majority of the volumes were compiled by JB Duncan using shorthand for much of the text: he also used shorthand when drafting replies to correspondents and in annotating material received, composing lectures etc. Letters from his brother, George F Duncan, and his friend Stewart Milne, are also in shorthand. Many are marked as having been copied or transcribed. Volumes containing records of folksongs and folk-airs, and compilations of relative information from printed sources and indices, 1905 - 1915; Notes and notebooks containing words of folksongs obtained from various contributors, Undated; Notebooks containing notes by Duncan on ballad collections other than his own, Undated; Notebooks containing copies of ballads from the collection of Gavin Greig, Undated; Notebooks containing music of folksongs recorded in solfa notation with words, generally of first verse only, in longhand, and notes on entries in shorthand, Undated; Volumes containing indices for volumes of folksong words and airs collected by him, Undated; Papers containing versions of folksongs and correspondence with persons contributing these, 1905 - 1908; Drafts of notes on ballads, with references to variant forms in different versions, accompanied by copies of versions as given by contributors, some with music, Undated; Notes on or of lectures, cuttings of reviews, etc., reports of lectures, formation of folk-lore committee of Buchan Field Club, 1904 - 1915; Cuttings from Buchan Observer, containing articles by Greig on 'Folk-Song of the North-East', Nos. I - CLXXX, 1907 - 1911; Cuttings from the Glasgow Weekly Herald, containing series of articles by John Muir on 'The Auld Scots Sangs', 1905 - 1906; Two 'Song Supplements' issued with People's Journal, 1906 and 1909; Letters and papers sent by Greig to Duncan concerning folksong and related topics, collaboration on production of volume of folk-music, etc., 1903 - 1914; Letters written by Miss Mary Ann Crichton to Duncan after death of Greig, concerning the transcription or copying of folksongs or airs and related topics, 1914 - 1916; Letters from Miss Bell Robertson to Duncan concerning folksongs and ballads known to her, commenting on sources and autobiographical information, 1914 - 1917; General correspondence on folksongs and related topics, 1906 - 1916; Music manuscripts, containing instrumental music, including jigs, reels and strathspeys, with some versions of folk tunes and other music, 1796?, 1815; 1905; 1908; photocopies of correspondence concerning research on these papers, 1959 - 1982. 1796-1982