View source for Poems of Ossian

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Poems of Ossian''}}
===by James Macpherson===
{{BookPageInfoBox
|imagename=MacphersonPoemsOfOssian1784v2TitlePage.jpg
|link=https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991025619919703196
|shorttitle=The Poems of Ossian
|vol=volume two
|author=[[:Category:James Macpherson|James Macpherson]]
|publoc=[[:Category:London|London]]
|publisher=Printed for W. Straham and T. Cadell
|year=1784-1785
|edition=A new edition
|lang=[[:Category:English|English]]
|set=2
|desc=[[:Category:Octavos|8vo]] (23 cm.)
|shelf=M-4
}}[[wikipedia:James Macpherson|James Macpherson]] (1736 &ndash; 1796) was a Scottish writer most famous for his collection of Gaelic ballads, purportedly from a 3rd-centruy bard. Macpherson had an extensive background in Gaelic history and literature, as well as in the classics. He began his career as a poet while in university at Aberdeen, writing comical poems and developing prominent contacts in Edinburgh.<ref>Derick S. Thomson, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/17728 "Macpherson, James (1736-1796),"] ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2004), accessed October 31, 2013.</ref>

''The Poems of Ossian'' adapts Gaelic oral history, carried down in ballads, to verse easily digestible by non-Gaelic readers.  Macpherson “translated” ballads and adapted their plots to piece together historical narratives.  The poems immediately became controversial in Britain because of questions of their authenticity,<ref> Robert P. Fitzgerald, "The Style of Ossian," ''Studies in Romanticism'', 6, No. 1 (Boston University, Fall 1966), 22-23.</ref> and also due to the tangle of Scottish, English, and Irish rivalries.

[[Thomas Jefferson]] corresponded with Charles Macpherson in 1773, thirteen years after the initial publication of ''The Poems of Ossian'', to ask for a copy of the poems Macpherson used in the original Gaelic.<ref> Gilbert Chinard, "Jefferson and Ossian," ''Modern Language Notes'', 38, No. 4 (The Johns Hopkins University Press, Apr. 1923), pp. 201-203.</ref> Charles Macpherson responded that no copies of the poems existed, as Gaelic was not only a difficult language to learn, but was mostly oral.<ref> Ibid., at p. 201, 203-04.</ref>  His reply gets to the heart of the controversy surrounding the poems: that Macpherson composed the poems himself instead of translating them.<ref> Ibid., at p. 202.</ref>

==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
Listed in the [[Jefferson Inventory]] of [[Wythe's Library]] as "Ossian. 2.v. 8vo." and kept by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson later sold a copy of the London (1784-1785) edition of ''The Poems of Ossian'' to the Library of Congress in 1815, but the volumes no longer exist to ascertain Wythe's previous ownership.<ref>E. Millicent Sowerby, ''Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson'', (Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress, 1952-1959), 4:464-466 [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015033648125;view=1up;seq=486 [no.4377]].</ref> [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe George Wythe's Library]<ref>''LibraryThing'', s. v. [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe "Member: George Wythe"] accessed on March 4, 2014.</ref> on LibraryThing mentions the Library of Congress copy but notes "Precise edition unknown. Several two-volume editions in octavo were published." The [https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433 Brown Bibliography]<ref> Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433</ref> includes the Library of Congress copy while also listing a copy of the Paris (1783) edition at the University of Virginia as a possibility for Wythe's copy. The Wolf Law Library purchased a copy of the London edition.

==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
Bound in recent half-calf with gilt, raised bands, and red labels. Purchased from Peter Shouler. 

Images of the library's copy of this book are [https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolflawlibrary/albums/72157637697575143 available on Flickr.] View the record for this book in [https://wm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COWM_INST/g9pr7p/alma991025619919703196 William & Mary's online catalog.]

==See also==

*[[George Wythe Room]]
*[[Jefferson Inventory]]
*[[Wythe's Library]]

==References==

<references/>

==External Links==

Read volume one of this book at the [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433074933379;view=1up;seq=9 Hathi Trust.]<br />
Read volume two of this book at the [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433074933361;view=1up;seq=9 Hathi Trust.]

__NOTOC__
[[Category:George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
[[Category:James Macpherson]]
[[Category:Jefferson's Books]]
[[Category: Poetry]]
[[Category:Possible Surviving Wythe Volumes]]
[[Category:Scottish Literature]]
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]

[[Category:English]]
[[Category:London]]
[[Category:Octavos]]