Jamie Wilson's mother's dream.
Burke, William,1792-1829.
Hare, William,1792?-1870?
[Edinburgh] : Published by W. Smith, no. 3, Bristo Port,
[1829]
At foot of text: N.B.-There is published by the same editor, (the second edition, with alterations,) a laconic narrative of the life and death of poor Jamie ; in which are interspersed, several anecdotes relative to him, and his old friend Boby Awl :-Price thrippence. The work is embellished with a striking Portrait of Jamie.
Beneath the wodcuts and above the title: 'Poor Jamie ne'er was shrowded,/ But in a Tea-chest crowded;/ With Coffin ne'er connected,/ But by the knife dissected.
Dated from internal evidence - Jamie Wilson, or 'Daft Jamie', was the penultimate victim of the notorious murderers Burke and Hare, who killed sixteen times on the streets of Edinburgh to provide the anatomist Robert Knox with bodies for medical research. Daft Jamie's murder is commonly believed to have been the pair's undoing. Whereas Burke and Hare had previously chosen mainly solitary and elderly victims, Jamie was a well-known character in Edinburgh's Old Town, and was immediately missed by his widowed mother. His corpse, when unveiled at a medical demonstration, was recognised by several of the participating students.
First line reads: DARK, dark and drizzly was the night.
In two columns with two woodcuts above the title.
Signed at foot: A. Gowrie.
Ballads, English
Murder victims