Happy Robbie Burns Day! We are fortunate to have in our collection the records from the Burns Literary Society (Toronto). The records, mostly consisting of minute and account books, date from 1898-1932, and were donated to us in 1979 by the last president of the Society – Duncan McCowan.
The point of the Burns Literary Society was to celebrate the life and work of Robert Burns, and the meetings involved reciting his poetry and singing his songs. Every year, the Society held a Robbie Burns Dinner on his birthday. As seen in the above meeting minutes from January 25 1926, there was always a haggis presented at the dinner with “Address to a Haggis” recited.
The Burns Literary Society (later renamed the Burns Club in 1947) ceased to exist in the 1960s due to a lack of new members.
