Book, medals, and printed ephemera relating to Helen Patuffa Hood and Marjory Kennedy Fraser

This material is held atEdinburgh University Library Heritage Collections

  • Reference
    • GB 237 Coll-1978
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1889; 1925-1928; 1946
  • Language of Material
    • English
  • Physical Description
    • 1 volume
      1 folder
      2 medals In their respective boxes.
      Some yellowing and slight soiling, but otherwise good.

Scope and Content

This collection includes a printed book with two enclosures, printed ephemera, and two medals related to harpist Helen Patuffa Hood and her mother Marjory Kennedy-Fraser, Scottish musician and folk-song collector.

  • The printed book is a signed copy of The Road to the Isles (Edinburgh: Robert Grant & Son, 1927) by Kenneth Macleod given by the author himself to Patuffa as indicated by the inscription on the title page: "Kenneth Macleod, Michaelmas 1927 - Patuffa Kennedy-Fraser: "Bu bhriagh a sheinneadh i cruit. 'S gu'm b' fhearr na Sheinneadh, a beus"". This can be translated as "Beautiful her music on the harp; Beautifuller than her music, her goodness." It is a quote by Kenneth Macleod which is printed in the introduction to Songs of the Hebrides. Enclosed in this volume were a postcard showing a man sitting in an office, signed "To Patuffa, with the affectionate regard of Charles Roche", and a letter from "M. G. Pettigrew" dated 26 June 1946, sent from Iona to "Dear Mrs Hood".
  • Small number of pamphlets and leaflets related to the work of Marjory Kennedy-Fraser and her daughter Patuffa: an advert for the new edition of Songs of the Hebrides", c 1931; an issue of The Common Good magazine with an article on Marjory Kennedy-Fraser, February 1928; an advert for a recital of "Songs of the Hebrides" by Marjory & Patuffa Kennedy-Fraser, assisted by Margaret Kennedy, Wednesday 12 November c 1924; a black-and-white picture of Patuffa Kennedy-Fraser standing bare feet in the wood, dressed in a loose-fitting archaic robe, with the note "Patuffa Kennedy-Fraser, from Alice Boughton with the best of wishes"; a programme for a recital of "Songs of the Hebrides" at Tempest Anderson Hall, 21 March 1925; and two pamphlets with the Gaelic words of "Songs of the Hebrides" for voice and Celtic harp by Patuffa Kennedy-Fraser.
  • Two medals from the Royal Academy of Music in their original boxes, awarded to Marjory Kennedy-Fraser in 1889 for Harmony and Singing. There is also a small tubular silver item in one of the boxes.

Access Information

Open. Please contact the repository in advance.

Acquisition Information

Purchased in June 2018. Accession no SC-Acc-2020-0026.

Archivist's Note

Catalogued by Aline Brodin in August 2020.

Related Material

Also within Special Collections, Edinburgh University Library, are other similar or related materials with association to Helen Patuffa Hood and Marjory Kennedy-Fraser:

Genre/Form