Scope and Contents Photocopy of a compiled work entitled Gutachten des hochsten Gericht[s]hofes Schottlands nebst anderen Documenten, welche sich auf die Errichtung der Professur der Musik bei der Universitat von Edinburgh beziehen (Edinburgh, 1853), edited and with an introduction by John Donaldson, Reid Professor of the Theory of Music at the University of Edinburgh. The English title is 'Judgement of the court session of Scotland with other documents relating to the...

Scope and Contents This undated letter from John Donaldson to H. H. Dibdin, and written from Marchfield, discusses the adjustment and tuning of an organ, and denies that Sir George Clerk had advocated 'the absurd perfect third system' stating, 'Until the valves were equally opened it was quite impossible to know, precisely, what kind of temperament Mr. Hill had adopted for the Music Hall organ. When I tried it with Sir G. Clerk we found one stop in tolerable tune - I say tolerable, but even in that stop many...

Scope and Contents Scrapbook containing Donaldson's collection of cuttings (including one from The Scotsman 24 April 1858 re his purchases of many items for the Reid library from Siegfried Wilhelm Dehn in Berlin), pamphlets (including several collected at the Great Exhibition of 1851), handbills and advertisements describing and advertising various types of musical instrument.Donaldson made considerable acquisitions of both musical instruments and scores for the Reid and was the driving force...