'He that has just enough can soundly sleep': Engraving from Act 1, scene 1 of 'The Gentle Shepherd' by Allan Ramsey (Perth: Robert Morison & Co, 1780). [Library shelfmark: NG.1176.D.27]
The earliest book-based project to create a visual representation of Allan Ramsay's poem 'The Gentle Shepherd' was undertaken by Perth-based publisher Robert Morison & Son.
In 1780, for his first edition of the work, Morison commissioned small, cost-effective circular engravings to illustrate different scenes. These were modest in comparison to later editions published in 1781 and 1788.