Song Story of Francesco and Beatrice

Doughty, A.G., The Song story of Francesco and Beatrice, illuminated manuscript, ca. 1892.

While no physcial or digital copies could be located, it would appear that at least three copies may have been produced between 1892 and 1901. N.E. Dionne listed this illustrated manuscript in “Inventaire chronologique des livres, brochures, journaux et revues publiés en anglais dans la province de Québec, de 1764 à 1906“, Mémoires et compte rendu de la Société royale du Canada, Tome Supplémentaire, May 1906. Entry # 2382a (p. 140), for the year 1892, credited the publication to Doughty (A.G.) with illustrations by F.S. Holiday, as published in Montreal. This is the earliest record that could be found for this publication.

The editor of the column "Old and New" in the Montreal Gazette, 28 Nov. 1896 provided a detailed description of a work Doughty had just completed: an 80 page illuminated manuscript with the same title.

A third version in the possession of Sir Donald Smith is mentioned in The Canadian Magazine, vol. 8, no. 5 (Mar) 1897, p. 462.

Charles Canniff James in A Bibliography of Canadian Poetry (English), Printed for the Library, Toronto: William Briggs, 1899, p. 19 under the entry for Doughty, noted "printed for private circulation Helen and Aphrodite and The Song Story of Francesco and Beatrice."

And in 1901, The Gazette (Montreal) 22 June 1901, in "Old and New" p. 5, included a pre-publication note describing the beautiful calligraphy and illustrations in The Song Story of Francesco and Beatrice. To our knowledge this was never published.