John Glen was a music publisher in Edinburgh, who amassed a unique portfolio of the great 18th and 19th century collections. In 1891 he published his first volume of tunes from these earlier works, including the compositions of some of the greatest composers, and followed this with a second volume in 1895.

The books contain 292 selected tunes from Marshall, the Gow family, Mackintosh and others (all meticulously attributed), most of which are not available elsewhere. Importantly, however, they also include Glen's biographies of the composers and publishers and notes on the earlier collections and sources of the tunes. Scholars have long recognised the quality of Glen's research, and his text is regarded as authoritative.

The reprint combines both volumes and reproduces the text in its entirety. The tunes are printed in the treble lines only, and grouped into keys, with a composite index. There is a foreword by Charles Gore, author of the Scottish Fiddle Index.