Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England Taken down from Oral Recitation and Transcribed from Private Manuscripts, Rare Broadsides and Scarce Publications by BELL, Robert (ed.) - 1857

London: John W. Parker and Son, 1857. First edition thus. Hardcover. Very Good. 12mo. [3], iv-vi, [1], 8-252, [4] pp. Half contemporary brown morocco over marbled paper boards, boards ruled in gilt, with the spine in six compartments, gilt lettering and design on the spine; top edge gilt. Light blue endpapers and pastedowns. Publisher's device on the title page. The University of Auckland, "Special Collections Bookplates". The bookplate of known collector Joseph M. Gleason. Gleason was a historian, a priest, and an educator who resided in California. Portions of this work were originally published in 1846 under the auspices of the editor James Henry Dixon. The smaller, earlier publication was done for the Percy Society, a short-lived British publishing house. Our copy is a revised and enlarged edition. Contains numerous short pieces concerning the vagaries of farming, class distinctions, courtship, and other relevant topics to the people of nineteenth-century Great Britain. Light rubbing to the… Read More