BOYS AND GIRLS COME OUT TO PLAY: A COLLECTION OF IRISH SINGING GAMES. by Leyden, Maurice - 1993

Belfast: Appletree, 1993. 152 pp, large 8vo (9 1/2" H). B&w drawings, music notation. "The material in this book has been culled from many sources and I have brought together a comprehensive range of children's games played throughout Ireland, complete with music notation, game instructions and background notes setting each game in its historical perspective. In this collection I have included long forgotten games, such as 'Thread the Needle' and 'Here Is One Knight' - games of great antiquity that give us glimpses of the Middle Ages. There are also the more popular games, such as 'Nuts in May', 'The Farmer's in His Den' and 'Briar Rosebud' that are as familiar to the children of Europe and America as they are to the children of Ireland. These are the games that have survived 'the usual rubbing or blurring consequent on long use among unlettered people'. The versions I have given are not the definitive ones and, inevitably, readers will have different ways of playing the games. This does not detract from them but emphasises the tenacity of children's folklore, the survival of which has defied time and place." Interior - very light toning to inside of covers, otherwise clean and tight with no previous ownership marks. Exterior - very light rubbing, minor edge wear, small scuff on bottom of text block.. First Edition. Soft Cover. Very Good. Illus. by Liisa Hindsberg..