BALLAD

One page, 4to, c.35 x 24cm, folded (with marks), creased slightly at edges and on folds, some foxing and pinholes, blank reverse grubby, with two small woodcuts at top. A sheet containing a number of Christmas songs: The Black Decree (Herod); O see man's Saviour in Bethlehem born; While Shepherds watch'd their Flocks by Night; On Christmas Night all Christians sing. No other copy traced.

2pp., on both sides of a strip of 35.5 x 11.5 cm laid paper with fleur-de-lys watermark. In a secretary hand employing the thorn and long s. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. An untitled forty-line poem, divided into five numbered eight-line stanzas. The narrator is an older married woman, advising a younger woman not to marry, with observations on the frailties of the male sex. The first stanza reads: 'Ere ye. read ys. ye. may suppose. | That some new listed Lover. | By means of Poetry has chose. | His Passion to discover.

On one side of a piece of 15 x 17 cm paper. In good condition, on lightly aged and creased paper. The illustration is roughly 10.5 x 16 cm, and shows a bearded oriental warrior, with plumed headpiece, spear and knife in belt, leading an oversized horse. The disproportionate nature of the composition suggests that the male figure was added to the existing illustration of the horse.

1p., 12mo. On 24.5 x 18.5 cm. piece of thin wove paper. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper with damage to extremities. A scarce and intriguing survival, about which nothing has hitherto been discovered. Printed in heavy black type characteristic of the early nineteenth century.

1p., 12mo. Text enclosed within a decorative border. In fair condition, on heavily aged and worn wove paper, with a couple of small holes. Printed on cheap paper, with rough untrimmed edges. Beneath the title is a poem in two columns, itself titled 'Directions for Reading it.': 'Hast thou no pity on my woes? | Dost thou at me turn up thy nose? | I'll make my declaration first, | So read straight forward and be curst. | But if thy heart to me incline, | O!

On one side of a strip of wove paper, 46.5 x 9.5 cm. Cut down. In fair condition, on aged and lightly ruckled paper. 96 lines arranged in 12 numbered eight-line stanzas.

Handbill, one page, crudely coloured border with images of a black troubadour with banjo[?] , a native American, and a trapper [?], 26 x 17cm, three stanzas each eight lines plus chorus, edges chipped, laid down on a larger page. Commences, "Oh! listen a while., a story I will tell; | It will please you to death, I know berry well [...]" Decorative border signed "E A Sparks" ("Printed within colored pictorial border (De Marsan trapper border J, in Wolf, E. Amer. song sheets)." One copy of this imprint listed by WorldCat, two of another imprint (later).

Two handbill poems, meant to be separated (each with its own printer’s slug at foot), but side by side on one side of the same 4to leaf, good condition. On left ‘The old and popular Ballad | The Banks of Claudy.’ (slug: ‘Nicholson, Printer, 26 Church Lane, Belfast’), headed with vignette (of the Prince of Wales?); on right: ‘New and Popular Song entitled | Bravo! Irish Fusiliers.’ (slug: ‘Nicholson, Printer, Church Lane, Belfast’, [1899]), headed with vignette of Queen Victoria. Nicholson was at 24 and 26 Church Lane between 1880 and 1905, continuing at 26 alone until 1919.

12mo, 1 p. Six lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. She will 'keep January free' for him, and they can 'arrange the details of programme later'. She agrees that 'a wholly-Brahms programme might be rather heavy'. See Florence's obituary, The Times, 7 November 1928.

Printed on a sheet of wove paper roughly 37 x 24 cm. Fair, on lightly aged and stained paper, with slight wear to extremities. Illustration, roughly 9 cm square, shows Christ, a crown of thorns above his head and a crucifix behind him, blessing an orb which he holds in his hand. Attractively printed in two columns divided by decorative rule, with ornament beneath title. Text in small type, divided into sections titled 'A Letter of Jesus Christ', 'Christ's Cures and Miracles', 'King Agbarus's Letter to Christ', 'Our Saviour's Answer' and 'Lentulus's Epistle to the Senate of Rome'.

12mo (roughly 16.5 x 9.5 cm): 24 pp. Good, on aged paper, with slightly dogeared corners. No stitching or stapling binding the leaves together. An attractive production, more sophisticated than is usual with a chapbook. Crisply printed in small type. Title enclosed within a decorative border and containing vignette of the royal coat of arms. Headed, in a small neat contemporary hand, 'Purchased at Whitby. | 30 Aug 1862'. The poem 'Lines on the Fate of Lord Derwentwater' (pp.18-19, 24 lines in six stanzas) begins 'How mournful feeble Nature's tone, | When Dilston Hall appears;'.

16mo (15 x 12 cm), 32 pp. Stapled pamphlet, in original green printed wraps. Text complete and clear, on aged and dogeared paper. Wraps worn and stained. Part three only of an annotated collection of ballads. Six-page English glossary at rear. Scarce: the National Library of Ireland only appears to have Part Five, and the only record on COPAC is of Parts One and Three at Trinity College, Dublin.

One one side of a piece of laid paper, roughly 21 x 13 cm. Clear and complete on aged and spotted paper. A couple of manuscript emendations, in a contemporary hand: 'I'm' in the text expanded to 'I am' for the sake of scansion, and 'like' in the text changed to 'likes' for the sake of grammar. Sixteen-line poem arranged in four stanzas.

On one side of a piece of wove paper roughly 28 x 23 cm. On aged, creased and spotted paper. A poem, arranged in double column, consisting of fourteen seven-line stanzas intended to be sung to the tune of the British national anthem. The first stanza reads 'Misanthrops a la-mode, | Up, up, and chose the road, | To happiness. | Out of the three men choose | Two men that won't abuse, | Although they may refuse, | Some things we want.' The position of the ballad is clearly stated: 'Candlish has been our Mayor, | Hartley has graced the Chair, | Make them M.P.'s'.

Printed on one side of a piece of wove paper roughly 230 x 90 mm. On pitted, aged paper. Text complete. Approximate 30 x 50 mm piece torn away from top right-hand corner, causing loss to small illustration at head, which appears to be a crude woodcut of a woman lying in a coffin. The poem consists of thirty-six lines arranged in five stanzas. The first stanza reads 'Dear Peggy, read this letter, | its the last one I'll send, | Our long correspondence, | is now at an end.

On one side of a piece of thin wove paper, roughly 260 x 95 mm. Aged and creased, with internal 25 mm closed tear affecting four words of text (all of which can be completed from the context) repaired on blank reverse with archival tape. Otherwise text and illustration clear and entire. Small (30 x 40 mm) woodcut at head, showing two early nineteenth-century country coves outside a cottage. The poem consists of ten four-line stanzas.

Printed on one side of a piece of wove paper roughly 280 x 95 mm. Aged, creased and spotted, with chipping to extremities, but with text and illustration clear and entire. Curious small (roughly 40 x 65 mm) crude illustration at head, showing dove with olive branch and acorn. Forty-line poem arranged in five stanzas. Interestingly-garbled nineteenth-century folk song with ancient antecedents.

On one side of a piece of light-brown laid paper, dimensions roughly 240 x 125 mm. Text clear and entire, on lightly creased paper with chipping, short closed tears and loss to extremities. Crudely printed. A thirty-two line poem, arranged in four four-line stanzas, each with a different chorus. An excessively scarce piece of music hall ephemera. No other copy of this particular item, possibly produced for distribution to Hurley's music hall audience, is present on COPAC or anywhere on the web.

Crudely printed on one side of a piece of wove paper, roughly 27 x 8 cm. Spotted and creased, but with no loss to text. Sixty lines of verse, beginning: 'Rejoice you sons of Erin's Isle, | Attention pay now for a while, | Those lines we'll surely make you smile, | Our brave brigade isvictorious. [sic] | The enemy they did subdue, | And fought them nine one its true, | There [sic] attitude was grand to view, | At the battle of Perugia.' Recounts how, 'Commanded by O'Reilly sure', the Brigade 'did floor, 1,500 of the Sardinian corps'.

Printed on one side of a piece of rough wove paper, approximately 24 x 10.5 cm. Text clear and entire on aged, creased paper. A production in favour of the Prince Regent, with no trace of sarcasm apparent. Consists of six four-line stanzas, each followed by the chorus 'Hearts of Oak, &c.' First stanza reads 'Come cheer up my lads, we'll no longer repine, | United, we'll triumph - OUR CAUSE is divine!

Printed on one side of a piece of rough laid paper, approximately 24.5 x 8.5 cm. Crude circular woodcut of pedlar at head, diameter 3.5 cm. Good, on aged paper with a little creasing at head and foot. Consists of four four-line stanzas with refrain 'Doodle, doodle, doo.' First stanza, heavy with double-entendre, reads 'HEAV'N bless my dearest little dear, | The wind is not quite fair, | From Portland Road I write this here - | Oh! bless your little hair. | Doodle, doodle, doo.' Clearly refers to a high society Regency scandal, possibly that concerning the Duke of York and Mary Anne Clarke.

Printed on one side of a piece of rough wove paper, 25 x 9 cm. At the head is a crude woodcut of lady playing keyboard, dimensions 2 x 3 cm. On aged, creased paper with wear to extremities. Text clear and entire, but not properly centred, with the result that the last two letters of the word 'Gre' in the address cropped. The poem consists of six stanzas of six lines each. First stanza 'YOU have heard of Mrs.

British composer (1876-1968) of light classical music and singer. 16mo. 2 pages. In good condition, with one neat vertical crease and one dog-eared corner. She thanks him for the 'charming lyrics'. 'I don't think I had better embark on any more at present, as I find it increasingly difficult to get things published, & my Store of MSS. is very large!' The two letters of his that she has are signed 'Grey' and she will be interested to see his 'real signature'. She wonders whether he has a spare copy of 'A recall'.