Nonsense Songs
London: Frederick Warne & Co., 1935. Item #02952
Edward Lear’s “Nonsense Songs”
Set to Music by Dudley Glass
LEAR, Edward. Nonsense Songs. Set to Music by Dudley Glass. All the Original Pictures. London: Frederick Warne & Co., Ltd., [ca. 1935].
Early reprint (first published 1934). Large quarto (11 7/8 x 9 7/8 inches; 302 x244 mm.). 24 pp. Numerous black and white illustrations throughout.
Publisher's orange cloth over orange paper boards, front cover pictorially decorated in black. Original pictorial orange dust jacket printed in black, some tape strengthening but complete.
A charming musical adaptation of Edward Lear’s most celebrated nonsense poems, including The Owl and the Pussy-Cat, The Daddy Long-Legs and the Fly, The Jumblies, and others. Dudley Glass’s settings - lively, accessible, and theatrically minded - reflect the early twentieth-century revival of interest in Lear as a performer’s poet, well suited to recital and domestic music-making.
Issued by Frederick Warne, Lear’s longtime publisher, this volume preserves the original illustrations, ensuring the inseparability of image, rhythm, and verse that defines Lear’s genius. Though an early reprint, copies in the bright original cloth and complete dust jacket are increasingly uncommon, as these slim songbooks were often heavily used.
An engaging example of Lear’s enduring cultural reach, appealing equally to collectors of Victorian nonsense literature, illustrated books, and early twentieth-century musical adaptations of classic texts.
Price: $250.00