Little Poems for Little Folks

Published by Ansel Phelps, Greenfield, MA, 1847

About this Item

A short chap book containing poems on a variety of subjects aimed at children. Right after the title page there is a page with the alphabet printed, both in regular print and italic, with capitals and non capital letters, as well as the numbers 0-9. The chapbook has sixteen different poems within it, entitled: "The Star", "Come And Play in the Garden", "The Sheep", "The Little Beggar Girl", "The Field Daisy", "The Flower", "No Breakfast for Growler". "The Sun", "The Moon", "Employment", "The Frolicsome Kitten", "Going to Bed", "The Little Gentleman", "The Little Husbandman", "Time to Go to Bed", and "Time to Rise". The majority if not all of the poems feature couplet rhyming in them. There are 19 relevant black and white illustration throughout, plus two on the covers. However there are three poems with no corresponding illustrations: "The Star", "Little Beggar Girl" and "Going to Bed". The cover features a decorative border, along with a small black and white engraving of a windmill. The back cover features large black and white illustrationof a woman in what appears to be her garden, with her house in the background. 26 numbered pages. Yellow printed wrappers. Thread binding. Inscribed on inside cover. OCLC 2 (July 2020). Measures 4 3/4" x 2 3/4". Here is an excerpt from the poem "The Star", where the nursery song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", was derived from: "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. When the blazing sun is gone, When he nothing shines upon, Then you show your little light, Twinkle, twinkle all night long. Then the traveler in the dark Thanks you for your tiny spark, He could not see which way to go, If you did not twinkle so." The OCLC records make mention of a printing error in the numbering of the chap book. Only pages 8-26 are numbered, however if one counts the pages prior to the eighth page, it is clear that the numbers are off and should be numbered 6-24 instead. However, in comparing this chap book to other books printed by the publisher, it doesn't appear to be a printing error, but rather a choice on the part of the publisher to count the front cover in the page count. General wear, toning, and soiling. Covers almost completely detached. There is a small burn mark on the top edge of the chap book on the interior pages, however it is not found on the cover. Seller Inventory # 20128639

Bibliographic Details

Title: Little Poems for Little Folks

Publisher: Ansel Phelps, Greenfield, MA

Publication Date: 1847

Signed: Signed by Author(s)