[Broadside] On an Ass. A Few Lines

St. George's Fields, London: Philanthropic Society. Printed at the request of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 1850. First Edition. NA. Fine. Early piece of animal humanitarian ephemera, dating to 1850 probably, and thus 27 years prior to the publication of "Black Beauty". The RSPCA was founded in 1824 and thus predates this poem, but we would note that the ASPCA didn't get started until 1904. The 1850 dating is based on tiny writing at the right foot of the wood engraved illustration of an ass. The "5" in the date, even though reasonably (truncated) well-formed, we would allow might have been intended to be an "8"; that said, we are 90 percent confident 1850 was what was intended. The broadside measures 26.5 by 14 cm. Below the wood engraved illustration of the beast of burden, a 36 line poem, rhymed throughout, that marvels at the stoicism of the animal whose life would seem so miserable. Below is an initial, "S", which might be a clue to the anonymous poet. Clearly a scarce item -- we could find no other copies -- none listed on OCLC First Search. Light wear, trivial soiling. A lovely copy. (Inventory #: 007713)