National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs Set to Original Music, with Illustrations, Engraved by the Brothers Dalziel

London and New York: Novello and Company, Limited and The H.W. Gray Co. [JUVENILE] [MUSIC]. London: Novello and Company, Limited, and New York: The H.W. Gray Co., Sole Agents for the U.S.A., No date [c. 1906].

First edition thus. Small 4to (10 ½" x 7 ½"); 111pp; dark green cloth over beveled board, gilt stamped fillet enclosing small black-stamped vignettes of nursery rhymes, double gilt fillet surrounds the gilt-stamped lettering; gilt lettering and decorated spine, rear board decoration stamped in black; all edges gilt; black eps; engraved fp with tissue guard; title page with vignette; engraved illustrations throughout; age-toned half-title, lightly age-toned paper with scattered foxing; very good plus. OCLC locates 6 copies of this edition, one in the U.S., 2 in Australia, 2 in Canada, and one in the U.K. A beautiful copy of a scarce children's music book featuring popular nursery rhymes set to music. First published by Routledge in London in 1870 and again in 1872; then by Novello, a British company established in 1811 by the Routledge company. Dating is based on the establishment of the new firm, The H. Willard Gray Co., founded in 1906 by the U.S. agent for Novello, H. Willard Gray. The firm published sacred music as well as music for the school and community. Gray was an accountant working for Novello in London when he was sent over to New York to rescue their floundering U.S. branch.

Finely engraved illustrations by noted artists for each song are included in the contents page. The Brothers Dalziel was a well-known wood engraving business founded in London in 1839.