A book of Roxburghe ballads, edited by John Payne Collier, Esq.

London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1847. First Edition. . Hardcover. See Description. Small 4to. (219 mm) pp. xxvi (actually 34), [2], 340. With woodcut illustrations. Bound in period half red morocco with marbled boards. Spine is gilt in 6 compartments. Tiny binder and bookseller stamps (verso of front free end paper) indicate that the binding was executed by Tout & Sons for the Boston bookseller Estes & Lauriat. Binding shows spots of rubbing to the extremities. Corner tips of the boards are neatly patched. Interior contains mild toning and occasional minor wear; faint offsetting is present from some of the illustrations; pages 116-117 display an area of light tanning due to a pressed leaf. Pages are otherwise generally clean. This is a selection of popular English ballads transcribed mostly from the Roxburghe collection of broadsides. According to the introduction: "The main purpose of the ensuing collection is to shew, in their most genuine state, the character and quality of productions, written expressly for the amusement of the lower orders, in the reigns of Elizabeth, James, and Charles." Text is printed in older style fonts inside simple line borders after the manner of a 17th century English imprint. Occasional small decorative initials and headpieces are present. Woodcut illustrations are reprinted from or based on the broadsides. John Payne Collier was a Shakespeare scholar who eventually became infamous for forging a series of Shakespeare related documents. Note: A promotional photo of London Bridge for Hood’s Photos of the World, a photo portrait cut-out with a partial advertisement on the verso and two fashion figure cut-outs from early magazines are all loosely inserted in the back.