MU MU Libraries
home Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives On the Fifth Day of Christmas in July…

On the Fifth Day of Christmas in July…

… we give you five illustrated ballads.  Pretty Peggy and Other Ballads is a collection of five songs for children, given to Nell Merrill in 1884 by 'Aunt Baba.'

  IMG_2901

The ballads contained in this volume are Pretty Peggy;  Pray Papa, pray Papa; The sailor lad; There was an old man who lived in a wood; and Robin.  Each section of the book starts off with the music of the song, then a series of illustrations of the events in the song.

IMG_2902

As you can see, our copy has been well loved and even drawn in by a previous owner.  If you look closely in the picture below, you can see a pencil outline around the girl in the illustration.

IMG_2906

Though not good for preservation, it's interesting to get to see the evidence that a book has been loved by a previous owner, perhaps even Nell herself.  What was your favorite book you ever received or given as a gift?  Comment and tell us (we'd love to know) and check back here for more of our Christmas in July series tomorrow!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *