Title: Be merry and wise : origins of children's book publishing in England, 1650-1850 /
Authors: Alderson, Brian.; Oyens, Felix de Marez.; Pierpont Morgan Library.
Publisher: Pierpont Morgan Library : Bibliographical Society of America ; British Library ; Oak Knoll Press,
Year: 2006
Subjects: Pierpont Morgan Library Exhibitions.; Children's literature, English Great Britain Bibliography.; Publishers and publishing Great Britain Bibliography.; Publishers and publishing Great Britain History.; Children's books Great Britain History; Children's books Great Britain History; Children's books Great Britain Bibliography.; Children's literature, English Bibliography Catalogs.; Children's literature Publishing England History.; Children's literature Publishing Exhibitions.; Early printed books England Bibliography.; Early printed books England Bibliography.; Early printed books England Bibliography.; Children's books Great Britain Bibliography Catalogs.; Children's books Great Britain History.
Abstract: "The child as the audience for books in the English language is the subject of this bibliographical study, which had its origins in an exhibition held at the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York. From this beginning, Felix de Marez Oyens and Brian Alderson have compiled Be Merry and Wise and shown how certain creative talents, driven by a sense of purpose, or a wish to make some money, attempted to appeal directly to children, and how the publishing industry came to realise that this audience might prove to constitute a profitable market."--Jacket.
Contents: Vestibulum : theory and practice -- The salvation of souls -- Enter Tom Thumb -- Serious business -- The house that Newbery built -- Rivals and imitators, London -- Frances Laetitia Earle : her books -- Rivals and imitators, the Provinces -- Begged, borrowed, or stolen -- "The dawn of levity" -- The innovators -- Epigones -- "Chapbooks" for children -- Tracts and transition -- The road to Paflagonia -- The rose and the ring -- Marketing -- Bindings -- Special markets -- Marks of possession.