Gammer Gurton's pleasant stories of patient Grissel, the Princess Rosetta, & Robin Goodfellow, and ballads of the beggar's daughter, the babes in the wood, and fair Rosamond
By: newly revised and amended by Amb Mer [i.e. Ambrose Merton].
Contributors: Thoms, William John, 1803-1885.; Cole, Henry, Sir, 1808-1882.; Cundall, Joseph, 1818-1895.; Franklin, John, fl. 1800-1861.; Absolon, John, 1815-1895.; Dalziel, George, 1815-1902.; Mason, W. G. fl. 1842-1857.; Dalziel, Edward, 1817-1905.; Whittingham, Charles, 1795-1876 (printer); Chiswick Press
Series: Gammer Gurton's story books; Home treasury
Publisher: Printed for Joseph Cundall
Published: 1845
Place of publication: Westminster
Language: eng
Number of pages: 100
Subjects: Illustrated children's books -- Specimens.; Tales -- Great Britain.; Folklore -- Great Britain.
Genres: Specimens.
Other titles: Gammer Gurton's pleasant stories of patient Grissel, the Princess Rosetta and Robin Goodfellow and ballads of the beggar's daughter, the babes in the wood and fair Rosamond; Gammer Gurton's Pleasant stories & ballads; Stories and ballads
Notes: At head of caption title for each story: "Gammer Gurton's Story Books.".

Date and printer's statement taken from the colophon of two stories only.

T.p. printed in red and black.

T.p. and the colophon of several stories with device: "AMB  MER" [i.e. Ambrose Merton, pseudonym of William John Thoms].

Includes "Ambrose Merton, Gent. F. S. A. to the Indulgent Reader.": p. [3].

Some of the stories were also issued separately as part of the "Sixpenny Series" of "Gammer Gurton's Story Books", which was a part of "The Home Treasury" series of children's books produced by Henry Cole [pseud. "Felix Summerly"] and Joseph Cundall from 1843 to 1846.  Cf. McLean, Ruari.  Joseph Cundall, 1976 and McLean, Ruari.  Victorian book design and colour printing, 1972.

With decorative wood-engraved head-pieces, tail-pieces and initials.

Printer's device and the date "1845." printed on colophon of "The blind beggar's daughter of Bethnal Green" and "Queen Eleanor's confession.".

Illustrators are listed as John Franklin and John Absolon.

Text of each story is printed within thin black rule border with a thick wood-engraved floriated and illustrative outer edge.  T.p. printed within a floriated illustrative border.

Plates are signed as engraved by G. Dalziel, W. G. Mason, E. Dalziel and C. Peters.

Sheets are the same as those used for the same stories in "The old story books of England" published in 1845 by Joseph Cundall.  The same wood-engraved plates were also used in this title, but printed in colours and most without the signatures.  See McLean D O (1).

St. John, Judith.  Osborne collection of early children's books, 1958, Vol. II, p. 612.

MASS copy: Bound in blue-green morocco-grain cloth blocked in gold and blind; a.e. stained red.  With the same spine design and lettering on spine and upper cover blocked in gold as that used on McLean D 0425.  With bright pink endpapers.  With ownership inscription: "Geo. Woodland".  With ownership inscription dated 1974: "FL" [i.e. Fianach Lawry].  Lacking upper free endpaper.
Table of contents: value: The sweet and pleasant history of patient Grissel; value: The romantic story of the Princess Rosetta; value: The mad pranks of Robin Goodfellow; value: The rarest ballad that ever was seen of the blind beggar's daughter of Bethnal Green; value: The doleful story of the babes in the wood; value: The lady Isabella's tragedy; value: A mournful ditty of the death of Fair Rosamond to which is added Queen Eleanor's confession.