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When
school is over and work is done,
Then
don't we have some splendid fun,
We
begin in wintry weather
To
inflate the ball of leather
Then
we skate and pile the snow
Till
our cheeks are all aglow
Then
we shall fish till sunny June
Makes
the birdies sing in tune
And
we stand against a wicket
To
enjoy a game of cricket,
Fly
Kites, spin tops, run races,
Play
at leap frog in strange places,
Till
you hear the old folks say,
As
they watch us at our play,
"Ah!
it's fun to be young and gay,
Enjoy
life while you may!"
CLICK
PHOTOS
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Last
week I went in an antiques store in Sacramento CA and
found this book. I was taken back as I'd never seen it
before. The dealer said he got it
from someone who came in his store selling a bunch of
paper and he picked it out. The fact it's die cut really
makes it special! It's got some tears in some pages and
the binding is loose. But it's not too bad, and the cover
still looks good. The dealer had $25.00 on it and I got it
for $20.00. If this were in excellent condition I estimate
it would sell for $500.00 - $600.00 at an
antiquarian book show.
The
genera of Victorian children's books is an interesting
one. The king of Victorian juvenile illustration in the
United States during the late 19th century to early 20th
century was Mcloughlin Bros. Mainly they produced board
games and children's books.
I only know of once sports
related book Mcloughlin put out; that was the ABC
Baseball book, which
goes for major  money like $2,000.00 to $3,000.00 if you
can find a copy. They are so rare I can't even recall
seeing one for sale, except maybe once in Robert Edward
years ago.
I
don't recall ever seeing a Victorian juvenile football
themed book. So when I saw this, I was taken back. Admittedly
it is English, and I prefer American...but it's such a
great book, being die cut especially, all is forgiven. Actually
it appears partly American after all, though it is
essentially English. Let me explain.  The
maker markings indicate it was produced by Ernest Nister
of
London,
who was very a prominent producer of children's books in
the late 19th-early 20th century, see
here for a long list of books he produced. The book is
also marked E.P Dutton & Co. New York. It's not
perfectly clear what the connection was between E.P.
Dutton and Earnest Nister but I speculate Dutton imported
the book for the American market. I found a reference from
the University of North Texas that address the Dutton-Nister
connection see
here. I also found a reference on google for an
December 1894 "The Book Buyer" catalog that
lists the Freddy's Football book, see
here. So that confirms it from the 1890's! I also
found a place on the web that sells art prints of this
book, see
here
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