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Little Gertrude's picture book, from mamma, 1864

Title
Little Gertrude's picture book, from mamma, 1864.
Production
Tatton Park, Cheshire, England, 1864.
Physical Description
1 v. (ca. 140 p.) : ill. ; 23 cm.
Language
English
Notes
Bound in quarter red morocco and red cloth. Stamped in gilt on front cover: Etchings.
Predominantly in English, with one story in German.
Biographical / Historical Note
Lady Mary Sarah Amherst (born 1837, died 7 Dec 1892) was the eldest daughter of the 2nd Earl of Amherst. She married Wilbraham Egerton, 1st and last Earl Egerton of Tatton. Their only child was Gertrude Lucia Egerton, who in 1881 married Lt.-Col. Arnold Allen Cecil Keppel, 8th Earl of Albemarle. The present commonplace book was compiled while the Egerton family resided at Tatton Park, in Cheshire. Tatton Park was subsequently owned by Gertrude's uncle, Alan de Tatton Egerton (1845-1920), and cousin, Maurice Egerton (1874-1958), both of whom did not live at the estate until they inherited it as adults. Gertrude Egerton was thus the last child to be raised at Tatton Park as a member of the Egerton family.
Summary
Manuscript commonplace book of children's verse and prose, heavily illustrated, all apparently in the hand of Lady Mary Sarah Amherst Egerton, for the benefit of her daughter Gertrude Lucia (later Countess of Albemarle). The album contains a near equal balance of text and illustration, and most pages consist of a careful integration of the two. Almost all of the illustrative matter compliments accompanying text, depicting characters and scenes described therein. Some of the characters illustrated may include young Gertrude and her mother; one sketch (without accompanying text) is labeled "Aunt Bee knitting". The illustrations are almost entirely in pen and black or brown ink; accompanying text is at times written in the same ink, at other times in inks of red or blue.
The texts include limericks, nursery rhymes, folk songs, fables, poems, and devotional writing. Some of the poems and prose may be original or obscure. Identifiable writings include poems by Alice Mary Cholmondeley and Reginald Heber. Also present are printed versions of two stories by Wilhelm Busch, "Diogenes und die bösen Buben von Korinth" and "Der hohle Zahn." Wood-engraved illustrations from the stories have been individually trimmed and mounted in the album; the German text of each illustrated panel is translated into English, written in pencil below each panel.
Format
Archives or Manuscripts
Added to Catalog
September 16, 2009
References
Lady Mary Sarah Amherst Egerton, Little Gertrude's Picture Book. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund.
Cite as
Lady Mary Sarah Amherst Egerton, Little Gertrude's Picture Book. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund.
Genre/Form
Commonplace books.
Juvenile literature.
Limericks.
Nursery rhymes.
Humorous pictures.
Ink drawings.
Wood engravings.
Also listed under
Citation

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