Beschreibung:

The Death and Burial of Cock Robin.
London: William Darton, n.d. [but watermarked 1820]. 16mo (4 5/8 x 3 3/4 inches; 118 x 95 mm). 16 engraved plates, each with a large hand-colored illustration and verse caption. Original red paper wrappers, with engraved paper label mounted on front cover. a beautiful example of a rare and lovely edition of this haunting nursery rhyme , printed from copperplates first used by William Darton Jr about 1806 (the final plate depicts Cock Robin's tombstone indicating he died Oct 25, 1805). The first four verses appeared in the earliest collection of English nursery rhymes, Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (published in about 1744), while the full poem was first printed by John Marshall in about 1770. Cf. Lilly Library William Darton & His Sons , p.58 (1806 and circa 1819 printings); cf. Opie Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes 110.