Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song-Book, The First Collection of English Nursery Rhymes, A Facsimile Edition with a History and Annotations

First edition. Limited to 500 copies. Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song-Book is known in only two copies, yet its tenuous existence-and its diminutive size-are in direct contrast with its importance in the history of children's book publishing. It is the earliest surviving collection of English nursery rhymes and one of the very first books printed specifically for young children. The Cotsen Children's Library's copy has never before been microfilmed or digitized and this facsimile edition creates an unprecedented opportunity for scholars and collectors to experience the book in full and "life size." The accompanying commentary volume written by Andrea Immel and Brian Alderson "seeks for the first time to pursue the book's chequered history through eighteenth-century trade channels."