Published by Jackson & Walford: London 1840
"Published in London by Jackson & Walford in 1840, The Contributions of Q.Q. brings together the magazine writings of Jane Taylor, the English poet who wrote the words to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Issued as "A New Edition," this volume offers a chance to discover the writer behind one of the best-known verses in the English language. The initials Q.Q. were the signature Taylor used in The Youth's Magazine, where most of these pieces first appeared between 1816 and 1822.
Divided into "Religious Pieces" and "Miscellaneous Pieces," the collection ranges from devotional reflections to short tales and observations on everyday life. The contents give a good sense of Taylor's imagination. In "The Life of a Looking Glass," a familiar household object becomes the subject of a story, while titles such as "The Philosopher's Scale" and "The Discontented Pendulum" hint at the playful devices she used to draw young readers into questions of character and conduct. It's an appealing volume for collectors of early children's literature and for anyone interested in the magazines that helped shape it.
This copy retains its original leather-backed binding with marbled boards, with gilt rules dividing the spine into compartments. The illustrated vignette title page is present, showing a seated figure beside a stone balustrade, with trees, buildings and distant hills beyond. It precedes the separate printed title page, which gives the publisher's address at 18 St. Paul's Churchyard and the date 1840. The vignette and period binding give this copy much of its shelf and display appeal.
The binding shows substantial rubbing and scuffing to the boards, with wear at the corners, edges and spine ends and fading to the gilt spine lettering. The pages are age-toned, with scattered foxing most apparent on the vignette title page. A well-used early Victorian volume with its illustrated title still in place and a direct connection to one of the enduring names in English nursery verse."
