Folio Archives 206: Edward Lear’s Complete Nonsense 1996/2012
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1wcarter
Edward Lear’s Complete Nonsense 1996/2012
This book lives up to its name, it is a collection of complete, utter and total nonsense – both verbally and pictorially - and is aimed very much at the middle-class English sense of humour.
Written between 1846 and 1895, this is a collection of ridiculous limericks, songs, poems and stories that were illustrated with lively, but equally nonsensical, line drawings done by Lear himself (he was actually a very accomplished artist). For this edition the drawings have been brightly coloured by Richard Beards. Almost every page is illustrated in some humorous way.
My mother read these rhymes to me when I was a child, and I still remember some of them, particularly the relatively famous “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat”, where one rhyme is:-
They dined on mince, and slices of quince
Which they ate with a runcible spoon.
I recall wondering what a runcible spoon was, and my mother could not tell me, but now with the aid of Google many decades later, I have found it is the same thing as a Splayd or spork – a cross between a fork and a spoon.
There is an entertaining introduction by Quentin Blake, and the volume is divided into five books, as originally published by Lear.
The 286 page book is strikingly bound in bright red cloth blocked on cover and spine in black and gilt with images and patterns. The endpapers are plain red and the 23.6x16.9cm. slipcase is bright yellow.
Originally published in 1996 with a different cover and slipcase design, my copy is the 2012 reprint.
The 1996 edition was bound in yellow cloth with a design in red, orange, green and blue by Richard Beards, and its yellow slipcase was printed with a continuation of the cover design. The contents of both editions are identical.
Original 1996 edition
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
This book lives up to its name, it is a collection of complete, utter and total nonsense – both verbally and pictorially - and is aimed very much at the middle-class English sense of humour.
Written between 1846 and 1895, this is a collection of ridiculous limericks, songs, poems and stories that were illustrated with lively, but equally nonsensical, line drawings done by Lear himself (he was actually a very accomplished artist). For this edition the drawings have been brightly coloured by Richard Beards. Almost every page is illustrated in some humorous way.
My mother read these rhymes to me when I was a child, and I still remember some of them, particularly the relatively famous “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat”, where one rhyme is:-
They dined on mince, and slices of quince
Which they ate with a runcible spoon.
I recall wondering what a runcible spoon was, and my mother could not tell me, but now with the aid of Google many decades later, I have found it is the same thing as a Splayd or spork – a cross between a fork and a spoon.
There is an entertaining introduction by Quentin Blake, and the volume is divided into five books, as originally published by Lear.
The 286 page book is strikingly bound in bright red cloth blocked on cover and spine in black and gilt with images and patterns. The endpapers are plain red and the 23.6x16.9cm. slipcase is bright yellow.
Originally published in 1996 with a different cover and slipcase design, my copy is the 2012 reprint.
The 1996 edition was bound in yellow cloth with a design in red, orange, green and blue by Richard Beards, and its yellow slipcase was printed with a continuation of the cover design. The contents of both editions are identical.
Original 1996 edition
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
3folio_books
>1 wcarter: line drawings done by Lear himself (he was actually quite an accomplished artist)
As his "Birds Drawn for John Gould", a Folio LE published in 2012, masterfully demonstrates.
As his "Birds Drawn for John Gould", a Folio LE published in 2012, masterfully demonstrates.
4affle
>3 folio_books:
And a painter of landscapes, of considerable charm - for example:
Edward Lear in Albania : journals of a landscape painter in the Balkans
And a painter of landscapes, of considerable charm - for example:
Edward Lear in Albania : journals of a landscape painter in the Balkans
5boldface
>1 wcarter:
>3 folio_books:
>4 affle:
And he gave 12 lessons in drawing to Queen Victoria in 1846. But sadly, like many humourists, his personal life was rather troubled than otherwise.
https://www.edwardlearsociety.org/biography/
>3 folio_books:
>4 affle:
And he gave 12 lessons in drawing to Queen Victoria in 1846. But sadly, like many humourists, his personal life was rather troubled than otherwise.
https://www.edwardlearsociety.org/biography/
7affle
>6 folio_books:
A longer read, by one of my favourite biographers:
Mr Lear : a life of art and nonsense by Jenny Uglow
A longer read, by one of my favourite biographers:
Mr Lear : a life of art and nonsense by Jenny Uglow
8ubiquitousuk
Delightful and wish-listed. Although, I have to say that a pet peeve of mine is rhymes formed by repetition of the same words, which seems to be a common pattern here.
9HamburgerHelper
Woah I didn't know this existed?! I ordered one right away.. even though I already own the Everyman's Library Children's Classics. The illustrations are colored compared to Everyman's so I had to.
