Cover of the first edition of the Book of Nonsense (1846). DigiNole: FSU’s Digital Repository.

Very little is known about the production of the second, one-volume edition of Edward Lear’s A Book of Nonsense: according to Vivien Noakes, it was probably produced in late 1854 and published in 1855 (though other sources date it to 1856) by Thomas McLean, who had also published the first, two-volume edition in 1846. Unfortunately, we do not have Lear’s diaries for this period and he never mentions the 1855 edition in any of the surviving letters.

Lear used lithography for these early editions, probably a transfer process for both pictures and verses. In the second edition, the former were apparently printed from existing plates, with a few additions and corrections possibly inserted during a necessary retracing process: a tuft of grass appeared beneath the “Old Derry Down Derry” (“Derry down Derry” in the first edition), the “Young Lady of Tyre” lost a feather and the picture for the “Young Lady of Norway” now had two doors. However, opinions differ: “Lear made new lithographic stones for this second edition, which may be rarer than the first” (Gordon N. Ray, The Illustrator and the Book in England from 1790 to 1914). Might he have made new lithographic stones from existing transfer sheets?

Cover of the second edition of A Book of Nonsense (1855). My photograph from the NAL copy.

The first edition used hand-written capital italic text mostly arranged over three lines, except for the title page, which has five-line italic type (see picture above). For the second Lear chose the standard five-line arrangement typical of previous limerick books with transferred lower-case italic type: this method caused a series of problems with the text, which had to be manually corrected on the stone in some instances.

There are several sets of proofs for the 1855 edition that Lear gave to acquaintances with dedications on the covers and/or title pages. The cover of the final, published version had “NEW EDITION,” but some of the proof copies Lear gave away were bound with the title page of the 1846 edition. From the listings below, it certainly seems that the proof copies are more common that the final “NEW EDITION”.

A new copy in private hands has come to my attention; this is perhaps a very early proof as it lacks both the cover and title page (see the Florida copy below). There is no dedication, but it includes four unpublished manuscript limericks, on paper with “J WHATMAN 185[6]” watermarks; the pictures are either by Lear or a good imitation of his style, though the verse is written in a hand which is very probably not Lear’s.

I will be publishing these manuscript limericks in a few days, for the moment here is my annotated inventory of the 1855 copies listed in online library catalogues. If you know of any others, I’d like to hear about them.

One, Two, Three, Four.

From Michael Twyman’s Early Lithographed Books (London, 1990), p. 194:
It seems likely that Lear made his drawings and wrote out his limericks for the first edition on transfer paper…
The first edition of the Book of Nonsense (London, 1846) was printed throughout in lithography and is a scruffy production. … In the first edition Lear’s limericks were written out in italic capitals. In the second edition of around 1855, which was also printed lithographically, the limericks were transferred from type… The transferring was done so badly on some pages that the stones had to be retouched, in some instances to the extent that the whole words had to be hand-written on the stone. It may have been the use of the transfer process that led to the transposition of some of the limericks and drawings in this edition. Subsequent editions were printed letterpress and lost some of the delightful naivety of the original publication.

From Michael Twyman’s Breaking the Mould (London, 2001), p. 171:

Lear was an expert landscape and natural history lithographer, though as late as 1833 he claimed not to have known about transfer lithography. A dozen years later, however, the limericks of his Book of Nonsense were transferred to stone, and it seems likely that his drawings for it were too. The limericks for the first edition were written out by hand in capital italic letters, presumably by Lear himself. In the second edition… they were transferred from type. The two different methods used for the text – and particularly the inadequacy of the transfers made from type – underline the disadvantages under which lithographers worked when passages of text were needed.

Houghton Library, Harvard University

Book of nonsense
Lear, Edward, 1812-1888 [author] / [London] : [Thos. McLean, [1855?]
Title: Book of nonsense
Author / Creator: Lear, Edward, 1812-1888 [author]
Published: [London]: [Thos. McLean, [1855?]
Description: [73] leaves : ill. ; 15 x 21 cm
The second edition. Cf. Field, Shaw collection.
Illustrations by the author.
Both “Old Man of the West” plates correctly captioned.
Title from first page of text.
References: Florida State University. Shaw Collection, p. 5-7
References: Field, W.B.D. Edward Lear on my shelves p. 130 (1856)
Provenance
Presentation inscription on front pastedown: “For Abby Martin, with J. Dagnell’s best love, October 5th 1860.”
Binding info
Bound in half red calf and brown marbled paper over boards; in gray paper slipcase.
Source of acquisition
Gift; Peter J. Solomon; 2021; 2022H-52.
Catalogue link

A book of nonsense
Lear, Edward, 1812-1888 / New edition … / London: Published by T. McLean, 26, Haymarket, 185[6]
Title: A book of nonsense
Attribution: By Derry down Derry [pseud.].
Author / Creator: Lear, Edward, 1812-1888
Edition: New edition …
Published: London: Published by T. McLean, 26, Haymarket, 185[6].
61 ℓ. illus. 14 x 21 cm., in case 15 x 22 cm.
Cover-title.
For a full description of this volume, see W.B.O. Field’s Edward Lear on my shelves (1933) p. 131-132.
Creation Date: 185[6]
Note
Proof copy; illus. and descriptive verse in five lines on recto of each leaf. Original half brown cloth and printed and illustrated drab paper covers; in half red morocco case. Imperfect: last digit of imprint date cropped. Autographed on front cover: Edward Lear. 15 Stratford Pl. W. Inscribed: Franklin Lushington. from Edward Lear. June 9./56.
Catalogue link

EL on My Shelves, pp. 131-132

[Cover title] A Book Of / Nonsense. / By Derry Down Derry / [Illustration] / There was an old Derry down Derry, / Who loved to see little folks merry; / So he made them a Book, / And with laughter they shook, / At the fun of that Derry Down Derry / [Upper right-hand corner] New Edition. / [Lower left-hand corner] London: Published By [Lower right-hand corner] T. McLean, 26, Haymarket, 1856.

Leaf measures 5 1/2 x 7 7/8 inches. Bound in original drab pictorial flexible paper covers, drab linen back, cream end papers. Half red morocco case. The illustration on the front cover is reproduced from the first illustration in the book which also appears as the title-page in the first edition. The “6” in the date of the imprint has been trimmed away. Presentation copy with autograph inscription, “Edward Lear / 15 Stratford Pl. / W.” on the front cover and “Franklin Lushington, / from Edward Lear. June 9 / 56” on first leaf. Leaves trimmed to binding.
*
Second edition. Proof. Collation: Sixty-one leaves with drawings and descriptive verse in five lines on recto of each leaf.
*
This copy appears to be made up from fifty-nine of the drawings in the preceding volume plus “There was an old man of Peru,” and “There was an old man of Kildare,” both of which were published in the first edition, 1846. It is less heavily printed and in one or two cases the type of the verses has been changed but in many instances the same peculiarities are to be found in both copies. – In drawing 14, “There was an old man of the West, who wore a pale plum-coloured vest,” the verse has been duplicated from the previous page. This illustration appears in the first edition over the verse, “There was an old man of the West, who never could get any rest.” In drawing 15, “There was a young lady of Wales,” the word “ecstatic” is spelled “extatic”; in drawing 28, “There was an old man of Nepaul,” the fourth line reads “By’ some very strong glue,”; in drawing 34, “There was an old person of Sparta,” the second line reads “Who had twenty sons and one ‘daughter’;” in drawing 59, “There was an old man of Bohemia,” the third line reads “Till’ one day, to his grief.” The text of these lines was slightly altered in later editions as follows: “extatic” to {132} “ecstatic” “By” to “With;” “Daughter” to “Darter;” “The Abruzzi” to “th’ Abruzzi;” “Till” to “But.” The second drawing, “There was a young lady whose nose,” is printed on heavy cream paper, measuring 5 1/8 x 7 5/8 inches and appears to be an insert, rather than part of the original volume. – The drawings which appeared in the earlier proof, but which have been omitted in this copy are as follows: “There was an old man of Dundee,” “There was a young lady of Turkey,” “There was a young lady of Russia,” “There was a young lady of Poole,” “There was an old man of New York,” “There was an old person of Burton,” “There was a young lady of Hull,” “There was a young lady of Clare,” “There was an old man of the Cape,” and “There was an old man of Madras.”

Book of nonsense ..
Lear, Edward, 1812-1888 / [London, T. McLean, 1856]
Title: Book of nonsense ..
Author / Creator: Lear, Edward, 1812-1888
Published: [London, T. McLean, 1856]
Description: 69 ℓ. illus. 14 x 21 cm., in case 15 x 22 cm.
Illustrated t.-p.
For a full description of this volume, see W.B.O. Field’s Edward Lear on my shelves (1933) p. 130.
Creation Date: 1856]
Note
Proof sheets, consisting of t.-p. and 68 ℓ. with illus. and descriptive verse in five lines on recto of each leaf; printed from plates prepared for the 1856 ed. Bound in half blue roan and blue marbled boards; edges sprinkled red; in half red morocco case. Imperfect: last line of verse on t.-p. partly cropped.
Catalogue link

EL on My Shelves, p. 130
Book of Nonsense. First proof. 1856.
*
Leaf measures 3 1/16 x 7 11/16 inches. Bound in blue marbled boards, blue roan back. Red morocco case. A small pink bookseller’s ticket in the form of a shield on which is printed in white, “J. Cranford Bookseller Stationer &c. Brixham,” mounted in the inside front cover.
*
Second edition. Collation: Sixty-nine leaves with illustrations and descriptive verse in five lines on recto of each leaf.
*
This is probably the first lithographic proof made from the new plates for the 1856 edition. The original title-page, “There was an old Derry down Derry,” is included in the sixty-nine plates as well as “There was an old man of Calcutta,” which appears in our second copy of the first edition and “There was a young lady whose nose,” which is published here for the first time. The four plates which appeared in our first copy of the first edition and are omitted in this copy are as follows: “There was an old man of the Isles,” “There was a young lady whose folly,” “There was an old man of Peru, who never knew what he should do,” and “There was an old man of Kildare.”

The John M. Shaw Collection, Florida State University

From A Description of the Holdings in the John M. Shaw Collection
[Online here]

(facsimile title-page): [illustration of Lear’s presenting Book of Nonsense to merry children] / There was an Old Derry Down Derry, / Who loved to see little folks merry; / So he made them a Book, / And with laughter they shook, / at the fun of that Derry Down Derry

14 x 21.5 cm: Unsigned, 72 leaves unnumbered and facsimile title-leaf; 73 illustrations, each on the recto page. Text is not typeset. Cream paper unwatermarked; “There was an Old Person of Ischia,” “There was an Old Man of Madras,” “There was a Young Lady whose nose” – these three leaves are on heavier paper.
[Then a listing of all limericks in the order found in this copy.]
Binding: red cloth with black medallion on top cover; gilt lettering within black rectangle on spine.
Notes: This copy has been compared with a micr5ofilm of the copy of the second edition in the University of Illinois at Urbana. Title page in the Shaw-Collection copy is in facsimile.
The illustration of the Old Man of the West with his “pale plum-coloured vest” (f. [28]) is miscaptioned as the Old Man of the West who “never could get any rest”; this stanza is repeated under the appropriate illustration (f. [53]) of the Old Man set “to spin / On his nose and his chin…” This miscaptioning AGREES WITH THE ILLINOIS COPY.
In the verse “There was a Young Lady of Wales” (f. [59]), “ecstatic” is spelled “ecstatic”; this agrees with the Illinois copy.

Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Illinois University Library

A book of nonsense
Lear, Edward, 1812-1888.; Llangattock, John Allan Rolls, Baron , 1837-1912, former owner.
London : Thos. McLean; 1855?
Title: A book of nonsense
Creator: Lear, Edward, 1812-1888.
Llangattock, John Allan Rolls, Baron , 1837-1912, former owner.
Publisher: London : Thos. McLean
Place of Publication: London
Creation Date: 1855?
Format: [73] leaves : ill. ; 15 x 21 cm.
Contributor: Llangattock, John Allan Rolls, Baron , 1837-1912, former owner.
General Note
Cover title.
Derry Down Derry = Edward Lear.
The second edition. Cf. Field.
Both “Old Man of the West” plates correctly captioned. A variant has the captions switched. [This contradicts what the Florida description says]
Library’s copy is the variant in which the captions for “Old Man of the West” are switched. [This appears to contradict the line above]
“John A. Rolls, The Hendre” inscribed on front free end-paper verso.
Leaves numbered in pencil; leaf [73] bears a mounted hand-colored drawing signed “H.A.P.” with a hand-written limerick below.
The verso of leaves [32] and [34] each contain an original limerick, written in pencil but in different hands, about the book’s owner, Rolls; the former includes a drawing and is unsigned, and the latter has no drawing but is signed “A. Ross”.
Citation/References Note
Field, W.B.D. Edward Lear on my shelves p. 130 (1856)
Catalogue link

British Library

Book of nonsense. (By Derry Down Derry. New edition.).
London: T. McLean, [1856]

Title: Book of nonsense. (By Derry Down Derry. New edition.).
Contributor: Edward Lear 1812-1888.
Publication Details: London : T. McLean, [1856]
Notes: Seventy-three lithographed plates. In this edition all the limericks occupy five lines. The imprint is taken from the wrapper. Later editions are entered under Lear (Edward).
Physical Description: 14 x 21 cm. (oblong 8º)
Shelfmark(s): General Reference Collection C.117.a.69.

A book of nonsense. By Derry Down Derry [pseudonym of Edward Lear].
[London] : Thos McLean, 1846 [1854?]

Title: A book of nonsense. By Derry Down Derry [pseudonym of Edward Lear].
Contributor: Edward Lear 1812-1888.; Howard Millar NIXON
Publication Details: [London] : Thos McLean, 1846 [1854?]
Notes: Seventy-three lithograph plates, with accompanying verses. In this copy each of the two illustrations relating to the “Old man of the West” has the limerick describing the other. With two sheets of typescript notes, entitled “The second lithographic edition of Lear’s Book of nonsense”, by H. M. Nixon, inserted.
Physical Description: 15 × ; 21 cm
Shelfmark(s): General Reference Collection C.175.m.33.

National Art Library

A book of nonsense
Edward Lear 1812-1888.
Thomas McLean (Firm: London, England)(Editore)
National Art Library (Great Britain).
Forster Collection.
Libro a stampa[185-?]New ed.
London : Thomas McLean, [185-?]
1 volume : illustrations ; 15 x 22 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum – National Art Library – SC/FOR Special Collections: Forster Collection – Forster S 8vo 5200

Liverpool Central Library

A Book of Nonsense
Lear, Edward, 1812-1888
Published s.l.: [s.n.], [1846?]
According to Royal Academy catalogue this is a proof copy for the 1955 edition.

From Royal Academy of Arts catalogue, p. 168

No. 73a
A Book of Nonsense, 1855
Proof copy with handwritten alterations:
14.6 x 21.6 cm / 5¾ x 8½ in
Inscribed on front cover in Lear’s hand tr.: Professor [Nichols] / this congenial tribute / of respect / ‘Similis simili gaudato’.
Liverpool City Libraries

No. 73b [is = EL on My Sjhelves pp. 131-132]
14.3 x 21.6 cm / 5 5/8 x 8½ in
Inscribed on cover tr.: Edward Lear / 15 Stratford Pl. / W.
Inscribed on title page tr.: Franklin Lushington, from Edward Lear. June. 9./56
Department of Printing and Graphic Arts, The Houghton Library, Harvard University

Little is known about the circumstances of publication of the second edition of the Book of Nonsense. Although several presentation copies survive inscribed in Lear’s hand, he never speaks of this edition.
It was published in 1855 by Thomas McLean, who also published the first edition. Lithography was again used, but the book was in one volume rather than two. It contained the same limericks, but the text was now arranged on five lines rather than three, and was printed in italics and not capitals. There are also small differences in both text and illustrations, and three substantial differences in illustrations: on the cover and title-page there is a tuft of grass beneath the ‘Old Derry Down Derry’ (sic); ‘The Young Lady of Tyre’ lacks a feather, and ‘The Young Lady of Norway’ has acquired a second door.
In both the copies exhibited here the drawings and verses of ‘The Old Man of the West’ have been confused. In the proof copy (Cat. 73a) the drawings and verses of the two limericks ‘There was an Old Man of the West / Who wore a plum-coloured vest’ and ‘There was an Old Man of the West / Who never could get any rest’ are transposed. In the second copy (Cat. 73b) the verse ‘Who never could get any rest’ appears under both drawings. The problem was sorted out however, and in most, though not all, other known copies the verses are beneath the drawings to which they relate (see The British Museum Quarterly, vol. XXVIII [1964], pp. 7-8). The proof copy was given by Lear to Professor Nichols, and is inscribed ‘Similis simili gaudato’ (Like delights in like). The second (Cat. 73b) was Lear’s own proof copy which he gave on 9 June 1856 to Franklin Lushington (see Cat. 112).
PROVENANCE (a) Prof. Nichols; Liverpool Public Library. (6) W.B. Osgood Field; The Houghton Library, Harvard University.
REFERENCE (b) Osgood Field 1933. pp. 131-32.

Justin G. Schiller Catalog 48:
commemoratin the 150th anniversary of A Book of Nonsense

A Book of Nonsense by Derry Down Derry. London: T[hos] McLean, 185[5]. Complete with 73 lithographic plates drawn by Edward Lear, each with 5-line captioned limerick (the first time most of these verses appear in a standard 5-line format). Oblong small folio, [73]ff with only final leaf slightly cropped at two words (both discernible), lightly stained; early grey pebbled cloth (rebacked with leather), original front wrapper (stained, a little chipped) mounted on upper cover. Ownership inscription verso front free endpaper dated 1859 (wrinkled).

Second printing of Leara’s classic limerick book, seldom found complete (Osgood Field’s copies, now Harvard, have only 69 and 61 pages respectively); previously published in 1846 as two volumes with similar lithographs (believed to be from the same plates, now revised) but then most verse captions printed only in three lines… Both of these lithographed editions include three limericks which were afterwards suppressed when Routledge issued its enlarged 3rd edition (1861) using woodcuts based upon these earlier lithographs. In this copy both “Old Man of the West” rhymes are correctly matched to their appropriate illustrations. Along with some broken type there are missing letters in captions for Norway, Sweden, and Young Lady eyes ith lithographed text added by hand in five places: Abruzzi, Clare, Marseilles Ischia, and Compton (suggesting this is a final corrected version text).
PML Gordon Ray, English Books 92a; Noakes, Royal Academy of Arts 73