{"id":434,"date":"2013-05-29T14:59:06","date_gmt":"2013-05-29T18:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.library.mcgill.ca\/chapbook\/?p=434"},"modified":"2013-05-29T15:16:25","modified_gmt":"2013-05-29T19:16:25","slug":"the-milner-toys-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.mcgill.ca\/chapbook\/the-milner-toys-series\/","title":{"rendered":"The Milner Toys Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PN970_M47_M5_No_2_feature\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/em>As part of the Sheila R. Bourke Collection<\/a> of Chapbooks in McGill University, there is a 6-part series by author Mary Martha Sherwood<\/a> based on her children\u2019s book History of Henry Milner (1837)<\/a>. According to the advertisements <\/a>on the back cover of these chapbooks, the series is also referred to as the Milner Toys<\/strong> series.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Sherwood is a prominent author of many chapbooks and children\u2019s literature of McGill\u2019s collection and is claimed to be \u201cone of the most significant authors of children\u2019s literature of the nineteenth century<\/em>\u201d1<\/sup><\/a>. Alongside her works such as The History of the Fairchild Family<\/a>, the Milner Toys series relates the theme of childhood within domesticity and religion by taking readers through the life and lessons of the fictional character Henry Milner in 19th<\/sup> century England.<\/p>\n

Bibliographic Information:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Titles (in order):<\/em><\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> \u00a0Master Henry\u2019s Arrival<\/a>
\nII<\/strong>. \u00a0Master Henry\u2019s Lesson<\/a> \u00a0 II.<\/strong> Master Henry\u2019s Lesson<\/a>
\nIII.<\/strong> Master Henry\u2019s Walk<\/a>
\nIV.<\/strong> Master Henry\u2019s Visit<\/a>
\nV.<\/strong> Master Henry\u2019s Green Bag<\/a>
\nVI.<\/strong> Master Henry\u2019s Rabbit<\/a><\/p>\n

Location:<\/em> Troy, New York<\/p>\n

Publisher:<\/em> Merriam & Moore<\/p>\n

Date:<\/em> All published in 1850, except 1*<\/strong><\/p>\n

*<\/strong> Rare Books and Special Collection holds 2 versions of the second chapbook, Master Henry\u2019s Lesson, the second<\/a> published in the year 1851.<\/p>\n

Chapbook Features:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Naturally, the chapbooks in the Milner Toys series share a structure that include a cover with a simple title, a title page, followed by a frontispiece<\/a>, a few narrative sections, and the same advertisement<\/a> on the back cover. Interestingly however, some of their similarities are not consistent across all 7 chapbooks. For example, 4 of the 7 chapbooks share the same image of a man with a young boy on the cover<\/a>. The chapbook published in 1851<\/a> consists of different image of a man with a young boy walking in a field. The other 2 have, what seems to be, a fruit basket<\/a> on the cover instead.<\/p>\n

Although the cover of each chapbook includes one main title, the title page includes the titles of the other sections as part of the content of the book. Each section begins with the same style lettrine<\/a>, also known as a drop-cap<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Each chapbook includes numerous woodcut engravings<\/a> within the text. Some of the illustrations are done by Alexander Anderson. According to the McGill note in the catalogue, coloured illustrations were completed by hand.<\/p>\n\n\t\t