Books before 1900

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  • Wit & Mirth or Pills To Purge Melancholy by Thomas D'Urfrey was published in several volumes between 1653 and 1723.

Volume six is available online at Project Gutenburg


  • Percy's Reliques of Ancient Poetry is described in Wikipedia See

The contents might well be catalogued here but in the meantime here's one song to be going on with - The Bailiff's Daughter of Islington


  • Old English Songs as Now sung by the peasantry of the Weald of Surrey and Sussex, and collected by one who has learnt them by hearing them sung every Christmas from early childhood, by the country people, who go about to the Neighbouring Houses, singing, or “Wassailing” as it is called, at that season. The Airs are set to music exactly as they are now sung to rescue them from oblivion…. and to afford a specimen of genuine Old English melody, and the words are given in their original Rough state, with an occasional slight alteration to render the sense intelligible

Arr G A Dusart (1843). Private publication - 1847 - of songs collected by John Broadwood). This was a softback publication, and only three copies are known to be still in existence. One of these is held in the Surrey History Centre in Woking, Surrey, England (where the original galley proofs are also now held), and another in the British Library.


  • Old English Popular Music by William Chappell Ed. H.E.Wooldridge Additions by Frank Kidson



  • Popular Music of the Olden Time by William Chappell (1809 -1888). In two volumes, this work has been an important reference for many years. It is now freely available for download. Volume 1 Volume 2





  • Sussex Songs: Popular Songs of Sussex arranged by H F Birch Reynardson - undated- Leonard and Co, (London). (Edited in collaboration with Lucy Broadwood) (stated by Lucy Broadwood to have been published in 1889)



For the most part these were collected between 1893 and 1901. Very difficult to find and even when republished in 1974 EP Publishing (and Rowan and Littlefield in America) still not an easy acquisition.