Village Green or Sports of Youth Inscription Questions
 

Hi-

I purchased a copy of the Village Green or Sports of Youth chapbook from the 1840s a few months ago. I got it for the small woodcut of kids playing with a bat and ball (see bgar's post a few threads down for the image from his copy). It has an inscription inside. Can anyone make it out? It looks like it might be from the author, but in John Thorn's article titled A Place Level Enough to Play there is a footnote stating the verse for the baseball scene came from a poem by Anne Gilbert 30+ years earlier.

Does anyone know if all of the poems came from Anne's book? Does anyone know the author of the Babcock chapbook? Can anyone make out the inscription? Here is what I could come up with.

(?) Julia
(?) (?) excerpt(?) from the author(?) -(?) and(?) you
(?) friend(?)
Elijah(?) (?)
(?) (?) (?) (?)
(?) Long(?) fellow(?)
(?)

I scanned the inscription at 300 dpm but please let me know if you think there is a better way to make it more legible. I am happy to have the chapbook even without the inscription but I figured I would check just to make sure it wasn't the author's writing.

Alan

300 dpm is way too low a resolution to fully see it. 600 or higher would be better along with cropping just the inscription page.

Here you go as a start:

Miss Julia,
Will accept of this volume – from the author and your travelling friend
Elijah –
P--- Far & Fur from
Here Longfellow

Remember that prior to the 1860's or so the first 's' in a double 's' was written like the letter 'f' ie Mifs.

Also, Sidney Babcock from New Haven published a lot of chapbooks in the 1840's and 1850's - "Little Sisters", "Little Lucy", "The Child's Keepsake", "The Vacation" etc. Reprinted leather bound volumes of your book are available out of India.

Alan, very nice book, wish I knew the answer. Based upon the Thorn information I have my doubts Elijah is the actual author, at least not of the verse that accompanies the baseball image. I have checked some library holdings and have not found one the lists an author for this title. Babcock published a very large number of these chapbooks and most of what have seen, do not give an author.

Thank you both! Here is a 600 DPI scan cropped to the inscription. Michael, thank you for the transcription!

Alan