m John White's York Stock._

[Illustrations: 17_1 - 17_10]

That quaint divine Dean Swift of St. Patricks, Dublin, edited some
curious poetry for "A Royal Primer," sqr. 32mo, published in the Seven
Dials, of Dublin ("Rainbow Court").

"Ech, ech, my dear'y, and
Ach, ach, my love.
"There was a little man who had a little gun, and
"There was a little maid who was very much afraid
To get wed, wed, wed," etc.

This is long and curious, and was greatly altered and abreviated in
early 19th Century Editions.

_"The Royal Primer," from John White's York and Newcastle Stock._

[Illustrations: 18_1 - 18_12]

_From Dean Swift's Royal Primer, Dublin, circa 1770._

[Illustrations: 19_1 - 19_7]

_From Evans's edition of Cinderella._

[Illustrations: 19_8 - 19_11]

_Very Early "Cock Robin" Series, "Postboy" by Bewick for a Newcastle
Newspaper, "Wife Joan," etc., from J. White's Stock._

[Illustrations: 20_1 - 20_15]

_Early "Mother Hubbard:" J. Evans, Long Lane, circa 1770._

[Illustrations: 21_1 - 21_10]

_Early "Goody Two Shoes," "Jack and Jill," "Cock Robin," The Fables,
early Bewick School._

[Illustrations: 22_1 - 22_14]

_All Evans's style of woodcut, Catnach, etc., all used at Rushers
Banbury Press._

[Illustrations: 23_1 - 23_11

_Babes in the Wood._
_Blue Beard._]

Providing ourselves with a variety of pens and ink, we select two of the
best and proceed to describe the Banbury Printer's old stock of cuts.

Banbury, Oxfordshire, was one of the chief provincial towns noted for
its Children's Books, Chap Books, Battledoes, Reading Easies, etc., also
for locally printed works, notably for two, viz., Dr. Johnson's
_Rasselas_, and White and Beesley's workon _Bees_, thin 12mo volumes,
boards, printed in a curious phonetic character, called "Rusher's
Types." Rusher, printer of this town, had some ingenuity and originality
of his own, and was not such a plagiarist and imitator as some of his
contemporaries. Many of the tales he cleverly adapted to the locality,
which have become very valuable. His edition of the Rasselas realized L5
5s. This book was written by Johnson in a week to defray his mother's
funeral expenses.

We give several extracts from some of Rusher's Penny Books which will
show how well he adapted them to his town.

[Illustrations: 24_1 - 24_4]

_[Early John Bewick,] Rusher's Lilliputian Library, Banbury,
circa. 1810._