first edition Softcover
1875 · Philadelphia
by (DICKENS, Charles) GREEN, Frank W., words by, and Alfred Lee, music by
Philadelphia: Lee & Walker, 1875. Softcover. Very Good. First edition. Folio. Two nested bifoliums making eight pages. Light foxing and offsetting throughout, toning to the exterior, and light bumping to the corners, still a very good and complete copy. For voice and piano. Plate number, 13189 - 4. The cover illustration shows a young woman in a style of dress that was popular at the time known as "Dolly Varden," named after the Charles Dickens character from *Barnaby Rudge*. The song speaks playfully of the new fashion stating, "Have you seen my little girl? She doesn't wear a bonnet/She's got a monstrous flip-flop hat with cherry ribbons on it/She dresses in bed furniture just like a flower garden/A blowin' and a growin' and they call it 'Dolly Varden.'" The front cover of this piece features a beautiful example of the style. *OCLC* locates only a single holding of this song and it appears to be equally scarce in the trade. (Inventory #: 584591)