Fifty “Bab” Ballads ... [Selected from “Bab Ballads” and “More Bab Ballads.”] With illustrations by the author

Gilbert, W. S. (William Schwenck) · 1881 · George Routledge & Sons · 138 pictures

A selection of W. S. Gilbert's comic verse, issued by George Routledge & Sons in London in 1881 with the author's own pen drawings signed "Bab," aimed at readers of light satirical humour. The 138 line sketches use spindly stick-limbed figures, oversized heads and pointed hats set against blank ground with a single hatched shadow, giving designers ready-cut caricature silhouettes and gesture studies.

British Library · HMNTS 11646.ff.35. · Digitised by the British Library with Microsoft · No known copyright restrictions (public domain)