Showing posts with label 19th century. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 19th century. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Golden Oldie Book Titles

They just don't write book titles like they used to... but, at 69 words, this might be a bit much!

A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, comprising the several counties, cities, boroughs, corporate, market, and post towns, parishes and villages with Historical and Statistical Descriptions; embellished with engravings of the arms of cities, bishopricks, corporate towns, and boroughs; and the seals of the several municipal corporations; with an Appendix describing the electoral boundaries of the several boroughs, as defined by the Act of the 2d & 3d of Willian IV
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, this is rather short in comparison to the longest known title that contains some 1086 words. Eek! And, no, it's not some archaic tome, rather a book from within the last decade. 

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Whimsical challenge from the early 19th century

Searching through some catalogues today, I found a wonderful mention of something silly:
Whimsical anecdote relative to a challenge posed by actress Mrs. Humby, defying Theodore [Edward] Hook to make a rhyme to her name.
So, this is the challenge - think of a rhyme to Mrs. Humby's name. In the spirit of the early 19th century, keep it witty!

Later in July, I'll be visiting the Royal Irish Archives and will check out Mr. Hook's original response and post it. Let's see how today's witty minds compare!

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