The Mother Goose Collection currently contains more than 60 beautifully illustrated Mother Goose first edition books. This is a Twentieth Century Collection which includes a few Nineteenth Century Titles. These gloriously illustrated books spark the imagination of readers young and old and stimulate the reader’s visual learning experience. Through oral tradition, Mother Goose Rhymes were sung over and over throughout the ages by mothers, nurses and children. The rhymes have been dated back to Shakespeare’s time as well as Charlemagne. France is known to still hold a Festival for “Queen Goosefoot” on January 2. In 1679, Charles Perrault published Contes de Ma Mere L’Oye or Tales of My Mother Goose. Traditionally, Perrault’s book is considered the first gathering of Mother Goose Tales to appear in print. Later in 1760 borrowing from Charles Perrault, Englishman John Newberry published Mother Goose’s Melody. In 1833, Mother Goose verse in Mother Goose’s Melodies was published by Munroe and Francis in Boston and C. S. Francis in New York. This book went through many editions and helped establish Mother Goose as a permanent part of the American fabric. This Mother Goose Collection is a sub-collection of LIU Post’s Archives and Special Collections famous American Juvenile Collection. The Mother Goose books were primarily donated by individual donors and local public libraries. We continue to encourage and much appreciate like donations.
