Summary

Alternative Name(s): Songbook

Small book of songs titled 'Songs of the Empire for Little Folks'. An advertising publication for Colman's and Robinson's produced by JJ Colman's Ltd containing songs and illustrations from the British Empire. Coleman's mustard was a well-known food accompaniment in Australia.

Included are national songs from Wales 'Hen Wlad fy Nhadau' (The Land of my Fathers), Ireland 'The Dear Little Shamrock', Scotland 'Highland Sword Dance' and 'Auld Lang Syne', England 'Rule, Britannia!', Canada 'The Maple Leaf for Ever', Australia 'Sons of the Southern Sea' (originally penned in response to Australia's involvement in the Boer War), New Zealand 'God girt her about with the Surges', and South Africa 'The Sunny Hills of Africa'. Each song is accompanied by illustrations which are similarly nationalistic in style. The two-page Australian song depicts a sing-a-long with gold miners and a vignette of Parliament House, Melbourne, while the New Zealand National Song is illustrated with a depiction of a Maori chief, a scene of Wellington and a sheep farm.

Physical Description

Small paper booklet, stapled at spine, printed in colour. Front cover illustrated with an image of an old soldier (Chelsea Pensioner) seated, singing songs to two rosy cheeked children. The back cover is illustrated with a colour picture of a man playing a tuba and a small boy looking on. There is a tin of Colman's mustard propping up the sheet music.

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