As stated before, nursery rhymes were from the oral traditions passed on from generations. When and were were they first spoken into existence? No one really has proof and therefore knows. Everything is supposition. While there were other publishers of Nursery rhymes the most often associated are those in connection with Mother Goose. What we do know is that there are two accredited as a carriers of the torch. Correctly or incorrectly, research mentions Charles Perrault and John Newbery.
According to Harvey Darton, "The stories which peasants honestly told to their children were furbished up for a pastime of elegant salons. They were put forth in literary form by various writers, far the greatest of whom was Charles Perrault: greatest because he embellished least" (86). The naming of the rhymes as "Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes" came from the title of Perrault's book: Contes de ma mére l'Oie (Tales of Mother Goose) (86). The first tales were not the rhymes--they were stories or "tales" such as "Red Riding Hood," "Puss-in-Boots," "Cinderella, or the Glass Slipper," etc.
William H. Whitmore (1930) agrees: "I think we must accept he following facts as to the name: that Mother Goose was a French character, originally, and that her Tales were first published in 1696 and 1697, by Perrault." Whitmore further concludes, "In 1729 their fame reached England, and they were translated by Robert Samber; when for the first time, she was introduced to English Readers" (Darton, 4).
While it is impossible to see who brought the term of Mother Goose into first existence; however, according to Whitmore, Newbery was the first publisher to "[use] the title of 'Mother Goose'" (5). While it is not set in stone, Whitmore believes that "If, as seems most probable, the first edition of 'Mother Goose's Melody' was issued prior to John Newbery's death, in 1767, there is an interesting question as to who prepared the collection for the press. The rhymes are avowedly the favorites of the nursery."
The Opies also convey that Newbery was the possible first publisher: "1760 has also been given as the date of Mother Goose's Melody or Sonnets for the Cradle, though it is more likely to have been compiled in 1765 or 1766. If either of these dates is correct, and it was printed then, its publisher was sJohn Newbery (since in 1780 it was entered for copyright by his stepson and successor, Thomas Carnan)." While Whitmore and the Opies make suppositions, evidence does not exist in tangible form as "no edition bearing the 'J. Newbery' imprint is known" (Opie, 33). It may always be a mystery as to who was first in England.
According to Harvey Darton, "The stories which peasants honestly told to their children were furbished up for a pastime of elegant salons. They were put forth in literary form by various writers, far the greatest of whom was Charles Perrault: greatest because he embellished least" (86). The naming of the rhymes as "Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes" came from the title of Perrault's book: Contes de ma mére l'Oie (Tales of Mother Goose) (86). The first tales were not the rhymes--they were stories or "tales" such as "Red Riding Hood," "Puss-in-Boots," "Cinderella, or the Glass Slipper," etc.
William H. Whitmore (1930) agrees: "I think we must accept he following facts as to the name: that Mother Goose was a French character, originally, and that her Tales were first published in 1696 and 1697, by Perrault." Whitmore further concludes, "In 1729 their fame reached England, and they were translated by Robert Samber; when for the first time, she was introduced to English Readers" (Darton, 4).
While it is impossible to see who brought the term of Mother Goose into first existence; however, according to Whitmore, Newbery was the first publisher to "[use] the title of 'Mother Goose'" (5). While it is not set in stone, Whitmore believes that "If, as seems most probable, the first edition of 'Mother Goose's Melody' was issued prior to John Newbery's death, in 1767, there is an interesting question as to who prepared the collection for the press. The rhymes are avowedly the favorites of the nursery."
The Opies also convey that Newbery was the possible first publisher: "1760 has also been given as the date of Mother Goose's Melody or Sonnets for the Cradle, though it is more likely to have been compiled in 1765 or 1766. If either of these dates is correct, and it was printed then, its publisher was sJohn Newbery (since in 1780 it was entered for copyright by his stepson and successor, Thomas Carnan)." While Whitmore and the Opies make suppositions, evidence does not exist in tangible form as "no edition bearing the 'J. Newbery' imprint is known" (Opie, 33). It may always be a mystery as to who was first in England.