Forget Me Not

Forget Me Not, A Christmas & New Years Present for 1823. London, published by R. Ackerman.

Forget Me Not, A Christmas & New Years Present for 1823. London, published by R. Ackerman. 16mo with blue paper boards with front cover vignette containing title and date, spine decorated also with title and date, and rear board with Holiday Decoration in vignette. all page edges are gilt. This was the first year of publication. Tissue guard covers presentation plate, which is filled out but I cannot make out the name,just that is from her affectionate father, there is an engraved frontispiece separated by tissue guard from the title page, plus 12 other small engravings, one at the start of every month preceding the month's poem. There is some discoloration to this part of the book (28 pages) due to the engravings. There are short stories following of different subjects from pages 29 - 272, and page 273 begins Genealogy of the European Sovereigns and of the Living Members of their Families. That is followed by a list of the Diplomatic Agents at the Principal Courts of Europe, British Consuls, populations, Historical Chronicle for 1822, and a section of advertisements for a new series of Depository Arts to be printed in 1823. All in all, there are 392 pages plus 18 pages of advertisements. The back paper board is hanging on by a thread,literally, and so is the paper spine. The booked is housed in a brown cardboard slipcase with a cover matching the books' cover and it is well worn. Despite the back cover and spine, the binding is still tight, all the sewing is in place, and the book is so precious, it would be well worth taking to a bindery to have the spine and back cover repaired. "In November 1822 Rudolf Ackermann published Forget-Me-Not: A Christmas and New Years Present for 1823. This was the first literary annual.[1] From the first edition he employed Frederic Shoberl as editor. This annual was a new concept it combined some aspects that had been seen in England with new ideas Ackermann had brought from Germany. The idea of an "Annual" was new and was aimed primarily at a female market and exploited the lowering cost of publishing. A marked difference was that Ackermann was willing to commission engravings and then request a story or poem to accompany it. This was a major difference from previously when the writer saw themselves as leading the imaginative process . . The idea of a diary and almanac was familiar to English readers but this new annual contained twelve engravings to commemorate each month. The annual had a historical review of the previous year and the recent census, a family tree for the monarchy of Britain and a list of sovereign families and ambassadors for other kingdoms.[2] Poetry that was published includes works by Hester Thrale, Sir Walter Scott and Mary Wollstonecraft.[4] Many of the artists who had their work included were Royal Academicians and a considerable fee would have been paid. Once engraved the artwork was then used to solicit accompanying texts". Forget Me Not, A Christmas & New Years Present for 1823