The Nightingale; A Choice Collection of Songs, Chants, and Hymns, designed for the use of Juvenile Classes, Public Schools, and Seminaries; containing also a Complete and Concise System of Elementary Instruction

Boston: C.H. Ditson and Co, 1860. Hard Cover. Fair. Illustrated paper covered boards with a leather backstrip. 5 ½ by 7 ¼ inches. 216 pp. A song book and collection of hymns, notable perhaps for an early print appearance of Dixie (given as Dixie's Land) by Dan Emmett (and attributed to him) on pages 200-201. Originating in blackface minstrelsy in the 1850s, the song became the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy during the Civil War (Wikipedia). FAIR/GOOD condition. Heavy deterioration and loss to the leather binding, rendering the front cover somewhat weakly attached, and the rear cover rather tenuously holding on. Moderate darkening, fading, scuffing, creasing and other wear to the covers. Minor soiling and staining. Heavy bumping, scuffing and rounding along the extremities. Paper peeled away on some sections of the rear cover. Text block weak but holding. Scattered foxing and minor staining throughout. Large owner's signature in pencil on one of the first pages.