2. History of Popular Literature, and its Influence on Society

Extract

Having introduced the subject, Mr Chambers referred to the earliest examples of popular literature in the reign of Elizabeth; they were embelished with wood engravings, believed to be executed in Germany. Such was the origin of those very curious tracts known as “chap books,” now very rare, and much prized by bibliographic amateurs. The subjects of these books resembled the Folk-Lore of the Germans, and were the embodiment of the superstitions, fancies, and traditions of a much earlier period; the least exceptionable being the ballads of a heroic and tender kind.