Jack and Jill 1939 First Edition Ernest Weekley English Names
 
Title: Jack and Jill. A Study in Our Christian Names
Author: Ernest Weekley
Publisher: John Murray, Albemarle Street, London
Year: 1939
Edition: First Edition, stated on the date imprint page
Printer: Butler & Tanner Ltd., Frome and London
Illustrations: None
Binding: Original cloth over boards. No dust jacket.
Pagination: xii, 193 pages, followed by 2 pages of publisher's catalogue
Dimensions: Approximately 19.2 × 13.2 × 2.1 cm
Weight: Approximately 301 g
 
Historical & Bibliographic Context
A First Edition of Ernest Weekley's engaging study of English Christian names, published by John Murray in 1939.
Rather than functioning simply as a dictionary of names, Weekley examines the historical development of English personal names, drawing upon Anglo-Saxon, Norman and Scandinavian influences, the saints, Greek and Roman names, Old Testament names, Puritan naming practices, fashionable names and pet forms.
The chapters include The Saints, The Greeks and Romans, The Old Testament and the Puritans, The Growing List, Fancy Names, Pet Forms and the particularly entertaining Cruelty to Children, followed by addenda and an index.
The work is of continuing interest to collectors and researchers interested in onomastics, philology, genealogy, social history and the history of English names.
In his preface, dated Richmond, September 1939, Weekley explains that the book had been many years in preparation. His decades of teaching and examining had provided him with extensive opportunities to collect and consider Christian names.
He acknowledges earlier authorities including Charlotte M. Yonge and C. W. Bardsley, as well as Notes and Queries, and refers to contemporary works by Eric Partridge and other scholars.
 
About the Author
Ernest Weekley (1865–1954) was an English philologist and etymologist, best known for his studies of English words, names and language history.
Among his other works are The Romance of Names, Surnames, An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, Words and Names and Something About Words. His writing combines scholarly knowledge with an accessible and often entertaining style.
 
Binding & Exterior Condition
Original light cloth over boards, with red lettering and decorative red rules at the head and foot of the spine.
The binding is intact and robust, with only light age-related wear. There is a small dent to the upper front board, very light patches of fading to the cloth, very light bumping to the corners, light edge rubbing and a few very small marks.
 
Interior Condition
A very neat and clean copy.
The pages are very lightly toned, with light patches of tanning to the endpapers and very light foxing to the preliminary pages. The remaining pages are predominantly clean and uncreased, with only occasional small marks which do not affect the text.
There are only very occasional extremely small edge tears, minimal in nature and not affecting the text.
There are no ownership inscriptions or annotations.
The text block is tightly bound and all pages are secure.
 
Collector Notes
The First Edition is particularly desirable to collectors of Ernest Weekley's works and to those interested in English personal names, philology, genealogy and social history.
The appeal of this copy lies in its confirmed First Edition status, original cloth binding, clean interior and excellent overall presentation. It is a specialist scholarly work.
 
Completeness
All xii preliminary pages and 193 pages of text, together with the 2-page publisher's catalogue, are present and have been checked.