The Bab Ballads, W. S. Gilbert's celebrated collection of light verse, underwent a complex and evolving publication history, marked by authorial revisions, reader feedback, and ongoing efforts to define the complete canon. From their initial appearance in the magazine *Fun* to numerous collected editions, these poems, illustrated by Gilbert himself, saw various iterations. This journey reflects Gilbert's meticulous, though sometimes selective, approach
to his own work, as well as the enduring popularity that prompted continuous re-evaluation and compilation of his distinctive "topsy-turvy" verses. The story of their publication is as intricate as the humor within the ballads themselves.
Early Collections and Authorial Selection
By 1868, the growing popularity of Gilbert's poems in *Fun* justified the release of a collected edition. This first compilation, titled *The "Bab" Ballads – Much Sound and Little Sense*, featured forty-four poems, with thirty-four of them accompanied by Gilbert's illustrations. This initial selection marked a significant step in bringing the scattered verses into a more permanent form. Following its success, a second collected edition, *More "Bab" Ballads*, appeared in 1872, expanding the collection with thirty-five additional ballads, all of which were illustrated. These early volumes established the Bab Ballads as a distinct body of work beyond their periodical origins.
However, Gilbert was not content to simply reprint everything. In 1876, he curated *Fifty "Bab" Ballads*, a volume that showcased fifty of his personal favorites. This edition was notable for including "Etiquette," a poem collected for the first time, while simultaneously omitting twenty-five poems that had appeared in the earlier volumes. Gilbert explained his rationale for these exclusions, stating that many of the original pieces were composed hastily under the pressure of weekly deadlines. He felt that these "hastily written impostors" disfigured the volumes and believed it was better to withdraw them, presenting the remaining, more carefully crafted ballads in a compact form. This decision, however, did not sit well with his readership.
Reader Demand and Comprehensive Editions
The public's dissatisfaction with the removal of previously published ballads prompted Gilbert to reconsider his selective approach. In response to reader demand, he published an edition in 1882 that included all the poems that had appeared in either *The "Bab" Ballads* or *More "Bab" Ballads*. Interestingly, "Etiquette," which had been a new inclusion in *Fifty "Bab" Ballads*, was once again excluded from this more comprehensive volume. The fluctuating inclusion of specific poems highlights the dynamic nature of the collection's early publication history. Later in the twentieth century, some editions of *More "Bab" Ballads* did eventually incorporate "Etiquette," indicating a continued effort to present a more complete picture of Gilbert's work.
Gilbert's creative output extended beyond the traditional Bab Ballads. In 1890, he produced *Songs of a Savoyard*, a volume comprising sixty-nine lyrics detached from his famous Savoy Operas. Each lyric was given a new title and sometimes slightly reworded to fit its new context. Many of these also received new "Bab" illustrations in his familiar style, creating a volume that felt akin to a new collection of ballads; Gilbert even considered calling it *The Savoy Ballads*. This blending of his operatic lyrics with the visual style of the Bab Ballads further enriched his published works.
The Definitive Collection and Posthumous Challenges
The culmination of Gilbert's efforts to compile his verse came in 1898 with *The Bab Ballads, with which are included Songs of a Savoyard*. This comprehensive volume aimed to be the definitive collection, incorporating all the Bab Ballads that had appeared in any of his earlier collected works, the sixty-nine "Songs of a Savoyard" from 1890, and an additional eighteen lyrics from his more recent operas. The ballads and illustrated opera lyrics were interleaved, creating the impression of a single, integrated body of work. For this edition, Gilbert also undertook a significant artistic revision, adding over two hundred new drawings. He provided illustrations for the ten ballads that had previously lacked them and replaced most of the existing ones, stating his intention to correct what he perceived as "unnecessary extravagance" in the original artwork.
This 1898 edition proved to be highly successful, remaining almost continuously in print until its copyright expired at the end of 1961. However, the question of what precisely constitutes a "Bab Ballad" continued to be debated. There is no universally agreed-upon list, as Gilbert himself did not include all his periodical contributions in his collected editions. After his death, several scholars, including Dark & Gray (1923), Goldberg (1929), and Searle (1932), attempted to identify and publish additional ballads, though not all of these have been universally accepted into the canon. A 1970 edition by James Ellis sought to create a more complete collection, restoring original drawings and including poems identified through stylistic analysis or the presence of "Bab" illustrations, even if unsigned. This ongoing scholarly effort underscores the lasting appeal and complex legacy of W. S. Gilbert's unique contribution to light verse.
