On this day in 1846, Edward Lear's A Book of Nonsense was published. This was the first of his four "nonsense" books, and Lear was the first in a golden half-century of English nonsense that would include Lewis Carroll and Hilaire Belloc. Lear was a self-taught illustrator with a special talent for animals, and while still in his twenties he was commissioned to make drawings of the Earl of Derby's menagerie, and to live with the Earl while doing them. During his four-year residence, Lear entertained the Earl's grandchildren with his nonsense limericks and accompanying illustrations ... FULL STORY »
