Bab Ballads

One of Gilbert's illustrations for
"Gentle Alice Brown"

The Bab Ballads is a collection of light verse by W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911), illustrated with his own comic drawings. The poems take their name from Gilbert’s childhood nickname. He later began to sign his illustrations "Bab". In writing these verses Gilbert developed his "topsy-turvy" style in which the humour is derived by setting up a ridiculous premise and working out its logical consequences, however absurd. The ballads also reveal Gilbert's cynical and satirical approach to humour. Gilbert wrote most of the "ballads", and first published a collection of them in book form, before he became famous for his comic opera librettos written in collaboration with the composer Arthur Sullivan.

The Bab Ballads became famous on their own, as well as being a source for plot elements, characters and songs that Gilbert recycled in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas. They were read aloud at private dinner-parties, at public banquets and even in the House of Lords. The ballads have been much published, and some have been recorded or otherwise adapted.

Early history

Frontispiece of The Bab Ballads, 1868

Gilbert himself explained how The Bab Ballads came about:

In 1861 the magazine Fun was started under the editorship of Mr. H. J. Byron. With much labour I turned out an article three-quarters of a column long, and sent it to the editor, together with a half-page drawing on wood. A day or two later the printer of the paper called upon me, with Mr Byron's compliments, and staggered me with a request to contribute a column of "copy" and a half-page drawing every week for the term of my natural life. I hardly knew how to treat the offer, for it seemed to me that into that short article I had poured all I knew. I was empty. I had exhausted myself: I didn't know any more. However, the printer encouraged me (with Mr. Byron's compliments), and I said I would try. I did try, and I found to my surprise that there was a little left, and enough indeed to enable me to contribute some hundreds of columns to the periodical throughout his editorship, and that of his successor, poor Tom Hood!

For ten years Gilbert wrote articles and poems for Fun, of which he was also the drama critic. Gilbert's first column "cannot now be identified". The first known contribution is a drawing titled "Some mistake here" on page 56 of the issue for 26 October 1861. Some of Gilbert's early work for the journal remains unidentified because many pieces were unsigned. The earliest pieces that Gilbert himself considered worthy to be collected in The Bab Ballads started to appear in 1865, and then much more steadily from 1866 to 1869.

The series takes its title from the nickname "Bab", which is short for "baby". It may also be a homage to Charles Dickens's pen name "Boz". Gilbert did not start signing his drawings "Bab" regularly until 1866, and he did not start calling the poems "Bab Ballads" until the first collected edition was published in 1869. From then on his new poems in Fun were captioned "The Bab Ballads".

Gilbert also started numbering the poems, with "Mister William" (published 6 February 1869) as No. 60. However, it is not certain which poems Gilbert considered to be Nos. 1–59. Ellis counts backwards, including only those poems with drawings, and finds that the first Bab Ballad was "The Story of Gentle Archibald". However, Gilbert did not include "Gentle Archibald" in his collected editions, while he did include several poems published earlier than that. Nor did Gilbert limit the collected editions to poems with illustrations.

By 1870 Gilbert's output of Bab Ballads had started to tail off considerably, corresponding to his rising success as a dramatist. The last poem that Gilbert himself considered to be a Bab Ballad, "Old Paul and Old Tim," appeared in Fun in January 1871. In the remaining forty years of his life Gilbert made only a handful of verse contributions to periodicals. Some posthumous editions of The Bab Ballads have included these later poems, although Gilbert did not.

Subsequent publication

1898 edition of The Bab Ballads, with which are included Songs of a Savoyard

By 1868 Gilbert's poems had won sufficient popularity to justify a collected edition. He selected forty-four of the poems (thirty-four of them illustrated) for an edition of The "Bab" Ballads – Much Sound and Little Sense. A second collected edition, More "Bab" Ballads, including thirty-five ballads (all illustrated), appeared in 1872. In 1876 Gilbert collected fifty of his favourite poems in Fifty "Bab" Ballads, with one poem being collected for the first time ("Etiquette") and twenty-five poems that had appeared in the earlier volumes being left out. As Gilbert explained:

The period during which they were written extended over some three or four years; many, however, were composed hastily, and under the discomforting necessity of having to turn out a quantity of lively verse by a certain day in every week. As it seemed to me (and to others) that the volumes were disfigured by the presence of these hastily written impostors, I thought it better to withdraw from both volumes such Ballads as seemed to show evidence of carelessness or undue haste, and to publish the remainder in the compact form under which they are now presented to the reader.

Gilbert's readers were not happy with the loss, and in 1882 Gilbert published all of the poems that had appeared in either The "Bab" Ballads or More "Bab" Ballads, once again excluding "Etiquette." Some twentieth-century editions of More "Bab" Ballads include "Etiquette". In 1890 Gilbert produced Songs of a Savoyard, a volume of sixty-nine detached lyrics from the Savoy Operas, each with a new title, and some of them slightly reworded to fit the changed context. Many of them also received "Bab" illustrations in the familiar style. He also included two deleted lyrics from Iolanthe (footnoted as "omitted in representation"). The effect was that of a new volume of "Bab Ballads". Indeed, Gilbert considered calling the volume The Savoy Ballads.

Finally, in 1898 Gilbert produced The Bab Ballads, with which are included Songs of a Savoyard. This volume included all of the Bab Ballads that had appeared in any of the earlier collected volumes, the sixty-nine "Songs of a Savoyard" published in 1890, and eighteen additional lyrics in the same format, taken from the four operas he had written since then. The Bab Ballads and the illustrated opera lyrics alternated, creating the impression of one integrated body of work. Gilbert also added more than two hundred new drawings, providing illustrations for the ten ballads that had previously lacked them, and replacing most of the others. He wrote:

I have always felt that many of the original illustrations to The Bab Ballads erred gravely in the direction of unnecessary extravagance. This defect I have endeavoured to correct through the medium of the two hundred new drawings which I have designed for this volume. I am afraid I cannot claim for them any other recommendation.

It was in this form that The Bab Ballads remained almost constantly in print until the expiration of the copyright at the end of 1961. James Ellis's new edition in 1970 restored the original drawings, retaining from the edition of 1898 only those drawings that went with the previously unillustrated ballads.

Identification and Attribution

There is no universally agreed list of poems that constitute The Bab Ballads. The series clearly includes all the poems that Gilbert himself published under that title, but there are others he did not include in any of the collected editions published in his lifetime. Most writers have accepted as Bab Ballads any poems, whether illustrated or not, that Gilbert contributed to periodicals, not counting poems written or repurposed as operatic lyrics.

After Gilbert's death there were several attempts to identify additional ballads that were missing from the collected editions that had been published to that point. Dark & Gray (1923), Goldberg (1929), and Searle (1932) identified and published additional ballads, not all of which have been accepted into the canon. A 1970 edition edited by James Ellis includes all the poems that Gilbert himself acknowledged, all the poems from Dark & Gray, Goldberg, and/or Searle that Ellis finds authentic, and others identified by no other previous compilers. There are several ballads that Ellis identifies as Gilbert's either on stylistic grounds or by the presence of a "Bab" illustration accompanying the poem in the original publication. These include two distinct poems called "The Cattle Show", as well as "Sixty-Three and Sixty-Four", "The Dream", "The Baron Klopfzetterheim" and "Down to the Derby". These attributions are provisional and have not been accepted by all scholars because the poems themselves are unsigned, and Gilbert sometimes provided illustrations for the work of other writers. Starting with the "new series" of Fun (those with 'n.s.' in the source reference), Gilbert's authorship is not in doubt, as the pieces for which he was paid can be confirmed from the proprietors' copies of that journal, which now reside in the Huntington Library.

A 2023 collection of 41 of the ballads, titled The Bab Ballads: A New Selection, was edited with an introduction by Andrew Crowther, secretary of the W. S. Gilbert Society.

List of Bab Ballads

The table below lists all the Bab Ballads that are included in James Ellis's edition of 1970. The second column shows the reference for the periodical in which each poem originally appeared and the third column shows the collection(s) that have included the poem. The following abbreviations are used:

• TBB: The "Bab" Ballads (London: John Camden Hotten, 1868)
• MBB: More "Bab" Ballads (London: Routledge, 1872)
• 50BB: Fifty "Bab" Ballads ((London: Routledge, 1876)
• D&G: W.S. Gilbert: His Life and Letters, Sidney Dark & Rowland Grey (Methuen, 1923)
• Goldberg: Story of Gilbert and Sullivan, Isaac Goldberg (John Murray, 1929)
• Searle: Lost Bab Ballads, Townley Searle (G. P. Putnam's Sons, Ltd. 1932)
• Ellis: The Bab Ballads, James Ellis, ed. (Belknap Press, 1970)

Starting with "Mister William" Gilbert assigned numbers to most of the ballads that appeared in Fun. Those numbers are shown in the second column after the source reference.

Ballad Title	Original Source Reference	Collections
The Advent of Spring	Fun, II (1 February 1862), 200.	Ellis
The Cattle Show	Fun, V (12 December 1863), 121.	Searle, Ellis
The Cattle Show	The Comic News, I (19 December 1863), 180.	Ellis
Sixty-Three and Sixty-Four	Fun, V (2 January 1864), 162.	Ellis
The Dream	Fun, V (27 February 1864), 242.	Goldberg, Ellis
The Baron Klopfzetterheim	Fun, VI (19, 26 March.; 2, 9, 16 April 1864), 8–9, 18, 21, 38, 48.	Searle, Ellis
Down to the Derby	Fun, VI (28 May 1864), 110, 111.	D&G, Searle, Ellis
Something Like Nonsense Verses	Fun, n.s., I (10, 24 June 1865), 31, 51.	Ellis
Ode to my Clothes	Fun, n.s., I (10 June 1865), 33.	Ellis
The Student	Fun, n.s., I (1 July 1865), 67.	Ellis
Tempora Mutantur	Fun, n.s., I (15 July 1865), 82.	TBB, Ellis
The Bachelors' Strike	Fun, n.s., I (22 July 1865), 99.	Ellis
A Bad Night Of It	Fun, n.s., I (19 August 1865), 139.	Ellis
To Phœbe	Fun, n.s., I (26 August 1865), 144.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
Ozone	Fun, n.s., II (16 September 1865), 2.	Ellis
To the Terrestrial Globe	Fun, n.s., II (30 September 1865), 29.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Monkey in Trouble	Fun, n.s., II (7 October 1865), 31.	Ellis
Back Again!	Fun, n.s., II (7 October 1865), 39.	Ellis
To My Absent Husband	Punch, XLIX (14 October 1865), 151.	Goldberg, Searle, Ellis
My Return	Punch, XLIX (21 October 1865), 153.	Ellis
Musings in a Music Hall	Fun, n.s., II (28 October 1865), 69.	D&G, Ellis
Pantomimic Presentiments	Fun, n.s., II (2 December 1865), 111.	Ellis
The Bar and its Moaning	Fun, n.s., II (9 December 1865), 122.	Ellis
To Euphrosyne	Fun, n.s., II (23 December 1865), 150.	Ellis
The Phantom Curate	Fun, n.s., II (6 January 1866), 162.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
To a Little Maid	Fun, n.s., II (6 January 1866), 167.	Ellis, TBB, 50BB
Ferdinando and Elvira	Fun, n.s., II (17 February 1866), 229.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Pantomime "Super" to His Mask	Fun, n.s., II (24 February 1866), 238.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Yarn of The "Nancy Bell"	Fun, n.s., II (3 March 1866), 242–243.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
Monsieur le Blond on London	Fun, n.s., II (3 March 1866), 249.	Ellis
Haunted	Fun, n.s., III (24 March 1866), 12.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Reverend Rawston Wright	Fun, n.s., III (28 April 1866), 67.	Searle, Ellis
The Story of Gentle Archibald	Fun, n.s., III (19 May 1866), 100–101.	D&G, Searle, Ellis
To My Bride	Fun, n.s., III (9 June 1866), 125.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
Only a Dancing Girl	Fun, n.s., III (23 June 1866), 146.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
To My Steed	Fun, n.s., III (23 June 1866), 152.	Ellis
King Borria Bungalee Boo	Fun, n.s., III (7 July 1866), 167.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
Jack Casts His Shell	Fun, n.s., IV (6 October 1866), 37.	Ellis
How to Write an Irish Drama	Fun, n.s., IV (1 December 1866), 127.	Ellis
General John	Fun, n.s., V (1 June 1867), 127.	TBB, Ellis
Sir Guy the Crusader	Fun, n.s., V (8 June 1867), 139.	TBB, Ellis
Sir Galahad the Golumptious	Fun, n.s., V (15 June 1867), 149.	Ellis
Disillusioned	Fun, n.s., V (6 July 1867), 173.	TBB, Ellis
John and Freddy	Fun, n.s., V (3 August 1867), 222.	TBB, Ellis
Lorenzo de Lardy	Fun, n.s., V (10 August 1867), 225.	TBB, Ellis
The Bishop and the Busman	Fun, n.s., V (17 August 1867), 238.	TBB, Ellis
Babette's Love	Fun, n.s., V (24 August 1867), 247.	TBB, Ellis
Fanny and Jenny	Fun, n.s., V (7 September 1867), 269.	D&G, Searle, Ellis
Sir Macklin	Fun, n.s., VI (14 September 1867), 6–7.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Troubadour	Fun, n.s., VI (21 September 1867), 15.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
Ben Allah Achmet	Fun, n.s., VI (28 September 1867), 25.	TBB, Ellis
The Folly of Brown	Fun, n.s., VI (5 October 1867), 35.	TBB, Ellis
Joe Golightly	Fun, n.s., VI (12 October 1867), 54.	TBB, Ellis
The Rival Curates	Fun, n.s., VI (19 October 1867), 57.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
Thomas Winterbottom Hance	Fun, n.s., VI (26 October 1867), 74–75.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
A. and B.; OR, The Sensation Twins	Fun, n.s., VI (2 November 1867), 77.	Goldberg, Searle, Ellis
Sea-Side Snobs	Fun, n.s., VI (9 November 1867), 88.	Searle, Ellis
The Bishop of Rum-ti-Foo	Fun, n.s., VI (16 November 1867), 104.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Precocious Baby	Fun, n.s., VI (23 November 1867), 113.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
Baines Carew, Gentleman	Fun, n.s., VI (30 November 1867), 124.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
A Discontented Sugar Broker	Fun, n.s., VI (14 December 1867), 137.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Force of Argument	Fun, n.s., VI (21 December 1867), 149.	TBB, Ellis
At A Pantomime	Fun, n.s., VI (28 December 1867), 165.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Three Kings of Chickeraboo	Fun, n.s., VI (18 January 1868), 191.	TBB, Ellis
The Periwinkle Girl	Fun, n.s., VI (1 February 1868), 211.	TBB, Ellis
Captain Reece	Fun, n.s., VI (8 February 1868), 221.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
Thomson Green and Harriet Hale	Fun, n.s., VI (15 February 1868), 242.	TBB, Ellis
Bob Polter	Fun, n.s., VI (29 February 1868), 260–261.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Ghost, the Gallant, the Gael, and the Goblin	Fun, n.s., VII (14 March 1868), 6.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
Ellen McJones Aberdeen	Fun, n.s., VII (21 March 1868), 16.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Sensation Captain	Fun, n.s., VII 4 April 1868), 43.	TBB, Ellis
Trial by Jury	Fun, n.s., VII (11 April 1868), 54.	Ellis
The Reverend Micah Sowls	Fun, n.s., VII (18 April 1868), 65.	TBB, Ellis
Peter the Wag	Fun, n.s., VII (25 April 1868), 75.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Story of Prince Agib	Fun, n.s., VII (16 May 1868), 107.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
Gentle Alice Brown	Fun, n.s., VII (23 May 1868), 111.	TBB, 50BB, Ellis
Pasha Bailey Ben	Fun, n.s., VII (6 June 1868), 133.	MBB
Blabworth-cum-Talkington	Fun, n.s., VII (20 June 1868), 153.	Goldberg, Searle, Ellis
The Sailor Boy To His Lass	Fun, n.s., VII (27 June 1868), 163,	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
Sir Conrad and the Rusty One	Fun, n.s., VII (4 July 1868), 174.	D&G, Searle, Ellis
The Cunning Woman	Fun, n.s., VII (25 July 1868), 205.	MBB, Ellis
The Modest Couple	Fun, n.s., VII (8 August 1868), 225.	MBB, Ellis
The "Bandoline" Player	Fun, n.s., VII (22 August 1868), 246.	D&G, Searle, Ellis
Sir Barnaby Bampton Boo	Fun, n.s., VII (29 August 1868), 255.	MBB, Ellis
Boulogne	Fun, n.s., VIII (12 September 1868), 7.	Searle, Ellis
Brave Alum Bey	Fun, n.s., VIII (19 September 1868), 16.	MBB, Ellis
Gregory Parable, LL.D.	Fun, n.s., VIII (3 October 1868), 35.	MBB, Ellis
Lieutenant-Colonel Flare	Fun, n.s., VIII (10 October 1868), 46.	MBB, Ellis
The Hermit	Fun, n.s., VIII (17 October 1868), 62.	Goldberg, Searle, Ellis
Annie Protheroe	Fun, n.s., VIII (24 October 1868), 65.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Captain and the Mermaids	Fun, n.s., VIII (7 November 1868), 85.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
An Unfortunate Likeness	Fun, n.s., VIII (14 November 1868), 96.	MBB, 50BB
A Boulogne Table d'Hôte	Tom Hood's Comic Annual for 1868 (London: Fun office, 1868), 78.	Searle, Ellis
The Railway Guard's Song	Tom Hood's Comic Annual for 1868 (London: Fun office, 1868), 79.	Ellis
The Undecided Man	Tom Hood's Comic Annual for 1868, (London: Fun office, 1868) 79.	Searle, Ellis
Premonitory Symptoms	Fun, n.s., VIII (28 November 1868), 117.	Ellis
Lost Mr. Blake	Fun, n.s., VIII (28 November 1868), 121.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
Little Oliver	Fun, n.s., VIII (5 December 1868), 132.	MBB, Ellis
What Is A Burlesque?	Belgravia Annual, ed. M. E. Braddon (London, 1868), 106–107.	Ellis
The Phantom Head	Fun, n.s., VIII (19 December 1868), 151.	Goldberg, Searle, Ellis
The Politest of Nations!	Fun, n.s., VIII (2 January 1869), 173.	Ellis
Woman's Gratitude	Fun, n.s., VIII (9 January 1869 ), 176–177.	Goldberg, Searle, Ellis
The Baby's Vengeance	Fun, n.s., VIII (16 January 1869), 188.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Two Ogres	Fun, n.s., VIII (23 January 1869), 204.	MBB, Ellis
Mister William	Fun, n.s., VIII (6 February 1869), 218. No. 60.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Martinet	Fun, n.s., VIII (13 February 1869), 228. No. 61.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
The King of Canoodle-Dum	Fun, n.s., VIII (20 February 1869), 238–239. No. 62.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
First Love	Fun, n.s., VIII (27 February 1869), 248. No. 63.	MBB, Ellis
The Haughty Actor	Fun, n.s., IX (27 March 1869), 31. No. 64.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Two Majors	Fun, n.s., IX (3 April 1869), 41. No. 65.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Three Bohemian Ones	Fun, n.s., IX (10 April 1869), 51. No. 66.	D&G, Searle, Ellis
The Policeman's Beard	Fun, n.s., IX (1 May 1869), 75. No. 67.	Goldberg, Searle, Ellis
The Bishop of Rum-ti-Foo Again	Fun, n.s., IX (8 May 1869), 85. No. 68.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
A Worm Will Turn	Fun, n.s., IX (15 May 1869), 104. No. 69.	MBB, Ellis
The Mystic Selvagee	Fun, n.s., IX (22 May 1869), 112. No. 70.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
Emily, John, James, and I	Fun, n.s., IX (29 May 1869), 115. No. 71.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Ghost to his Ladye Love	Fun, n.s., IX (14 August 1869), 223.	Ellis
Prince Il Baleine	Fun, n.s., IX (28 August 1869), 253. No. 72.	D&G, Searle, Ellis
The Way of Wooing	Fun, n.s., X (11 September 1869), 13. No. 73.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Scornful Colonel	Fun, n.s., X (25 September 1869), 31. No. 74.	Goldberg, Searle, Ellis
The Variable Baby	Fun, n.s., X (9 October 1869), 51. No. 75.	Goldberg, Searle, Ellis
The Ladies of the Lea	Fun, n.s., X (30 October 1869), 75. No. 76.	Goldberg, Searle, Ellis
Hongree and Mahry	Fun, n.s., X (20 November 1869), 105. No. 77.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
Etiquette	The Graphic, I (25 December 1869, Christmas Number), 6–7.	50BB, Ellis
The Reverend Simon Magnus	Fun, n.s., X (5 February 1870), 215. No. 78.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
My Dream	Fun, n.s., XI (19 March 1870), 15. No. 79.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
Damon v. Pythias	Fun, n.s., XI (26 March 1870), 31. No. 80.	MBB, Ellis
The Bumboat Woman's Story	Fun, n.s., XI (9 April 1870), 45. No. 81.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Fairy Curate	Fun, n.s., XII (23 July 1870), 32–33. No. 82.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
Phrenology	Fun, n.s., XII (6 August 1870), 45. No. 83.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Perils of Invisibility	Fun, n.s., XII (20 August 1870), 65. No. 84.	MBB, 50BB, Ellis
The Wise Policeman	Fun, n.s., XII (22 October 1870), 156. No. 85.	Ellis
A Drop of Pantomime Water	The Graphic, II, 25 December 1870, Christmas Number, 20.	Ellis
Old Paul and Old Tim	Fun, n.s., XIII (28 January 1871), 35. No. 86.	MBB, Ellis
"Eheu! Fugaces"	The Dark Blue, III (April 1872), 142–143.	Searle, Ellis
Jester James	Time, I (April 1879), 54–57.	Ellis
The Policeman's Story	Time, I (May 1879), 166–168.	Ellis
The Thief's Apology	Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, XXII (6 December 1884), "Holly Leaves" (Christmas number), 267.	Ellis
The King and the Stroller	The Queen's Christmas Carol: An Anthology of Poems, Stories, Essays, Drawings and Music by British Authors, Artists and Composers (London: The Daily Mail, 1905), 80–81.	Ellis

Adaptations

Some of the Bab Ballads have been recorded by several performers, including Stanley Holloway (1959) Redvers Kyle (1963) and Jim Broadbent (1999). In 2016, The W. S. Gilbert Society released a 2-CD set read by various British performers, including several who performed with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.

Four have been set to music by Ken Malucelli, and two have been adapted for the stage by Brian Mitchell and Joseph Nixon.

See also

• Pineapple Poll, ballet based on "The Bumboat Woman's Story"

References

• Dark, Sidney; Rowland Grey (1923). W. S. Gilbert – His Life and Letters. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd.
• Gilbert, W. S. (1869). The "Bab" Ballads – Much Sound and Little Sense. London: John Camden Hotten.
• Gilbert, W. S. (1872). More "Bab" Ballads. London: George Routledge & Sons.
• Gilbert, W. S. (1876). Fifty "Bab" Ballads. London: George Routledge & Sons.
• Gilbert, W. S. (1882). The "Bab" Ballads – Much Sound and Little Sense. London: George Routledge & Sons. Complete edition in one volume incorporating the original "Bab" Ballads and More "Bab" Ballads.
• Gilbert, W. S. (2 April 1883). "William Schwenck Gilbert: an Autobiography". Theatre. New series. I: 217–24.
• Gilbert, W. S. (1890). Songs of a Savoyard. London: George Routledge & Sons.
• Gilbert, W. S. (1898). The Bab Ballads with which are included Songs of a Savoyard. London: George Routledge & Sons.
• Gilbert, W. S. (1904). The Bab Ballads with which are included Songs of a Savoyard (6th ed.). London: Macmillan and Co., Limited.
• Gilbert, W. S. (1932). Townley Searle (ed.). Lost Bab Ballads. London: G. P. Putnam's Sons Ltd.
• Gilbert, W. S. (1970). James Ellis (ed.). The Bab Ballads. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press. ISBN 0-674-05800-3.
• Goldberg, Isaac (1929). The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan or The 'Compleat' Savoyard. London: John Murray.
• Plumb, Philip (Winter 2004). "Gilbert, the snake in the Garden of Eden". W. S. Gilbert Society Journal. 2 (16): 496–499.
• Stedman, Jane W. (1996). W. S. Gilbert – A Classic Victorian and His Theatre. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

External links

• Introduction to The Bab Ballads
• Bab Ballads public domain audiobook at LibriVox