Critica Novazealandica Futura. A Noble and Right Marvellous Edition of the Melodrame of Old Mother Hubbard, Foreseen in the Vista of Futurity by the Telescopic Art of that Most Erudite Doctor Alfraganus Trismegistus. To be published in the country of New Zealand A.D. 3211, and now prae-brought-forth for the edification of the English reader.

Subtitle: 'The Melodrame of Mother Hubbord and her Doggie, cum variorum notis.' This is a charming 19th century send-up of punctilious Oxbridge literary scholarship, couched as a exploration of the layered meanings behind 'The Melodrame of Old Mother Hubbord and her Doggie'. Cambridge professor John Hannah (under concealed authorship) annotates the familiar nursery rhyme with a tongue-in-cheek meticulousness of scholarship that draws out the 58 short lines across across 32 pages with notes. With an anticipated publication date of 3211 AD, this book is way ahead of its time, and scarce...... 8vo. 1st (and only) edition. Hocken, New Zealand, 62, with no relevance to New Zealand other than the title. Bound in full navy leather. Gilt ruled with gilt spine decoration. Rubbing to edges and joints, heaviest at extremities. Rubbing to margins of boards and spine. 1.5' abrasion to rear cover. Contemporary p.o. bookplate & small bookseller sticker to front paste-down, p.o. stamp inked to first blank. Some age toning to pages. Binding solid. VG.