“RANJI.”
He has a lovely tenor voice,
So silvery in tone,
Whene’er I hear him sing “My Queen,”
I’m moved to tears, I own.
.
His recitations are renowned,
Both comic ones and sad;
He draws a little, too, and paints –
His paintings are not bad.
.
He plays on several instruments,
The jew’s harp and banjo;
I never stay when he begins,
It irritates me so.
.
His conduct as a husband, too
(He’s married, I should say),
Is everything it out to be,
Not grumpy nor too gay.
.
PETER PIPER’S PEEP SHOW or All the Fun of the Fair.
Written by S. H. Hamer.
With Illustrations by Lewis Baumer and Harry B. Neilson.
Cassell And Company, Ltd.: London, Paris, New York & Melbourne. 1906.
Elephant's Picture Book 
He is having so much fun!
Yes he is – a reminder that we should have some fun too!
Elephant
I wonder if this poem was written for Ranjitsinhji? He was an avid cricketer who came from royalty and was known as “Ranji”. The Ranji Trophy, named after him, is a hugely popular cricket tournament played even today.
Lovely illustration – brought back so many cricket memories! Not a fan of the game but growing up in India, it becomes part of your DNA. 😀
Interesting! I will have to look into it. It is hard not to be taken by the elephant’s obvious enjoyment of the game! Thank you,
Elephant
Your namesake is certainly dressed for the game. I hope that you get as much joy out of life as he does.
I can only wish for that much joy, but I try!
Thanks,
Elephant
He’s cute.
Yes he is – such a sportselephant. Very much like me (except I am a bit grumpy sometimes)!
Elephant
Really wonderful. Hope you don’t mind but I have reblogged this, I think your blog is amazing – it certainly brightens my day when these lovely images pop up in my reader. Thanks, and keep up the good work.
Thanks again!
Elephant
Reblogged this on martincooney.com sculptor and commented:
Here’s a blog that never fails to brighten my day!
These marvelous graphic illustrations take me right back to my earliest recollections of childhood and memories of reading huge (or so they seemed at the time) picture books out loud to my mother. I distinctly remember the vivid imaginary created such an impression on my young mind that I was convinced that they were for real, and somewhere elephants really did play cricket!
Check it out – follow this tremendous blog and I can assure you your day will be brightened each time one of these dreamy scenes fills your screen.
Dear Martin,
How very kind of you to say nice things about my blog! My day was a bit dreary until I saw your comment.
You have lovely memories of your childhood books. I am glad my posts remind you of those memories.
Thank you again for your kind words – very generous!
Elephant