The Universal Songster and Museum of Mirth: A Collection of Popular Songs, Volumen2

This book is largely a plagiarized abridgment of the far more complete collection by John Fairburn, originally published in 1825 in London in 3 volumes, with about 1500 poems or songs in each. Still, this Boston version contains the lyrics to about 340 poems, including a full section of United States patriotic poems not found in its precursor. Except for the added US section which opens the book, this volume doesn't include authors' names nor tunes to which the songs should be sung; even in the US section, these aren't always to be found. Also missing is the notable artwork of the London version. My particular interest is Masonic and club songs, of which I found none in this volume, though it was a full category in Fairburn's books.
Since (as of this writing, Oct.2008) only one of Fairburn's volumes is to be found in the Google Books collection (at http://books.google.com/books?id=VWQLAAAAYAAJ for vol.1), this book gives the words of some songs which might not be available elsewhere on the Internet. This volume has a more open layout than the cramped pages of the London version, and is at least free from typographical errors. It also has the songs grouped together in topical sections, unlike Fairburn's seemingly random arrangement with a topical index. The National Songs section is probably its only real strength though.