The New Book of Nonsense was published for sale at the Philadelphia Great Central Sanitary Fair, which ran from June 7-29, 1864. It’s an imitation of Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense.
Transcript:
There was an old King of Dahomey
Whose realm was more sterile than loamy;
So he bagged little “niggers”
Which he sold at high figgers
To the Yankees who trade at Dahomey.
Citation: The new book of nonsense. A contribution to the Great Central Fair in Aid of the Sanitary Commission. Philadelphia: Ashmead & Evans, 1864. A 864n