The Diverting History of John Gilpin (text by William Cowper)

The true first of the signature work is the standalone 1878 George Routledge & Sons issue of John Gilpin in original colour paper wrappers (colour printing by Edmund Evans) — one of the two inaugural Picture Books (with The House That Jack Built), both dated 1878 and released December 1878. Because Caldecott produced these for the London printer/publisher, the Routledge London issue is the primary edition and any American appearance is later/secondary. The 800-copy signed Large Paper limitation is a distinct 1887 object (the collected "Complete Collection of Pictures & Songs," Routledge), not an alternative first of the 1878 title, so it does not displace the 1878 wrappered Picture Book as the prized true first of John Gilpin itself.