1890s-1900s Jack & Jill Locket

The earliest known published version of this traditional nursery rhyme is in "Mother Goose's Melody" c. 1765, but some historians have suggested its origins are 17th century or even earlier.

Here's the original text ("Jill" was originally spelled "Gill"):

Jack and Gill
Went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Gill came tumbling after.

The phrase "Jack and Jill" existed before the nursery rhyme and was used in the early English proverb "Every Jack must/shall have his Jill," which Shakespeare referenced in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Love's Labour's Lost" in the 1590s.

Although the true origin and meaning of the nursery rhyme are unknown, there are many interesting theories, from the more literal--a reference to the practice of fetching water from dew ponds--to the abstract--a satire of the attempt by King Charles I to raise extra revenue by ordering that the volume of a Jack (1/8 pint) be reduced (a Gill is a 1/4 pint).

The artwork on this adorable turn of the century locket illustrates the nursery rhyme, and it is very similar to another locket I recently sold depicting Mother Goose!

Comes on a vintage gold filled chain, but would also look really lovely paired with some of the antique chains listed in the shop.

Engraved on the back, possibly with the letters NK, but I'm not quite certain.