Prelude : the project -- The man -- Francis James Child -- The English and Scottish popular ballads -- The description -- The history of the book -- Child's great temptation -- Child's gallant army of auxiliaries -- The transatlantic collaborators -- William Macmath -- partner in the ballad cause -- George Lyman Kittredge -- literary executor extraordinaire -- Postlude : Child's ballad concept redux -- Appendix A. Wanted, old ballads -- Appendix B. Invitation -- Appendix C. Prospectus -- Appendix D. Rejected pieces