“As a mediator of pure texts, and as a castigator of editorial morals, [Ritson] is the eminent figure of the century...As between Percy and Ritson, the suffrage must fall to Ritson...The "elegant" bishop Percy and the "curious" Mr. Ritson naturally could not bed together. "Curiosity" seems to us the better endowment for a ballad editor; as to the rest, each may wear his own laurels in the other's despite.”

English antiquary

Joseph Ritson was an English antiquary active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He is known for editing the first scholarly collection of Robin Hood ballads in 1795, and for his work on English nursery rhymes. He became a strong supporter of the French Revolution after visiting France in 1791, and later emerged as an influential advocate of vegetarianism. He also assembled nursery rhyme collections such as Gammer Gurton's Garland, or The Nursery Parnassus, published in London by Joseph Johnson, including familiar verses like "Roses Are Red" and "Little Bo-Peep".