Manuscript, in a single hand, of a letter from Mason to Horace Walpole, in which Mason writes that he has read Walpole's tragedic play, The Mysterious Mother, several times and has provided a sketch of alterations he believes necessary to improve the denouement. The list of alterations accompanies the letter, which consist of dialogic emendations at specific page and line numbers. At the end of the letter, a note signed by Walpole states his reasons against adopting Mason's suggestions, "because they woud totally have destroyed my Object."
Description:
William Mason (1724-1797) was a poet, editor, and gardener. In 1747, his poem "Musaeus, a Monody on the Death of Mr. Pope" was published to acclaim and quickly went through several editions. In 1775, he published the Poems of Mr Gray, a friend who was a great influence on his own work. Ten years later, William Pitt nominated him for the post of Poet Laureate, but he turned it down. Among Mason's other works are the historical tragedies Elfrida (1752) and Caractacus (1759), as well as a long poem on gardening, The English Garden (1772-1782). Indeed, Mason was an influential garden designer, designing several flower gardens for his friends and patrons, especially for Richard Hurd, Lord Jersey, and Lord Harcourt. In 1797 he fell and injured his leg while entering his carriage, and died several days later at his rectory in Aston., In English., Typed transcript available in object file., and For further information, consult library staff.
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Name):
Mason, William, 1725-1797. and Walpole, Horace, 1717-1797.
Subject (Topic):
English drama (Tragedy), Family, Incest, Religion, and Theater
Title etched above image., Date and place of publication supplied by curator., and This electronic record is derived from historic data and may not reflect our current information. Review and updating of records is ongoing.
Publisher:
publisher not identified
Subject (Name):
Lewes, Charles Lee, 1740-1803. and Stevens, George Alexander, 1710-1784.
Subject (Topic):
Theater, Physiognomy, Heads (Anatomy)., Hearses, Coats of arms, and Obelisks
Title etched above image., Date and place of publication supplied by curator., and This electronic record is derived from historic data and may not reflect our current information. Review and updating of records is ongoing.
Publisher:
publisher not identified
Subject (Name):
Lewes, Charles Lee, 1740-1803. and Stevens, George Alexander, 1710-1784.
Subject (Topic):
Theater, Physiognomy, Heads (Anatomy)., Demons, and Spectators
Volume 2, page 22. Etchings by Henry William Bunbury, Esq. and after his designs.
Image Count:
1
Resource Type:
still image
Abstract:
An engraved ticket for a program of four plays presented in 1781 by Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, the wealthy fourth baronet devoted to private theatricals. This ticket, an oval design in a rectangular frame, is for the 1781 performance of Rule a wife and have a wife, Bon ton, Richard III, and Lyar
Description:
Title etched below image., Artist identified as Bunbury in the British Museum online catalogue., Questionable printmaker attribution to Bretherton from the British Museum online catalogue, registration no.: 1917,1208.2958., and For further information, consult library staff.
Volume 2, page 22. Etchings by Henry William Bunbury, Esq. and after his designs.
Image Count:
1
Resource Type:
still image
Abstract:
An engraved ticket for a program of four plays presented in 1781 by Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, the wealthy fourth baronet devoted to private theatricals. This ticket, an oval design in a rectangular frame, is for the 1781 performance of Rule a wife and have a wife, Bon ton, Richard III, and Lyar
Description:
Title etched below image., Artist identified as Bunbury in the British Museum online catalogue., Questionable printmaker attribution to Bretherton from the British Museum online catalogue, registration no.: 1917,1208.2958., Mounted on page 22 in volume 2 of: Etchings by Henry William Bunbury, Esq. and after his designs., 1 print : etching on laid paper ; sheet 21.5 x 14.8 cm., and Sheet trimmed to plate mark.
Volume 2, page 22. Etchings by Henry William Bunbury, Esq. and after his designs.
Image Count:
1
Resource Type:
still image
Abstract:
Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn (1749-1789), politician and patron of the arts, held summer performances at his estate at Wynnstay, in North Wales. Bunbury incorporates into the design of this admission ticket the titles for the 1785 season: The Confederacy, As You Like It, The Agreeable Surprise, Venice Preserved, and Harlequin's Invasion. The titles are shown on banners held by the figures of Tragedy, Comedy, Pantomime, and Farce or draped over the branches of the tree. Bunbury uses Farce dressed as a harlequin holding a club labelled "invasion" to form a rebus of Garrick's play. In the background, the four figures are identified on the sails of a windmill. In the banner at the top of the oval is the name of the theatre and the year "1785"; at the top and bottom of the oval are the masks of comedy and tragedy
Description:
Title from item., Sheet trimmed to plate mark., and For further information, consult library staff.
Volume 2, page 22. Etchings by Henry William Bunbury, Esq. and after his designs.
Image Count:
1
Resource Type:
still image
Abstract:
Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn (1749-1789), politician and patron of the arts, held summer performances at his estate at Wynnstay, in North Wales. Bunbury incorporates into the design of this admission ticket the titles for the 1785 season: The Confederacy, As You Like It, The Agreeable Surprise, Venice Preserved, and Harlequin's Invasion. The titles are shown on banners held by the figures of Tragedy, Comedy, Pantomime, and Farce or draped over the branches of the tree. Bunbury uses Farce dressed as a harlequin holding a club labelled "invasion" to form a rebus of Garrick's play. In the background, the four figures are identified on the sails of a windmill. In the banner at the top of the oval is the name of the theatre and the year "1785"; at the top and bottom of the oval are the masks of comedy and tragedy
Description:
Title from item., Sheet trimmed to plate mark., Mounted on page 22 in volume 2 of: Etchings by Henry William Bunbury, Esq. and after his designs., 1 print : stipple engraving and etching on laid paper ; sheet 20.8 x 15.5 cm., and Imperfect; printmaker's signature has been mostly erased from sheet.
Volume 2, page 22. Etchings by Henry William Bunbury, Esq. and after his designs.
Image Count:
1
Resource Type:
still image
Abstract:
"[1] 'H. Bunbury Esqr del.' Punch (left) points to a large butt or tun inscribed 'WYNNSTAY', from the top of which hang comic masks which encircle its upper circumference; in his right hand is a stick with an ass's head. On the right side of the butt are three figures: Mother Shipton, humpbacked with a profile like Punch's; a demon or satyr, who looks from behind the cask; and a small man or boy, perhaps Tom Thumb. [2] 'View of the Theatre at Wynnstay. I. Evans Esqr del.' A view of the theatre is framed by a curtain held up (left) by Comedy and right by Tragedy. The façade has the date '1782'. [3] 'Wynnstay. H. Bunbury Esqr del.' Amateur actors and actresses dance in a circle round a high pedestal supporting a bust of (?) Shakespeare. They include a Falstaff leering at a lady in Elizabethan dress, a man wearing a tall leek in his hat (? Fluellen), and a French military officer with long queue and cavalier's boots."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title from text above images., Three designs arranged in a vertical strip, each with its own title and artist's signature., Sheet trimmed to plate mark leaving thread margins., Plate from: The European magazine, and London Review, v. 9 (February 1786), page 71., Temporary local subject terms: Buildings: Theatre at Wynnstay., 1 print : etching with engraving on laid paper ; sheet 25.8 x 14.9 cm., and Imperfect; sheet trimmed within plate mark on top edge with loss of title.
Publisher:
Publishd. Feby. 1, 1786, by I. Sewell, Cornhill
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Name):
Shipton, Mother approximately 1488-1561 (Ursula), and Wynnstay Theatre,
Subject (Topic):
Theater, Masks, Barrels, Demons, Theaters, and Pedestals
Volume 2, page 24. Etchings by Henry William Bunbury, Esq. and after his designs.
Image Count:
1
Resource Type:
still image
Abstract:
"Admission ticket for the theatre at Wynnstay, the private theatre of Sir Watkin Williams Wynn. ... A full length woman standing in a field in front of the theatre, holding a dramatic mask, others at her feet, in oval frame of laurel with 'Wynnstay' on ribbon at bottom."--British Museum online catalogue
Description:
Title from item., Artist attribution to Bunbury based on the inclusion of an impression of this print, mounted alongside the original drawing, in Horace Walpole's bound collection of Henry William Bunbury's works. See Lewis Walpole Library call no.: 49 3563., Date of publication from unverified data in local card catalog record., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., and Mounted on page 24 in volume 2 of: Etchings by Henry William Bunbury, Esq. and after his designs.
