This manuscript, a unique specimen of dramatic composition by Queen Elizabeth, represents the only surviving piece of stage property from the Elizabethan theater. It was passed from player to player during the great Theobalds Entertainment of 1591, and it is the only surviving original manuscript of any part of that Entertainment., Elizabeth was entertained by her Lord High Treasurer, Lord Burghley, at his Hertfordshire house, Theobalds, between 10 and 20 May 1591. In a contemporary manuscript text of the entertainments at Theobalds (British Library, Egerton MS. 2623), there is preserved a fanciful speech by a "Hermit," delivered to the Queen on Burghley's behalf, in which, pleading for royal permission to retire from public life, he requests her to restore to him his "cell," namely, Theobalds. The present document was prepared as an answer to Burghley's request and grants the "Hermit," her "woorthely belooved Coounceloour," the right to retire to his "cave," his "own houus," with "full & pacifik possession of all & every part thearof," and to be henceforth free from public duties if he so wishes., The text of the "charter" was printed in John Strype's Annals of the Reformation (1709), where it is described as having been "drawn up by the queen herself in a facetious style, to cheer the said treasurer." A highly characteristic example of Elizabethan wit, it has the form of a formal charter, certified and signed by Lord Chancellor Hatton, who is known to have taken part in a number of court entertainments. It bears the Great Seal and was no doubt read out and presented to Burghley, or to an actor representing him as a hermit. Instead of giving a simple answer to Burghley's request to retire from public life, Elizabeth evidently chose to enter into the spirit of the Hermit's request and frame her reply accordingly having this charter drawn up by one of her chancery scribes and passed by Hatton under the Great Seal, as part of a prearranged performance for the amusement of the court on the first day of her visit to Theobalds., The entertainment at Theobalds are described by E.K. Chambers in The Elizabethan Stage (II:247-248), Sir Walter Greg in the Review of English Studies (I[1924]:452-454), John Payne Collier in his History of English Dramatic Poetry (I:276), Alexander Dyce in The Works of George Peele (III:161-169), and John Nichols in his account of The Progress and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth (III:74)., and Purchased 1985.
Title from item., Place of publication derived from language of text., Date 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 (Topic):
Quacks and quackery, Theater, Wife abuse, Spouses, Staffs (Sticks)., and Physicians
Title from item., Place of publication derived from language of text., Date supplied by curator., Four lines of verse below image., This depicts a character in the play "'Arlequin empereur dans la lune" by Anne Mauduit Fatouville, 1684., and This electronic record is derived from historic data and may not reflect our current information. Review and updating of records is ongoing.
Caption title., Publication date from Foxon., Verse begins: 'Tis well we live in such a fickle place, Where Novelty was ever follow'd more than Grace ... One Foll makes many, if't be really so, Monkies and Monsters are the best to show., "Price 2 d."--Following imprint., "Beware of wretched halfpenny wooden cuts."--Below imprint., and With a large woodcut below the title and preceding the letterpress text: Madamoiselle Javellot is shown on stage flanked on either side by chandeliers wtih her performing dogs in costumes in front and a musician in the background, left, behind the curtain.
Publisher:
Printed and sold by J. Morphew, near Stationers Hall
Subject (Name):
Pinkethman, William, -1725 and Bartholomew Fair.
Subject (Topic):
Opera, Theater, Animals in human situations, Dogs, Fairs, Musicians, Theater curtains, and Trained animals
Some with unidentified notes; also some with dates and locations including: Drury Lane and Covent Garden; the provinces, including Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and other locations
Description:
Includes some undated playbills.
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain., England, London., Ireland, Dublin., Scotland, Edinburgh., and Glasgow.
Subject (Name):
Covent Garden (London, England) and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (London, England)
An allegorical representation of the nationalistic riot occasioned by a troupe of French comedians in London. This satirical print refers to the controversy and protest surrounding a French theatrical company, nicknamed the 'French Strollers', who applied for and were granted a licence to perform at the Haymarket in the winter of 1749. Their arrival occasioned much discontent; as the Scots Magazine reported, they were 'bitterly pelted in the news-papers'. Asserting their right to perform, they persisted in a show on 14 November, but were met by an audience intent on sabotage. An eyewitness account of the incident appeared in the Monthly Review some years later (July 1761): 'People went early to the Theatre, as a crouded House was certain ... I soon perceived that we were visited by two Westminster Justices, Deveil and Manning. The Leaders, that had the conduct of the Opposition, were known to be there; one of whom called aloud for the song in praise of English roast beef, which was accordingly sung in the gallery, by a person prepared for that purpose; and the whole house besides joining in the chorus, saluted the close with three huzzas! This, Justice Deveil was pleased to say, was a riot'. Despite the Justice's assertions that the play was licensed by the King's command, the crowd had come prepared to produce disruption. They were equipped with instruments which they played discordantly as an accompaniment to their jeers, catcalls, and Francophobic songs: 'as an attempt at speaking was ridiculous, the Actors retired, and opened instead with a grand dance of twelve men and twelve women; but even that was prepared for, and they were directly saluted with a bushel or two of peas, which made their capering very unsafe'. Unable even to dance, and following another abortive attempt by the magistrates to assert the King's authority, the curtain fell for the final time. The eyewitness evidently relished the outcome, venturing 'that at no battle gained over the French, by the immortal Marlborough, the shoutings could be more joyous than on this occasion'. The print embodies similar sentiments; the French strollers attack British theatrical establishment--represented by an affronted Britannia--who stands between them and British theatre-goers. In the foreground stands a perplexed Othello, lamenting the loss of his occupation, and an injured man a man lies on the floor 'Almost kill'd for not understanding French'.
Alternative Title:
Modern cramers
Description:
Title etched below image., Date of publication based on date of the depicted event., and Not in the Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires.
Publisher:
publisher not identified
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain, England, and London.
Subject (Topic):
Britannia (Symbolic character), Foreign public opinion, French, Theater, Actors, Actresses, Fighting, and Riots
This playbill records a performance at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden of The constant couple by George Farquhar (1676-1707) on 22 May 1755 in which Margaret Woffington (1720?-1760) played the leading part of Sir Harry Wildair - one of the roles for which she was most celebrated. The part of Lady Lurewell was performed by Esther Hamilton (d. 1787). Other actors in the cast include Theophilus Cibber (1703-1758) and John Arthur (1708?-1772), actor and stage designer -- it is likely that he was responsible for devising the “machinery” mentioned in a note at the foot of the sheet: “as any obstruction in the movement of the machinery will greatly prejudice the performance of the entertainment, it is hoped no persons will be displeased as their being refus'd admittance behind the scene.”
Description:
A playbill. and For further information, consult library staff.
Publisher:
publisher not identified
Subject (Geographic):
England and London.
Subject (Name):
Farquhar, George, 1677?-1707., Woffington, Margaret, -1760., and Covent Garden Theatre.
A collection of seven copper theater passes or tickets for London theatres dating between 1762 and approximately 1820, all blank on the obverse sides except for the token for the Box Prince's Side (BPS 1796) which is decorated with a chain of small linked circles around the perimeter. The 1788 token for a box at Covent Garden is the only token with a hole in the center
Description:
Title devised by cataloger. and For further information, consult library staff.
Frontispeice to the celebrated lecture on heads and Frontispiece to the celebrated lecture on heads
Description:
Title from item., From: Stevens, G. Lecture on heads. London: J. Pridden, 1765., Date, printmaker, publisher, and place of publication taken from volume for which this is the frontispiece., and This electronic record is derived from historic data and may not reflect our current information. Review and updating of records is ongoing.
Publisher:
John Pridden
Subject (Topic):
Theater, Phrenology, Physiognomy, Coats of arms, and Heads (Anatomy)
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
