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The New English Theatre in Eight [i.e., Twelve] Volumes, Containing the Most Valuable Plays which have been Acted on the London Stage
Engraved by: Isaac Taylor I (English, 1730–1807)
Engraved by: Harry Ashby (English, 18th century)
Engraved by: John Hall (English, 1739–1797)
Engraved by: James Basire (English, 1730–1802)
Engraved by: Joseph Collyer (English, 1748–1827)
Engraved by: Charles Grignion (English, 1717–1810)
Engraved by: James Taylor (English, 1745–1797)
Engraved by: John Walker (English, active 1778–1802)
Engraved by: James Heath (English, 1757–1834)
Engraved by: Burnet Reading (English, active 1776–1822)
Engraved by: William Walker (English, 1725–1793)
Engraved by: Jean Marie Delatre (French, worked in England, 1746–1840)
Engraved by: William Byrne (English, 1743–1805)
Engraved by: John Goldar (English, 1729–1795)
Engraved by: Francesco Bartolozzi (Italian, worked in Italy, England, and Portugal, 1728–1815)
Engraved by: John Keyes Sherwin (English, 1751–1790)
Engraved by: James Caldwall (English, 1739–1819)
Engraved by: William Sharp (English, 1749–1824)
After: Isaac Taylor I (English, 1730–1807)
After: Thomas Stothard (English, 1755–1834)
After: John James Barralet (Irish, worked in England and the United States, 1747–1815)
After: Mauritius Lowe (English, died in 1793)
After: Edward Edwards (English, 1738–1806)
After: Maria Anna Angelica Kauffman (Swiss, 1741–1807)
After: Robert Dighton (English, 1752–1814)
After: Benjamin West (American, 1738–1820)
After: John Hamilton Mortimer (English, 1740–1779)
Publisher: John Rivington (English, 1720–1792)
Engraved by: Harry Ashby (English, 18th century)
Engraved by: John Hall (English, 1739–1797)
Engraved by: James Basire (English, 1730–1802)
Engraved by: Joseph Collyer (English, 1748–1827)
Engraved by: Charles Grignion (English, 1717–1810)
Engraved by: James Taylor (English, 1745–1797)
Engraved by: John Walker (English, active 1778–1802)
Engraved by: James Heath (English, 1757–1834)
Engraved by: Burnet Reading (English, active 1776–1822)
Engraved by: William Walker (English, 1725–1793)
Engraved by: Jean Marie Delatre (French, worked in England, 1746–1840)
Engraved by: William Byrne (English, 1743–1805)
Engraved by: John Goldar (English, 1729–1795)
Engraved by: Francesco Bartolozzi (Italian, worked in Italy, England, and Portugal, 1728–1815)
Engraved by: John Keyes Sherwin (English, 1751–1790)
Engraved by: James Caldwall (English, 1739–1819)
Engraved by: William Sharp (English, 1749–1824)
After: Isaac Taylor I (English, 1730–1807)
After: Thomas Stothard (English, 1755–1834)
After: John James Barralet (Irish, worked in England and the United States, 1747–1815)
After: Mauritius Lowe (English, died in 1793)
After: Edward Edwards (English, 1738–1806)
After: Maria Anna Angelica Kauffman (Swiss, 1741–1807)
After: Robert Dighton (English, 1752–1814)
After: Benjamin West (American, 1738–1820)
After: John Hamilton Mortimer (English, 1740–1779)
Publisher: John Rivington (English, 1720–1792)
1776–[1784]
Place of Publication: London, England
Medium/Technique
Illustrated book with 80 engravings
Dimensions
Overall (each vol., depth varies): 18.1 x 11.5 x 3 cm (7 1/8 x 4 1/2 x 1 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
William A. Sargent Collection—Bequest of William A. Sargent
Accession Number37.1995a-l
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsIllustrated books
London: J. Rivington & Sons [et al.], 1776 [-1784]
Catalogue Raisonné
Hammelmann, Book Illustrators in Eighteenth-century England, p. 77
Description(London: J. Rivington & Sons [et al.], 1776 [-1784]) Duodecimo, 12 vols.; [v. 1] 191 leaves, plus engraved title and 6 plates; [v. 2] 178 ll., tp, 6 pls.; [v. 3] 215 ll., tp, 5 pls.; [v. 4] 165 ll., tp, 8 pls.; [v. 5] 231 ll., tp, 5 pls.; [v. 6] 173 ll., tp, 6 pls.; [v. 7] 197 ll., tp, 5 pls.; [v. 8] 155 ll., tp, 5 pls.; [v. 9] 189 ll., tp, 5 pls.; [v. 10] 168 ll., tp, 5 pls.; [v. 11] 176 ll., tp, 5 pls.; [v. 12] 157 ll., tp, 7 pls.; gilt-stamped vellum boards.
Engraved title pages for each volume; illustrations of characters in various plays.
This title is variable, consisting of from eight to fourteen volumes. The MFA copy is in twelve volumes, each with a collective engraved title bearing imprint dates from 1776 to 1777. Each volume contains five plays, each with its own letterpress title; however, these range in date from 1771 to 1784. Each play has at least one engraved illustration, bound as a frontispiece; several contain two plates. Most of the plates carry copyright dates of 1776 and 1777, but a few (usually for the plays that have two illustrations) carry dates as late as 1783. It is impossible to determine when this set was assembled, though probably no earlier than 1784. There were more contemporary issues: all the individual play titles within a twelve-volume Harvard copy [11432.64.2*] are indeed dated 1776-1777. The publishers listed on the individual play titles are different than the collected volume titles; the most prominent among them all is Thomas Lowndes. The contents appear to be consistent in all such sets, however, and are as follows:
v. 1. Busy body ; Bold stroke for a wife / [Susanna] Centilivre -- Conscious lovers / Richard Steele -- Miser / Henry Fielding -- Suspicious husband / Dr. Hoadly ; revised by R. Johnson
v. 2. Orphan, or, The unhappy marriage / [Thomas] Otway -- Fair penitent: a tragedy / Nicholas Rowe -- Tancred and Sigismunda: a tragedy / James Thomson -- Phaedra and Hippolitus: a tragedy / Edmund Smith -- Revenge: a tragedy / E. [Edward] Young
v. 3. Spanish fryar: a comedy / [John] Dryden -- Old bachelor: a comedy / [William] Congreve -- Rule a wife and have a wife / altered from [Francis] Beaumont and [John] Fletcher by David Garrick -- Recruiting officer: a comedy / [George] Farquhar -- Provok'd wife: a comedy / John Vanbrugh
v. 4. Merope: a tragedy / Aaron Hill -- Jane Shore: a tragedy / Nicholas Rowe -- Mourning bride: a tragedy / [William] Congreve -- Rival queens, or, Alexander the Great: a tragedy / Nathaniel Lee -- Gamester / [Edward] Moore
v. 5. Way of the world / William Congreve -- Committee, or, The faithful Irishman: a comedy / Robert Howard -- Every man in his humour: a comedy / Ben Johnson -- Love for love: a comedy / [William] Congreve -- Beaux stratagem: a comedy of five acts / [George] Farquhar
v. 6. Oroonoko: a tragedy / Thomas Southern [Southerne] -- London Merchant, or, the History of George Barnwell / [George] Lillo -- Venice preserv'd [preserved], or, a plot discover'd: a tragedy / [Thomas] Otway -- Tamerlane: a tragedy / N. [Nicholas] Rowe -- Distrest mother: a tragedy / Amb. [Ambrose] Philips
v. 7. Provoked husband, oe, A journey to London: a tragedy / John Vanbrugh and [Colley] Cibber -- Drummer, or, The haunted house: a comedy / [Joseph] Addison -- Love makes a man, or, The fop's fortune: a comedy / [Colley] Cibber -- Careless husband: a comedy of five acts / [Colley] Cibber -- Funeral, or, Grief a-la-mode: a comedy / Richard Steele
v. 8. Earl of Essex: a tragedy / Henry Jones -- Barbarossa: a tragedy / [John Brown] -- All for love, or, The world well lost: a tragedy / [John] Dryden -- Mahomet the impostor: a tragedy / [Adapted from Voltaire by James Miller, John Hoadly and David Garrick] -- Tragedy of the Lady Jane Gray / N. [Nicholas] Rowe
v. 9. Amphitryon, or, The two Sosias: a comedy / altered from [John] Dryden by [Henry] Woodward -- Double dealer: a comedy / [William] Congreve -- Double gallant, or, The sick lady's cure: a comedy / Colley Cibber -- Inconstant, or, The way to win him: a comedy / George Farquhar -- Constant couple, or, A trip to the jubilee: a comedy / [George] Farquhar
v.10. Cato: a tragedy / [Joseph] Addison -- Theodosius, or, The force of love: a tragedy / Nathaniel Lee -- Siege of Damascus: a tragedy / John Hughes -- / Douglas, a tragedy / [John] Home -- Tragedy of Zara / Aaron Hill
v. 11. City wives confederacy: a comedy / John Vanbrugh -- Minor: a comedy in two acts / [Samuel Foote] -- Country wife: a comedy / altered from [William] Wycherley by David Garrick -- Chances: a comedy / David Garrick -- Wonder: a woman keeps a secret: a comedy / [Susanna] Centlivre
v. 12. Medea: a tragedy / [Richard] Glover -- Brothers: a tragedy / [Edward] Young -- Isabella, or, The fatal marriage: a tragedy / altered from Southern [Thomas Southerne] by D. [David] Garrick -- Grecian daughter: a tragedy / Arthur Murphy -- Roman father: a tragedy / W. [William] Whitehead
Notable among the illustrations are the collective engraved titles after Angelica Kauffmann (v. 6, 9), Benjamin West (v. 7, 10), and John Hamilton Mortimer (v. 11, 12).
Engraved title pages for each volume; illustrations of characters in various plays.
This title is variable, consisting of from eight to fourteen volumes. The MFA copy is in twelve volumes, each with a collective engraved title bearing imprint dates from 1776 to 1777. Each volume contains five plays, each with its own letterpress title; however, these range in date from 1771 to 1784. Each play has at least one engraved illustration, bound as a frontispiece; several contain two plates. Most of the plates carry copyright dates of 1776 and 1777, but a few (usually for the plays that have two illustrations) carry dates as late as 1783. It is impossible to determine when this set was assembled, though probably no earlier than 1784. There were more contemporary issues: all the individual play titles within a twelve-volume Harvard copy [11432.64.2*] are indeed dated 1776-1777. The publishers listed on the individual play titles are different than the collected volume titles; the most prominent among them all is Thomas Lowndes. The contents appear to be consistent in all such sets, however, and are as follows:
v. 1. Busy body ; Bold stroke for a wife / [Susanna] Centilivre -- Conscious lovers / Richard Steele -- Miser / Henry Fielding -- Suspicious husband / Dr. Hoadly ; revised by R. Johnson
v. 2. Orphan, or, The unhappy marriage / [Thomas] Otway -- Fair penitent: a tragedy / Nicholas Rowe -- Tancred and Sigismunda: a tragedy / James Thomson -- Phaedra and Hippolitus: a tragedy / Edmund Smith -- Revenge: a tragedy / E. [Edward] Young
v. 3. Spanish fryar: a comedy / [John] Dryden -- Old bachelor: a comedy / [William] Congreve -- Rule a wife and have a wife / altered from [Francis] Beaumont and [John] Fletcher by David Garrick -- Recruiting officer: a comedy / [George] Farquhar -- Provok'd wife: a comedy / John Vanbrugh
v. 4. Merope: a tragedy / Aaron Hill -- Jane Shore: a tragedy / Nicholas Rowe -- Mourning bride: a tragedy / [William] Congreve -- Rival queens, or, Alexander the Great: a tragedy / Nathaniel Lee -- Gamester / [Edward] Moore
v. 5. Way of the world / William Congreve -- Committee, or, The faithful Irishman: a comedy / Robert Howard -- Every man in his humour: a comedy / Ben Johnson -- Love for love: a comedy / [William] Congreve -- Beaux stratagem: a comedy of five acts / [George] Farquhar
v. 6. Oroonoko: a tragedy / Thomas Southern [Southerne] -- London Merchant, or, the History of George Barnwell / [George] Lillo -- Venice preserv'd [preserved], or, a plot discover'd: a tragedy / [Thomas] Otway -- Tamerlane: a tragedy / N. [Nicholas] Rowe -- Distrest mother: a tragedy / Amb. [Ambrose] Philips
v. 7. Provoked husband, oe, A journey to London: a tragedy / John Vanbrugh and [Colley] Cibber -- Drummer, or, The haunted house: a comedy / [Joseph] Addison -- Love makes a man, or, The fop's fortune: a comedy / [Colley] Cibber -- Careless husband: a comedy of five acts / [Colley] Cibber -- Funeral, or, Grief a-la-mode: a comedy / Richard Steele
v. 8. Earl of Essex: a tragedy / Henry Jones -- Barbarossa: a tragedy / [John Brown] -- All for love, or, The world well lost: a tragedy / [John] Dryden -- Mahomet the impostor: a tragedy / [Adapted from Voltaire by James Miller, John Hoadly and David Garrick] -- Tragedy of the Lady Jane Gray / N. [Nicholas] Rowe
v. 9. Amphitryon, or, The two Sosias: a comedy / altered from [John] Dryden by [Henry] Woodward -- Double dealer: a comedy / [William] Congreve -- Double gallant, or, The sick lady's cure: a comedy / Colley Cibber -- Inconstant, or, The way to win him: a comedy / George Farquhar -- Constant couple, or, A trip to the jubilee: a comedy / [George] Farquhar
v.10. Cato: a tragedy / [Joseph] Addison -- Theodosius, or, The force of love: a tragedy / Nathaniel Lee -- Siege of Damascus: a tragedy / John Hughes -- / Douglas, a tragedy / [John] Home -- Tragedy of Zara / Aaron Hill
v. 11. City wives confederacy: a comedy / John Vanbrugh -- Minor: a comedy in two acts / [Samuel Foote] -- Country wife: a comedy / altered from [William] Wycherley by David Garrick -- Chances: a comedy / David Garrick -- Wonder: a woman keeps a secret: a comedy / [Susanna] Centlivre
v. 12. Medea: a tragedy / [Richard] Glover -- Brothers: a tragedy / [Edward] Young -- Isabella, or, The fatal marriage: a tragedy / altered from Southern [Thomas Southerne] by D. [David] Garrick -- Grecian daughter: a tragedy / Arthur Murphy -- Roman father: a tragedy / W. [William] Whitehead
Notable among the illustrations are the collective engraved titles after Angelica Kauffmann (v. 6, 9), Benjamin West (v. 7, 10), and John Hamilton Mortimer (v. 11, 12).
ProvenanceAcquired in 1923 by William A. Sargent, Boston (1858-1936), by whom bequeathed to MFA, November 17, 1937.