[ODRY, Jacques.]
A stipple-and-line engraved portrait, "Costume d'Odry, rôle de Viard, dans le Mendians." Paris: Martinet, [c. 1829]. 5" x 7 1/2", plus margins; colored by hand. $35
A full-length portrait, standing, in costume. One line of dialogue at the foot. The vaudeville Le Mendiants debuted at the Theatre des Varieties in Feburary 1829. Odry was particularly popular as a pantomimist.
[ODRY, Jacques-Charles.] A wood engraving of the clown/pantomimist
Odry by Theodore Maurisset. [Paris: n. p., 1839.] 6" x 9"; title
added in pencil at foot. $40
A charming wood engraving done after a terracotta caricature portrait
by Jean-Pierre Dantan. Odry stands on a crate inscribed "Eau de Riz."
Unusual.
[OFFENBACH, Jacques.] A Boston Museum program for Offenbach’s The Grand Duchess, 9 July, 1883. 4to; minimal dusting; minor mounting trace to gutter of back page. $20
The right column of the front page announces several highlights of the “inauguration of the 43rd Dramatic Season” at the Museum.
[OLYMPIC THEATRE.] A broadside for Mitchell’s Olympic Theatre, 25 May, [1846]. Three horizontal creases; a hint of light foxing. $40
The bill featured Northall’s Taming A Tartar, “a peculiar extravaganza, written expressly for this theatre....”
ONGARO, Antonio. DELL ‘ALCEO. Favola Pescatoria...Nuova Edizione Dedicata All’Illustrissima Signora Madama Elisabetta Griffith Lady Rich. [London]: Tommaso Edlin, 1737. 12mo; period calf, rubbed; elaborate gilt to compartments; morocco label; engraved frontispiece; engraved head pieces; contents very good. $50
Ongaro’s best-known work. This five-act verse drama, first published in 1582, was one of the earliest and most successful imitations of Tasso’s Aminta.
[ONOE KIKUGORO IV.] A shinie woodblock print of the onnagata Onoe Kikugoro IV, by Utagawa Toyokuni III, [1860]. 9 1/2" x 14"; color woodblock; decorative pink background at head; not backed; eight minute pinholes to left edge; one neat repair to verso along a portion of right margin, probably to fix some thinning paper; excellent colors and bleedthrough. $200
A shinie (memorial print) displaying the recently deceased onnagata actor Onoe Kikugoro IV (1808-1860). He is depicted in a circular cartouche in the upper right, wearing the purple cap of an onnagata actor and a striped robe. Below is an image of a woman, perhaps his wife, who wears a plain blue robe and kneels before him. The background is a soft pink, with white clouds left in reverse. Over these is the actor's year of death, his death name, his place of burial, and a death poem (probably imagined by the maker of the print). Onoe Kikugoro IV was a pupil of Nakamura Karuku. His features and physique made him an extremely popular player of female roles, particularly the classic middle-age women of the history plays. The shinie (literally "Death Pictures") were a unique genre within Japanese prints, portraying a recently deceased person as a living spirit. They served as both an announcement of the death and a means of eulogizing the subject.
[ORATORIOS.] A Covent Garden playbill for oratorios and other musical performances, 23 March, 1825. Minor mounting traces to verso. $45
The program began with selections from Handel’s Samson. The principal vocal performers included Caradori, Braham, and Tree.
[ORATORIOS.] A tall broadside playbill for oratorios and a “grand sellection of ancient and modern music” at Drury Lane, 18 April, 1835. 7 5/8” x 19 1/4”; pale blue stock; 1 1/4” torn from upper right corner (affecting a portion of one letter); otherwise nearly fine. $175
[OSBALDISTON, David.] A juvenile drama portrait of Osbaldiston
as Hoffer in Fitzball's Hofer, The Tell of the Tyrol. London: W.
G. Webb, [c. 1830]. Lower corners creased; small ink stamp to verso. $35
Osbaldiston stands, legs apart, looking upward, a dagger in his upraised
right hand, a drum on the ground behind him.
[OSBALDISTON, David.] A juvenile drama portrait of Osbaldiston as Hofer in Fitzball’s Hofer, the Tell of the Tyrol. London: A. Park, 1837. Colored by hand; bright. $60
Osbaldiston stands, legs apart, arms upraised, a fusil grasped in his left hand. A mountainous vista as background. Fitzball’s operatic drama (with music arranged from Rossini’s Guillaume Tell) was first performed at the Surrey in 1831. Not in the Harvard Catalogue.
[OSBALDISTON, David.] A tinseled juvenile drama portrait of "Mr. Osbaldiston as Grindoff." [London: Hodgson, c. 1830.] 7" x 8 3/4"; original trimming down to image; colored by hand; cloth-backed cut aways; cloth hand tinted; tinsel applied; mounted to contemporary light card; backed with same; overall very good. $400
Osbaldiston is shown in the role of Grindoff, the miller turned robber
chief, in Pocock's The Miller and His Men. He stands, legs apart,
in breastplated costume, a large plumed hat on his head. His arms are thrust
out, a dagger in his right hand and a pistol in his left. A hand-colored
portrait, including backdrop, with cloth-backed cut aways, elaborate small
tinseling, as well as fully tinseled breastplate, dagger, and pistol.
[OSBALDISTON, David.] A tinseled juvenile drama portrait
of Osbaldiston as William Tell. [London]: W. G. Webb, [c. 1840].
Trimmed to image and laid down; hand colored; cloth and tinsel applied;
mounted to contemporary card, with additional watercolors to background;
in recent beveled wood frame. $400
Osbaldiston stands, legs apart, a crossbow gripped in his right hand
and his left arm raised in gesture. His costume is decorated with cloth-backed
cut aways, with additional hand tinting and tinsel highlights. Many portions
of the portrait are well tinseled.
[OTWAY, Thomas.] A line-engraved portrait of Otway, "in the
possession of Gilbert West, Esq." London: n. p., 1785. 7 3/4"
x 11 1/4"; gentle creases to corners. $40
This portrait, "engraved for Harrison's Edition of Rapin,"
depicts the playwright half length. His right elbow sits on a table, the
hand supporting his head. An oval image within a decorative rectangular
frame.
OTWAY, Thomas. PLAYS WRITTEN BY MR. THOMAS OTWAY.... London: for J. and R. Tonson [and others], 1736 [and 1744]. First Edition Thus. 2 vols. Modern half calf, gilt; general title-pages; engraved frontispieces; an excellent set. $150
A collection rather than a collected edition, made up of general title-pages with contents leaves, all but one of the individual plays printed in 1735-36. Venice Preserved is a Strahan edition of 1744.
OXBERRY, [Catherine] (Editor). OXBERRY'S DRAMATIC BIOGRAPHY AND HISTRIONIC ANECDOTES. Vol. 3. London: G. Virtue, 1835. 12mo; printed boards, worn at extremities; engraved decoration to upper cover; engraved title-page; 16 portrait plates, including frontispiece, foxed; partially unopened. $25
This volume contains memoirs and portraits of Charles Kemble, William Farren, Harriet Coutts, Thomas Cooke, John Braham, and others -- as well as contemporary stage notices and numerous anecdotes.
[PALMIERI, Maria.] A one-page autograph letter, signed, from Palmieri to a Signore Marcheti. Turin: 17 February, 1865. 8vo leaf; original folds; very good signature. $75
[PALMER, (?).] A juvenile drama portrait, “Mr. Palmer as Richard Coeur de Lion.” London: M. & M. Skelt, [c. 1840]. Short tear to lower left corner. $30
[PALMYRE, (?).] A hand-colored lithograph portrait, "Mme. Levesque... in Rôle de Milady Adermale dans la Remords." Paris: Noel, [c. 1825]. 10 1/2" x 15 1/2"; colored by hand; very light foxing and offsetting. $40
[PANTOMIME.] A playbill for the second night of the Drury Lane Christmas pantomime, Harlequin & Cock Robin, 27 December, 1827. Pale-blue stock; minor dusting and creasing to corners. $20
Also performed was Morton’s A Cure for the Heart Ache with Liston and Tree.
[PANTOMIME.] A NEW & FAVORITE GAME OF MOTHER GOOSE AND THE GOLDEN EGG. London: J. Wallis, 1808. 15” x 21”; large hand-colored engraving to upper three-quarters; text, printed from type affixed below the engraving, in three columns; playing board of paper mounted in nine sections on linen, as originally issued, folded; shallow fraying to some folds; scattered staining, primarily to edges; colors bright. $1100
An adaptation of the favorite table game (one of the oldest European board games) with an anti-clockwise, snail shell track. The rules of play are printed to the lower third. The design references Dibdin’s pantomime and incorporates the characters of Mother Goose, Harlequin and Columbine, Clown and Pantaloon, together with golden eggs. Alighting on any of the latter entitling the player to take a counter from the pool, paying to it on the penalty spaces. Amongst the scenes shown is one in Vauxhall Gardens. Dibdin’s pantomime was first performed at Covent Garden on 23 December, 1806. It proved to be the most successful harlequinade ever staged at that theatre (its popularity also spread from America to the Antipodes) and was the making of Joseph Grimaldi (represented in several vignettes here). Very scarce. §Whitehouse 30.
PAOLI, Carlo. DER VOLKOMMENE KARTENKÜNSTLER UND RECHENMEISTER.
Eine Sammlung der vorzüglichen und wirkungsvollsten Karten -- und Rechenkunstlücke
zur Unterhaltung in geselligen Kreisen.... Neutlingen: Ensslin und Laiblin,
n. d. [c. 1918]. 16mo; wraps; chromolithographed pictorial front cover;
slight soiling to light-colored edges of covers; contents tight and fresh.
$125
A near-fine example of this 64-page booklet of conjuring, card tricks,
and puzzles. The chromolithographed cover consists of a red rectangle, lined
in black, in a floral surround. Within the rectangle a bemonocled gentleman
holds up four European-style aces. §Volkmann & Tummers, p. 131.
PARDON, George Frederick (Editor). TALES FROM THE OPERAS. New
York: Carleton, 1864. Original patterned cloth; frontispiece; scattered
mild foxing; near fine. $45
Detailed plot narratives of 15 operas by Donizetti, Mozart, Verdi, Bellini,
Rossini, Meyerbeer, and Flotow. This American edition is dedicated to Max
Maretzek.
[PAREPA-ROSA, Euphosyne.] OBERON, The Music by Weber. Parepa-Rosa Grand English Opera. [New York]: New York Printing Company, 1870. Pale-green wraps; some foxing to text. $20
[PATON, Mary Anne.] A Covent Garden playbill for Paton as Rebecca in Lacy’s The Maid of Judah, 8 June, 1830. Pale blue stock; minimal dusting. $30
The opera, with music by Rossini, was an adapation of Deschamps’ Ivanhoé. Also announced, “Signor Cittadini will perform an air from Cinderella with variations on his new-invented instrument, the Seraphonicon.”
PATTI, Adelina. A process-print portrait of Patti, “from a photograph by H. N. King,” [c. 1864 (?)]. 9 1/4” x 12”, plus margins; two short, closed tears to margin; light stain (1/2” x 3 1/2”) to left edge, away from portrait. $50
[PATTI, Adelina.] A program for Patti at Buckingham Palace, 22 June, 1866. 4to; embossed coat-of-arms and decorative border to first leaf; color highlighting to coat-of-arms; blank integral leaf; text in blue. $125
A royal command performance conducted by Anderson. Besides Patti, the singers included the Bettinis, Vilda, and Stanley — performing pieces by von Weber, Mozart, Rossini, Auber, Mendelsohn, and Beethoven. The embossing is of a lace-like decorative border and the royal coat-of-arms.
[PAULINE, Jeanne Levriliere.] A color-tinted lithographed portrait,
"Mlle. Pauline. Artiste du Théâtre des Variété.
Rôle de Jeanny: Dans Trilby." Paris: E. Noel, [c. 1833]. 10"
x 15"; very minor dusting to margins; colors very good. $65
A full-length, colored portrait of the actress in a tartan costume and
feathered hat, her hands crossed in front.
[PAVLOVA, Anna.] A Russian portrait postcard of Pavlova in Paquita, [c. 1912]. Very minor foxing to foot; verso unused. $45
PEMBERTON, T. Edgar. ELLEN TERRY AND HER SISTERS. With Twenty-Five Illustrations. London: C. Arthur Pearson, 1902. First Edition. Red cloth; corners bumped; extremities scuffed; frontisportrait and plates; t. e. g. $35
PEMBERTON, T. Edgar. JOHN HARE, COMEDIAN. 1865 to 1895. A Biography. London: Routledge, 1895. Pictorial ivory boards, soiled slightly; frontisportrait; portrait plates. $35
PENDLETON, Ralph (Editor). THE THEATRE OF ROBERT EDMOND JONES.
Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, [1958]. First Edition. Oblong 4to;
pictorial cloth; plates (some color); worn slipcase. $50
Essays on various aspects of Jones' life and work, by Stark Young, M.H.
Furber, Lee Simonson, Jo Mielziner, Donald Oenslager, Kenneth Macgowan,
and John Mason Brown, plus 51 plates, and an extensive chronology of his
career.
[PERIGA, Louise.] A lithographed portrait, “Melle. Périga, Rôle de Noëma, dans le Paradis Perdu.” Paris: Godard, [c. 1856]. 8” x 11 1/2”, including margins; colored by hand; light foxing. $20
A full-length portrait of the Abigu actress, in costume, arms across her front.
[PETIT THEATRE.] A chromolithographed poster for Le Petit Theatre, Paris, designed by Paul Ralluriau. [Paris]: La Lithographie Nouvelle, [1901]. 31 3/4" x 45"; one central vertical crease; three horizontal creases; very light surface soiling; a bit of creasing to edges; four small mounting marks (two holes and two triangles) to outermost left edge; linen backed and well preserved. $750
A Ralluriau art noveau poster for the reopening of La Petit Theatre (on the Boulevard de Clichy) in October 1901. The theatre's specialties of "ombres, comédies, intermedes" are announced. The poster features the figure of a muse to the center who stands holding masks in her upraised hands. The decorative background design incorporates a representation of an ombres Chinoises show of Napoleon in Egypt and the outlines of audience members. The poster is printed in several colors.
[PFLANZ, Sofia.] A sepia-tone studio portrait of Pflanz by Saul Bransburg, signed, [c. 1913]. 5 1/2” x 8 1/8”; tipped to embossed light-card mount; overall toning; signed to lower mount. $150
A head-and-shoulders portrait of the dancer in profile to the left, her head tilted back and looking upwards. She holds a vase in her upraised hands. Signed to the mount below the photograph.
[PHELPS, Samuel.] A large-paper, proof-sheet juvenile drama portrait
of "Mr. Phelps as Brutus, Sadlers Wells Theatre." London: C. Morrish,
[c. 1840]. 8 1/2" x 11 1/2", plus extra-wide margins; unassociated
stencilling to blank verso; near fine. $150
A fine proof-sheet portrait of Phelps to large paper by an obscure publisher
of the juvenile drama. Unusual.
[PHELPS, Samuel.] A gravure portrait of Phelps as Cardinal Wolsey
in Henry the Eighth. [New York]: Gebbie, 1888. 6 3/4" x 9 1/2",
plus wide margins; sepia tone. $10
A three-quarters length portrait.
[PHELPS, Samuel.] A large-format broadside playbill for Phelps as King Lear at Sadler’s Wells, 11 and 12 October, 1852. A bit of dusting and wrinkling. $25
PHILIPS, Amb[rose]. THE DISTREST MOTHER; A Tragedy. London: H. Whitworth, n. d. [c. 1785]. 12mo; edges dustsoiled and thumbed; untrimmed; some brief contemporary pencil notations. $30
A later edition of Philip’s classic tragedy (1712) based on Racine’s Andromaque, with a prologue by Steele and a highly successful epilogue nominally by Eustace Budgell but probably written with assistance from his cousin Joseph Addison.
[PHILLIPS, Edward.] THE STAGE-MUTINEERS: or, A Play-House to be Lett. A Tragi-Comi-Farcical-Ballad Opera, As is is Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Covent Garden. By a Gentleman late of Trinity-College, Cambridge. London: for Richard Wellington, 1733. First Edition. Disbound; upper forecorner of title-page torn away with loss of two letters; lightly foxed. $400
A very rare ballad opera, dealing with the recent secession of the leading actors at Drury Lane (after a dispute with the new manager John Highmore). The mutinous actors and actresses, led by Pistol (i. e. Theophilus Cibber, the mutiny’s ringleader), “engage in much ranting and fustian verse with a superb display of theatrical jealousy (Gagey).” This satirical piece was the hit of the summer, premiering on 27 July, 1733, and running for eleven straight performances (every night for the remainder of the season).
[PHILLIPS, Louisa Anne.] A juvenile drama portrait, “Miss Phillips as Claudia in Rienzi.” [London: M & M Skelt, c. 1837.] Trimmed at foot, touching imprint; some dusting to upper margin; two pinholes to upper (blank) margin; image near fine. $50
A handsome portrait of the actress as the heroine of Mrs. Mitford’s tragedy, her most famous role. She stands in a brocaded gown, right hand extended to her side, a scarf in her left hand.
[PIAN, Antonio de.] An original ink-and-gray-wash stage design
by the Venetian scenographer Pian, [c. 1825-30]. 9 3/4" x 7";
ink and wash to paper; edges tipped to light card; a few minor fox dots;
overall very good. $500
The design shows a series of vaulted stairways leading onto a central
square of a middle-European fortress or walled town. It is signed on the
verso: "del Pian Nr. 11." The Venetian designer Pian moved to
Vienna in about 1808 where he became that city's most important scenographer
in the first half of the 19th century. In 1816 he became "Decorateur
der K. und K. Oberst Hoftheater Direktion" and royal stage designer
five years later. In 1843 he was made a member of the Viennese Academy.
His designs are now judged to rely too heavily on classical motifs, he often
rendered in a semi-romantic mode and frequently made use of dramatic skies
and moonlight effects.
PIAVE, F[rancesco] M. ERNANI. Dramma Lirico....Musica di Guisepe Verdi. Milan: G. Ricordi, n. d. [c. 1889]. Disbound; publisher's advertisements at the end. $12
PICARD, L[ouis] B. LE VOYAGE INTERROMPU, Comedie.... Paris: Migneret and Vente, [1798]. First Edition. Disbound; early holograph name in ink to foot of title-page. $40
[THÉÂTRE PIGALLE.] A four-page program for the “Spectacle d’Avant-garde” at the Théâtre Pigalle, Paris, [c. 1900]. Decorative covers and borders. $10
PILON, Frederick. HE WOULD BE A SOLDIER. A Comedy.... The Second Edition. London: for G. G. J. and J. Robinson, 1786. Disbound; light dustsoiling to title-page. $35
[PLANCHÉ, James Robinson.] A one-page autograph letter, signed, from Planché to Charles James Mathews. [London]: 26 June, 1841. 8vo leaf, folded; original folds from mailing; very good. $150
PLANCHÉ, J[ames] R. YOUNG AND HANDSOME. A New and Original Fairy Extravaganza.... London: Thomas Hailes Lacy, n. d. [c. 1860]. 12mo; disbound; marbled edges. $25
[PLAUTUS, Titus Maccius.] LES COMEDIES DE PLAUTE, Nouvellement Traduities en Stile Libre Natural & Naif; Avec des Notes & des Reflexions enjouées, de Critique, d’Antiquité, de Morale & de Politique; par. Monsr. Gueudeville. Leide: Pierre Vander Aa, 1719. 10 vols. 12mo; full contemporary speckled calf; lightest of wear; expertly rebacked; red morocco labels; engraved title-page (with oval vignettes) extra to each volume; general title-pages in red and black; double-page engraved frontispiece to the first volume; engraved frontispiece to each individual play; upper fore-corner of first volume’s front flyleaf; one signature loosening from final volume; a bit of foxing; speckled edges. $1250
A rather attractive set of this critical edition of Plautus translations. Nicolas was, in his youth, a Benedictine monk at Jumieges in Normandy, but was later unfrocked for his anticlerical stance devoting himself to study and writing. With several fine engraved plates.
PLAUTUS, [Titus Maccius]. COMEDIES OF PLAUTUS, Translated Into Familiar Blank Verse.... London: for T. Becket and P. A. DeHondt, 1769-1774. 5 vols. Contemporary half calf and marbled boards; gilt to spines; morocco labels; corners bumped, with fraying to some; spines somewhat dried, with minor flecking; engraved vignettes to two title-pages; contents clean and tight; a very good set. $650
“An esteemed translation accompanied with excellent notes from the best commentators (Lowndes).” The first two volumes contain plays translated by Bonnell Thornton, while three through five were translated by Richard Warner with help from George Colman (including the Life of Plautus from P. Crintus). While the first two volumes are sometimes encountered, the complete set of five is quite scarce.
PLAUTUS, [Titus Maccius]. PLAUTUS’S COMEDIES, Amphitryon, Epidicus, and Rudens, Made English: With Critical Remarks upon each Play. By Laurence Echard. The Second Edition Corrected. London: for Timothy Child and William Taylor, 1716. 12mo; full speckled calf; gilt and blind panels to covers; extremities a little worn; decorative gilt to spine compartments; lacking label; engraved frontispiece; internally very good. $200
The first English translation of Plautus, originally published in 1694. Plautus in English was a long time coming as his comedies were generally considered coarse and stylistically far inferior to those of Terence. Echard dedicated this work to Sir Charles Sedley and produced a substantial preface discussing Roman comedy and substantial literary commentary to each play. There is also a commendatory poem by Nahum Tate.
[PLAY PICTORIAL.] THE PLAY-PICTORIAL. No 58. [London: Stage Pictorial, 1911.] 4to; color pictorial wraps; stapled; minor fraying to edges of wraps; spots of discoloration around staples; numerous half-tone illustrations; printed music. $20
This issue of the London theatrical periodical features Thompson and Courtneige’s comic opera Tom Jones. With 26 illustrations of the cast and production (halftones after photographs) and the music to three of the songs. Tom Jones was portrayed by Hayden-Coffin.
[PLAY PICTORIAL.] THE PLAY-PICTORIAL. No. 234. [London: Stage Pictorial, 1922.] 4to; wraps; pictorial upper cover; stapled; several halftone illustrations. $20
This issue of the London theatrical periodical is devoted to the Lyceum production of Drinkwater’s Abraham Lincoln, with 19 illustrations of the cast and production (halftones after photographs). Lincoln was portrayed by W. J. Rea.
[PLAYS.] A bound collection of six English comedies. London: v.p., 1735-66. 12mo; later half calf and marbled boards; gilt to spine; dark morocco label; five engraved frontispieces (one trimmed at head); four title-pages in red and black; early ink inscriptions to four blank pages. $120
The plays are: Vanbrugh and Cibber’s The Provok’d Husband, Cibber’s Love Makes a Man, Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, Johnson [and Garrick’s] Every Man in His Humour, Steele’s The Tender Husband, and Dryden’s The Tempest.
[PLAYS.] A bound volume of five 17th-century plays. Paris and La Haye: v. p., 1749-1750. 12mo; 18th-century full calf; morocco label; gilt dentelles, rubbed; dampstaining to head of most leaves, faint to most; first work wanting title-page; engraved printer's devices to other title-pages. $100
The pieces are Scarron's L'Heritier Ridicule, Corneille's D. Sanche d'Arragon, DuRyer's Nitocris Reine de Babylone, DeRotrou's Cosroe's, and DuRyer's Themistocles.
[PLAYS.] A bound volume of seven plays. Edinburgh: Oliver and
Boyd, 1810 [-1812]. 12mo; contemporary half calf and marbled boards; rubbed;
engraved frontispiece to each; some foxing. $35
The plays, each with an engraved frontispiece, are The Man of the
World, She Stoops to Conquer, The Busy Body, The Country Girl, The Merchant
of Venice, The Suspicious Husband, and Othello.
POINSINET, [Antoine-Alexander]. TOM JONES, Comedie Lyrique...
Imitée du Roman Anglais de M. Fielding. La Musique par A. D. Philador.
Nouvelle Edition. Paris: Ducesne, 1778. Small 8vo; disbound; stab holes
to gutter; engraved head and tail pieces; engraved music to one leaf. $70
A popular French adaptation of Fielding's masterpiece, first performed
(and printed) in 1765, and often revived. With the music to the air of the
vaudeville, "Je Vous Obtiens." According to F. A. Gevaert this
opera is the first known instance of the employment of harmonies for strings
in orchestral music. §Sonneck, p. 1082. Cross III, pp. 352-3.
[THEATRE DE LA PORTE ST. MARTIN.] An engraving, “Theatre de la Porte St. Martin.” London: Jennings, 1829. 8” x 5 3/8”, plus narrow margins on three sides; colored by hand. $18
A hand-colored view of the front of the Paris theatre. The home of the Academic Royale de Musique ou Opera, it was restored in 1814.
[POTIER DE LILLE, L.] JUSTIFICATION DES COMÉDIENS FRANÇOIS. [Paris: Potier de Lille, 1790.] Unbound, but with tab of some early wrapper to (blank) verso of terminal leaf; uncut; minor dusting and fraying to edges of protruding leaves; else very good. $40
A 15-page pamphlet, subtitled “opinions sur les chefs-d’oeuvres des auteurs morts, & project de décret portant réglement entre les auteurs dramatiques & tous les comédiens du royaume,” addressing the cases of Naudet, Talma, and others. §Barbier 1059. See Solienne 361.
POTTER, George (Editor). THE MONTHLY RECORD OF EMINENT MEN. January 1891. Records and Portraits of Mr. Henry Irving, Earl Cadogan, William Rathbone, Sir William Houldsworth, Mr. Tom Harrop Sidebottom. London: George Potter, 1891. Half maroon calf and pebbled boards; extremities rubbed; gilt to compartments; morocco label; original pink pictorial wraps bound in; plates. $30
[PROBST, Johann B.] An engraving “Pantaloon Discovering the Painting of Harlequin as Cupid” from Probst’s album The Loves of Pantaloon and Harlequin, [c. 1729]. 7” x 5 1/4”; one neatly repaired split to top margin; tipped at head to later stiff leaf. $400
This scene shows a melee of commedia characters. Pantaloon, realizing Harlequin (as Cupid) moves and is not a painted image. Mezetin and Harlequin grasp the edges of a painting’s canvas, throwing it over the shoulders of Pantaloon and Pierrot. Pantaloon attempts to unsheathe his dagger and Pierrot vomits, while Scaramouche calls from the studio window for Mezetin and Harlequin to follow him. The Doctor and the Captain enter the room from the right and are taken aback by the riotous scene before them.
PROD’HOMME, J.-G. L’OPERA (1669-1925). Paris: Delagrave, 1925. Small 4to; original wraps, foxed; vignette illustration to upper cover; institution stamps to upper cover and preliminary leaves; untrimmed; contents very good. $25
Description du Nouvel Opéra — Historique — Salles Occupées par l’Opera — Directions — Répertoire — Principaux Artistes — Bibliographie. With bookplates and stamps of Croix-Rouge Française — Section Prisonniers de Guerre and Bibliothek Stalag VII.
[PUNCH AND JUDY.] A set of five chromolithographed and embossed pictorial postcards of scenes in a Punch and Judy puppet booth. [Germany: c. 1912.] Three unused; one inscribed in ink to the front; small pinhole to fourth; else near fine. $400
Splendid and bright cards, each showing an elaborate curtain drawn back around the scene. In one Punch is shown playing a lute as Judy pops in from the upper corner; in another Punch confronts the Doctor; in the next Punch is shown beating the Devil (“No offence my beauty, I’m only just tickling your back”); the fourth shows Punch riding Dobbin; and in the fifth Punch takes his stick to the fur-hatted watchman. Rare images.
[PUPPETRY MOVEABLE.] LE POLICHINELLE DES CHAMPS-ELYSÉES. Paris: Guérin-Müller, n. d. [c. 1880]. Folio; cloth-backed chromolithographed pictorial boards; slight wear to cover edges; eight leaves with tabbed and moveable figures; figures and frames chromolithographed; minimal thumbing and finger soiling; slightly shaken; minor repairs to moveable springs; all tabs and moveable parts working well. $1800
A rather good example of a 19th-century children’s moveable. Each leaf consists of a chromolithographed puppet booth with a bass-drum playing showman in front and accompanying text of the puppet play. The articulated figures are of Punch, Judy, Baby, Beadle, Clown, North African, Toby, and Judy’s Ghost.
[PUPPETRY.] A lithograph, “Vainqueurs et Vaineus tout est fuicot pour le diable,” after Charlet. [Paris]: Villain, [c. 1840]. 7 1/2” x 10 12”, plus full margins; unobtrusive light foxing and dust-soiling. $125
A comical illustration of a puppet performance: the showman cackles to the lower right as, in the puppet booth above Pollichinello (having thrashed four other puppets) is grappled from behind by a devil.
[PYROTECHNICS.] A broadside for a presentation of “grosses Feuerwerk” in Augsburg, 9 September, 1811. 8 1/4” x 14 1/4”; text enclosed by decorative woodcut border; fine. $100
Ten specific scenarios, plus a fountain of fire, are itemized. A particularly well-preserved example.
[PYROTECHNICS.] A half-penny juvenile drama sheet depicting the exterior of a pyrotechnics “rocket manufactory” after an explosion, “Harlequin Guy Fawkes, Trick For Sc. 12.” London: J.K. Green, [c. 1855]. Minor dusting to corners. $35