[Rarebooks] FS: DRAMA; THEATER

[Norman Kane]

AYCKBOURN, ALAN.  ABSURD PERSON SINGULAR. A New Comedy.  Duplicated typed script in flexible binding with gilt title on front cover and paper title label on spine. 11 x 8-1/2 inches. Address of New York's The Theatre Guild on bottom of title page. Inserted hand-written note  for Karen Morrow's entrance.

KEMBLE, J[ohn] P[hilip]. (1757-1823).  LODOISKA; An Opera; in Three Acts, as Performed at the Theatre-Royal, Drury-Lane.   London, 1813.  Small octavo, approx 8 x 5 inches. 47,(i) pp with publisher's advt. on the final page. Disbound. Without music, as published. Slight dust soil on front & rear pages. [Polish locale, the performers consist of Poles & Tartars. By Fanny Kemble's uncle, himself a famed actor & producer.] 

HUME, [John].  DOUGLAS: A TRAGEDY. . .  London, 1778.  Duodecimo, approx 7 x 4.25 inches; 57, (i) pages. Engraved frontispiece of Mr. Webster in the Character of Douglas. "Bell's Edition" at the head of the title. Later cloth, institutional book-plate. The author's name is usually given as John Home, 1722-1808. He was an intimate friend of his relative, the philosopher David Hume.  Other friends included the poet Collins, Adam Smith & Sir Walter Scott. He was the tutor of the Prince of Wales (afterwards George III).   This "Douglas" is founded in part on the Scottish ballad of "Childe Maurice" (the "Gil Morris" of Percy's "Reliques.")  Garrick had refused to stage it in 1755, but it was a great success in Edinburgh in 1756 and at Covent Garden in 1757 when it was extravagantly praised by Hume & Sheridan.

BARNES (Djuna).  THE ANTIPHON. A Play.  N.Y., 1958.  1st edition. See Messerli 7. Octavo (approx 9 x 5.5 inches), original reddish-purple cloth, spine lettered in gilt with background of title in gray, original dust wrapper with spine panel a little age darkened, small piece gone from top of spine panel, overall very good. 

RICORD, Alexandre.  ODE. A SON ALTESSE ROYALE MONSEIGNEUR HENRI DE BOURBON, DUC D'ANGOULEME; SUIVIE DE QUELQUES MOTS SUR LA CONSPIRATION DU MIDI CONTRE BUONAPARTE, ET DU CHANT D'UNION; ADRESSES A MONSIEUR DESPORTES, ANCIEN CONSEILLER AU PARLEMENT DE PARIS.  Nismes [sic], 1814.  12mo. (7-1/4 x 5-1/4 inches); 30 pages + numerous binder's blanks to eke out the volume. Bound in later burgundy cloth with rubbed paper label on spine. A very good copy.Not in  OCLC ?  Ricord,  [1767-1827], playwright & actor; (related to the famous Baltimore-born Dr. Alexandre Ricord ??)  

BECKETT, Samuel.  ALL THAT FALL, A PLAY FOR RADIO.  London, 1957.  First edition.  Attractive pictorial wrappers by Peter Snow, 36, [1] pages.  Clipping laid in concerning the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Beckett.

BURGOYNE, Lieut. General John.  THE HEIRESS. A COMEDY IN FIVE ACTS.  Dublin, 1786 ?  "As performed at the Theatre-Royal Drury-Lane." xi, (1), 84 pages. Disbound, some pages with foxing. Top corner of last three leaves chipped with loss of page number on last page, but no loss of text.  A very successful play by the British general who surrendered at Saratoga, a turning point in the American Revolution.

[HURLBERT, William Henry].  AMERICANS IN PARIS; OR , A GAME OF DOMINOES. A COMEDY, IN TWO ACTS.  N. Y. 
[1858].  In series "FRENCH'S STANDARD DRAMA. No. CCIX."  "The Acting Edition. ... As Performed at Wallack's Theater."  With Cast of Characters, Stage Business, Costumes, Relative Positions, &c, &c. 12mo in printed orange  wraps. 32 pages. 1st edition,  only edition in NUC, (DLC prompt copy and several other locations). A very good copy with slight chipping to top right corner and light, occasional spotting to a few of the first and last pages. South Carolina author. 

DAVIDGE, William.  FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.  N.Y., 1866.  1st edition with small bookplate of the Edwin Forrest Home, Philadelphia and with an "F" stamped at the foot of the spine. Old half morocco, with brown marbled boards, rubbed.  Includes some illustrations of stage sets and machinery for stage effects. The book was dedicated to Forrest. Wm. (P.) Davidge, leading Anglo-American actor, friend and interpreter of Dickens, came to the US in 1850. He was best known for his portrayal of Dick Deadeye in the 1st US performance of "H. M. S. Pinafore." He played some 1100 different roles in his career. 

WHITEHEAD, W[illiam].  THE ROMAN FATHER, A TRAGEDY AS IT IS ACTED AT THE THEATRE ROYAL IN DRURY-LANE, BY HIS MAJESTY'S SERVANTS.  London, 1750.  "Second Edition."  8vo, disbound; [8], 84 pages.  Fly title present. Garrick produced this play with some success in 1750. Later Whitehead was ridiculed by Chas. Churchill and others for the verses he turned out as poet laureate. 

HOWARD, ROBERT.  THE COMMITTEE, A COMEDY.  London, For the Company, [17—].  8vo, disbound;  96 pages. Light corner soiling to first few pages.   Rare edition of this popular play. Only  4 copies in OCLC – none in the U.S.  We suspect the correct date to be ca.1730.  Actually printed in the Hague ?  Considered the best of his 4 plays, "notable for  its creation of the comic Irish servant, Teague,  and for the strength of its female characters,"  (Cambridge Guide to Literature in English.)  Some editions have the sub-title, "The Faithful Irishman." 

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