THREE CENTURIES OF DRAMA

Wells, Henry Willis, 1895, comp.

Three centuries of drama. [New York] Readex Microprint [1953-?] 29 boxes of cards. Single entry analytics. Lower Level Microprint 2

Scope:

This set, also cited as Three centuries of English and American drama, reproduces the texts of more than 5,000 plays in the English language. It includes a collection of Engllsh drama (1512 to 1800) and American drama (1714-1820), as well as the Larpent plays. Sponsored by the Theatre Library Association, the project was initiated by Allardyce Nicoll and edited by Henry W. Wells.

History:

Larpent plays are those originally submitted to the Examiner of Plays for licensing in accordance with a British law passed in 1737. John Larpent, Examiner from 1778, died in office in 1824. The official copies in his possession at that time were sold to private collectors in 1832 and eventually purchased by the Huntington Library in 1917.

Arrangement:

1515-1641 Elizabethan, Shakespeare, Jacobean
1642-1700 Restoration drama
1701-1750 Early 18th century
1751-1800 Late 18th century
1737-1800 Larpent manuscript plays
1714-1830 American plays

BIBLIOGRAPHIES and GUIDES:

Bergquist, G. William
A checklist and index to three centuries of English and American plays. A finding guide to the microprint edition. New York, Hafner, 1963. REF Z2014 D7B49+
Entries for author, anonymous titles, and catch titles are filed in one alphabet. Both author and title entries give the period and country of origin of the play.

Nicoll, Allardyce
A history of English drama, 1660-1900. Cambridge, [Eng.] University Press, 1952-59. 6 vols. (vols. 1-3 only list titles included on microprint set). OLIN PR625 N64 1952 (stacks)

Greg, Walter Wilson.
Bibliography of the English printed drama to the Restoration ... London, University Press, Oxford, 1939-59. 4 vols.. Rare Z2014 D7G81+

Woodward, Gertrude (Loop) comp.
Checklist of English plays, 1641-1700. Chicago, The Newberry Library, 1945. REF Z2014 D7W8+

Hill, Frank Pierce
American plays printed 1714-1830. Stanford University Press, 1934.REF Z1231 D7H64

Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery.
Catalogue of the Larpent plays in the Huntington Library, compiled by Dougald MacMillan. San Marino, Calif., 1939.REF Z2014 D7H52+
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