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John Larpent Plays
mssLA 1-2503
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Title: John Larpent Plays
Dates (inclusive): 1737-1824
Collection Number: mssLA 1-2503
Creator:
Larpent, John, 1741-1824.
Extent:
2,503 pieces.
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection consists of official manuscript copies of plays submitted for licensing in Great Britain between 1737 and
1824 that were in the possession of John Larpent (1741-1824),
the examiner of plays, at the time of his death in 1824. The collection includes 2,399 identified plays as well as an additional
104 unidentified pieces including addresses,
prologues, epilogues, etc.
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities.
The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the
researcher.
[Identification of item]. John Larpent Plays, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Purchased with the Ellesmere collection from John Francis Granville Scroop Egerton, 3rd Earl of Ellesmere, through the agency
of George D. Smith and Sotheby's of London, 1917.
Biographical Note on John Larpent
John Larpent (1741-1824), after posts in the foreign service and a term as secretary to the Duke of Bedford in Paris and to
the Marquis of
Hertford in Ireland, was appointed
to the position of Examiner of Plays in November 1778. Larpent was assisted in his work by his wife, Anna Margaretta Larpent
(1758-1832),
whom he married in 1782. Larpent continued as Examiner until his death in 1824.
The licensing act of 1737 required that copies of all plays and other entertainments
designed to be performed on the stage in Great Britain be submitted to the Lord Chamberlain
for license fourteen days before their presentation. In order to carry out the provisions of
the new law, the office of Examiner of Plays was established, and the first Examiner, William
Chetwynd, was appointed on March 10, 1738. Chetwynd acted almost entirely through deputies: first Thomas Odell (1738-1749)
and second Edward Capell (1749-1781).
At the time of Chetwynd's death on April 3, 1770, apparently no successor was designated; and Capell acted as
Examiner until the appointment of John Larpent on November 20, 1778. Larpent died in office on January 18, 1824.
The official copies of plays submitted to the Examiner of Plays between 1737 and January 1824, in Larpent's possession at
the time of his death,
were bought by John Payne Collier and Thomas Amyot around 1832 and later purchased by Francis Egerton (1800-1857), Viscount
Brackley and 1st Earl of Ellesmere, in 1853.
During the years that he owned the collection, Collier referred to it twice in published
articles in the
New Monthly Magazine, XXXIV (1832), in "The Poetical and Literary Career of the Late John Philip Kemble" (page 174),
and "New Facts Regarding Garrick and his Writings" (page 568). In
January 1854, there was an announcement in the
Athenaeum
that the collection had been purchased by the Earl of Ellesmere. The plays had been offered, the notice continued, "to the
Trustees of the British Museum, who declined to
purchase them; they will, therefore, form a distinguishing feature in the library of his
Lordship's new mansion in the Green Park, and no doubt will be accessible to all who wish to
consult the plays for literary and historical purposes."
After being purchased by the Earl of Ellesmere in 1853, the collection was incorporated into the Bridgewater House Library,
where the plays (Numbers 1-2399) were bound in blue paper covers, neatly labeled,
and shelved in boxes of four sizes (designated Large, Extra, Middle, and Small). Within the sizes, the
arrangement was roughly chronological. Content lists were added to the spines of the boxes, and the boxes were stamped
"Larpent Dramatic MSS." In addition, there were three scrapbook volumes (later disbound) containing occasional
prologues and epilogues, addresses, and undated or unidentified short pieces (Numbers 2400-2502).
The plays remained part of the
library of Bridgewater House for sixty-three years before being acquired as part of the Bridgewater Library/Egerton Family
Papers
by Henry E. Huntington in 1917.
The collection went largely unnoticed in published sources until well into the 20th century.
An 1857 query in
Notes and Queries (2d Ser., IV, 269) mentioned the supposed existence of the collection and
requested information about its location. In his biographical sketch of Larpent
in the
Dictionary of National Biography, W. A. J. Archbold stated, "Larpent is said ...
to have left behind him manuscript copies of all the plays submitted to the inspector from 1737 to 1824." Nor were the
Larpent plays mentioned in the account of the Bridgewater Sale to Henry E. Huntington in 1917 by W. N. C. Carlton
in
Notes on the Bridgewater House Library (New York: privately printed, 1918). Finally in 1927, the collection was referenced in Allardyce Nicoll's
A History of Late Eighteenth
Century Drama,
and it was described as the defining feature of the Bridgewater House
Library in its later period by George Sherburn in an account of Huntington Library
Collections in the
Huntington Library Bulletin, (Number 1, May, 1931, pp. 49-50).
This finding aid is based primarily on the
Catalogue of the Larpent plays in the Huntington Library (San Marino, Calif., 1939)
compiled by Dougald MacMillan, Professor of English
at the The University of North Carolina. MacMillan was assisted by Marion Tinling and Dorothy Bowen, and other
members of the staff of the Huntington Library. The principal task of the compilers of the
Catalogue was to identify the plays,
and secondly to compare the manuscript and printed texts, chiefly through the comparison of the Larpent manuscripts and the
Kemble-Devonshire collection of English plays.
This collection is digitized in the subscription database: "Eighteenth Century Drama: Censorship, Society and the Stage" (Adam
Matthew Digital).
- The Kemble-Devonshire collection of English plays is a collection of nearly 4,500 printed plays that have been individually cataloged in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog and most can be searched by the keyword phrase: "Kemble-Devonshire copy"
- Anna Margaretta Larpent diaries, 1773-1830. (Call number: mssHM 31201, Volumes 1-17)
- Larpent dramatic manuscripts catalogue, 1737-1824. (Call number: mssEL 26 B 11)
- Two license books of John Larpent, 1801-1824 (Call number: mssHM 19926)
- Baker, David Erskine, 1730-1767. Biographia dramatica ... (London : Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown [etc.], 1812) (Call number: 13729). Note: John Payne Collier's copy, with his annotations and notes by the sixth Duke of Devonshire.
- Baker, David Erskine, 1730-1767. Biographia dramatica ... (London : Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown [etc.], 1812) (Call number: 134273). Note: Kemble-Devonshire copy. It contains manuscript notes by Kemble, with some additions by the Duke of Devonshire, mostly titles, etc., of plays in the Kemble-Devonshire Collection of Plays published after the Biographia Dramatica appeared and therefore not listed therein. This copy apparently served Kemble, and later the Duke, as a catalogue to his collection of plays, as it gives the number of the volume, in that collection, in which each play may be found.
In the New York Public Library
This collection consists of official manuscript copies of plays submitted for licensing between 1737 and 1824 that were in
the possession of
John Larpent, the examiner of plays, at the time of his death in 1824. These copies were later owned by John Payne Collier
before being purchased by the Bridgewater House Library.
The collection includes 2,399 identified plays as well as an additional 104
unidentified pieces including addresses, prologues, epilogues, etc.
These copies of plays, generally, were clearly written by professional copyists
attached to the theaters, though some are partly, or entirely, in the authors' handwriting.
Most copies are accompanied by a formal application for license to perform, signed by the
manager of the theater. The name of the author only rarely appears upon the play, except
on title-pages of printed copies, submitted instead of manuscripts.
Presumably, all new plays performed between June 24, 1737, and January 18, 1824, were
licensed as the law required, but Larpent's collection is not entirely complete.
The most conspicuous of the plays not now in the Huntington's collection (e.g.,
The Clandestine Marriage and
The School for Scandal)
are also not listed in the manuscript
Alphabetical Catalogue with Notes of
Theatrical representations &ca Submitted for Licensing From The Year 1737, to the Year
1787 inclusive
in the handwriting of Larpent and of his second wife (now held by the New York Public Library).
Their omission in Larpent's list suggest
that these plays were removed from the Examiners' papers before Larpent took office. Others appear to
have been either returned to the managers or given away by Larpent or by Collier. Note though that the
Alphabetical Catalogue
is incomplete and lacks a large number of titles held in this collection.
A manuscript catalogue,
Larpent dramatic manuscripts catalogue, 1737-1824 (call number: EL 26/B/11),
was presumably made under Collier's direction, and it sometimes conveys information
not found upon the copy itself, though the catalogue is incomplete and at times inaccurate.
Originally, the manuscripts
were bound in a rough whity-brown paper covers, upon which the Examiner often made notes.
Before Larpent took office, the mark of an "X" on the paper cover seems to have indicated that the play
had been examined; but Larpent usually entered
the name of the theater submitting the play and a date, presumably when Larpent licensed the play and generally a day or two
after the date of the application. Sometimes, though, the date is
considerably
after the first performance.
On some copies, the
marks of the Examiners indicate objectionable passages, and most suppressed plays bear
endorsements stating that the license was not granted.
While Collier had access to the collection, he inscribed many of the copies with notes,
most of them partly in shorthand, recording his opinions on matters such as authorship,
handwriting, or date. Though many of these notes are correct, others are mistaken or unintelligible.
The fact that these plays are official copies sent to the office of the Examiner by the managers of the theaters, not the
authors, places them in a different category from that of
most literary texts. Their relation on the one hand to the acted version and on the other to
the published work raises complicated problems that can be solved only individually. What
liberties actors took with the text after it had been approved, one cannot say, but it seems
likely that in general the licensed text was presented on the stage. The printed play,
however, was generally set from copy provided by the author; and in it he had the
opportunity to restore what the manager had eliminated, or to revise the piece in the light
of its reception. The Larpent text, thus, may represent a state of composition either later
or earlier than the first acted version. An examination of the manuscripts will show that
the Examiner's copy seldom conforms entirely to the published text.
The collection is divided into two series:
- 1. Plays and identified prologues, etc. (LA 1-2399)
- 2. Unidentified addresses, prologues, epilogues, etc. (LA 2400-2502)
In the first series, entries are arranged
chronologically in accordance with the date of the application for license (when known), or,
the date of the first performance. Prologues, epilogues, and other related
documents are included in the same entry as the plays to which they belong, if the latter
are found in the collection, even though they may be bound and shelved separately. The
unidentified items are arranged alphabetically.
Format of entries:
In each entry the title of the play is given first as it appears upon the manuscript, even though it may be better known under another title. After the title is a descriptive phrase indicating the type of play, taken either from the copy itself or from contemporary descriptions. The name of the author, which seldom appears on the copy, is given, when known.
In each entry the title of the play is given first as it appears upon the manuscript, even though it may be better known under another title. After the title is a descriptive phrase indicating the type of play, taken either from the copy itself or from contemporary descriptions. The name of the author, which seldom appears on the copy, is given, when known.
The second part of the entry gives the date of application for license, the name of the
manager and the theater, and the date of first production, from such authorities as may be
regarded as generally reliable. (Theater and year are not repeated unless they differ from
those appearing in the application.) It is then stated whether the copy is a manuscript or
printed; and noteworthy peculiarities of the copy are mentioned. Collier's notes written on
the plays are given only rarely, as they usually repeat those in his copy of
Biographia Dramatica (Call number: 13729).
Following the description of a manuscript is a statement of the result of a comparison of
manuscript and printed text, made whenever there was a printed copy of the play in the
Huntington Library, or in a few cases (which are indicated), from copies lent by other libraries.
The edition compared is indicated, and in parentheses is given the Huntington Library
accession number of the copy used; and a phrase points out the nature or extent of the
differences between the two texts. As these notes represent only a hasty comparison and are
not to be taken as the results of careful collation, they are intentionally expressed in the
most general terms. The absence of comparison with a printed text does not necessarily
indicate that the play was unpublished, but merely that no copy was available for
comparison.
Finally, relevant parts of Collier's notes in his copy of the
Biographia Dramatica are printed, and care has been taken to quote all of the new
or suggestive material from them. No attempt has been made to indicate calligraphic
peculiarities.
Italian operas and plays from provincial theaters often have only minimal descriptions in this finding aid due
to limited available information about the productions.
In order to clarify this explanation of entries, the following expansion of entry 2 is
given as an example:
Original entry:
-
2. Art and Nature. Comedy, 5 acts. James Miller.
Application Jan. 12, 1737/8, Charles Fletewood, D.L. Prod. Feb. 16.
MS: a few passages deleted by Examiner; epilogue; cast. Comp. 1738 (K-D 240): a number of passages in MS, including those marked for deletion, not printed. J.P.C. in B.D. calls attention to The Pigeon Pie (1738), a satire upon Miller.
Expanded:
-
Art and Nature, a comedy in five acts, by James Miller.
The play is accompanied by a note of application for license to perform, addressed to the Examiner of Plays (or to the Lord Chamberlain), dated January 12, 1737/8, and signed by Charles Fletewood, manager of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The play was produced at that theater on February 16 of the same year. The copy in question is a manuscript, in which the Examiner has marked certain passages for omission from the performance. The epilogue is included with the text of the play, and the cast is given with the dramatis personae. A rapid comparison of the text of this manuscript with the 1738 edition (copy in the Huntington Library, Kemble-Devonshire Collection of Plays, Vol. 240) shows that the manuscript contains a number of passages, including those marked for deletion by the Examiner, that have not been printed. A manuscript note by John Payne Collier in his copy of the Biographia Dramatica (1812) calls attention to The Pigeon Pie (1738), which Collier states is a satire upon Miller.
In addition to conventional abbreviations, the following abbreviations are used in this finding aid:
- Application: Formal letter of application for license to perform addressed to the Examiner of Plays (or to the Lord Chamberlain). In some cases an endorsement upon the title-page is interpreted as equivalent to a letter of application.
- B.C.: Bridgewater House Library Catalogue of Larpent Dramatic MSS.
- B.D:. Biographia Dramatica.
- C.G.: Covent Garden Theatre
- Comp.: Compared
- Dev: Devonshire Collection of plays in the Huntington Library
- D.L.: Theatre Royal Drury Lane
- H1: The King's Theatre (opera house), Haymarket
- H2: The Little Theatre (or Theatre Royal), Haymarket
- J.P.C.: John Payne Collier
- J.P.K.: John Philip Kemble
- K-D: Kemble-Devonshire collection of plays in the Huntington Library
- L.L.: Used by J.P.C. in his annotated copy of Biographia Dramatica to indicate the Larpent dramatic manuscripts catalogue (call number: mssEL 26 B 11)
- Prod.: Produced
An alphabetical list of the authors represented in John Larpent Plays:
An alphabetical title list for items 1-2399 (Note: the unidentified items, 2400-2502, are arranged alphabetically in the finding
aid itself):
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Larpent, John, 1741-1824 -- Archives.
Great Britain. Licensing Act (1737)
Great Britain. Lord Chamberlain. Examiner of Plays (1778-1824 : Larpent)
Drama -- Censorship -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century -- Sources.
Drama -- Censorship -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
Theaters -- England -- History -- 18th century -- Sources.
Theaters -- England -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
Great Britain -- Intellectual life -- 18th century -- Sources.
Great Britain -- Intellectual life -- 19th century -- Sources.
Plays -- Great Britain -- 18th century.
Plays -- Great Britain -- 19th century.
Great Britain. Lord Chamberlain. Examiner of Plays (1778-1824 : Larpent)