Author: Congreve, William (1670-1729) and Charles Wilson [pseudonym]
Title: MR. CONGREVE'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT with Characters of his Writings. By Mr.Dryden, Sir Richard Blackmore, Mr.Addison, Major Pack and Mr.Pope. To which are added, Two Pieces, viz. I. Of rightly Improving the present Time .. II. The Game of Quadrille. An Allegorical Court Satire. The Second Edition. [With] MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE .. OF WILLIAM CONGREVE Esq [titlepage lacking].
Description: London, E. Curll Second Edition [of the Will] 1730 Engraved vignette by Vander Gucht & large pictorial initial woodengraved head & tailpieces. . Octavo contemporary half calf marbled boards, spine gilt with coronet letter B[ateman] (front board reattached, tips bumped, spine label missing). LAST WILL complete 24pp; MEMOIRS xvi (Dedication & Preface lacking A1=Title) +112pp (Part I) +152[of 156]pp (Part II). Modern Ex Libris "The Play's the Thing" of the dramatist Ifan Kyrle Fletcher; near-contemporary ownership "Lord Bateman" (as initial with coronet on spine) and name Bateman (cropped) on Title of Will, which with following leaf A2 has some edge loss (repaired) not affecting text. The Memoirs lack the portrait by Vander Gucht as well as the title and last 2 leaves, but text is otherwise clean crisp and complete. *The full title of the main work is "Memoirs of the life, writings, and amours of William Congreve Esq. interspersed with miscellaneous essays, letters and characters written by him, also some very curious memoirs of Mr Dryden and his family ... by Mr. Congreve. Compiled from their respective originals, by Charles Wilson". Straus, The Unspeakable Curll, suggests Oldmixon as author. Like the Trinity College Dublin copy, this contains Congreve's life in two parts preceded by the second edition of his will with separate title-page. Scarce.

Keywords: dramatist plays Congreve scandal


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