The Better Sort: or, The Girl of Spirit. An Operatical, Comical Farce. - photo 1

The Better Sort: or, The Girl of Spirit. An Operatical, Comical Farce.

Starting price
$ 100
Auction dateClassic
16.06.2023 10:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
USA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 967367
Lot 173 | The Better Sort: or, The Girl of Spirit. An Operatical, Comical Farce.
[BROWN, William Hill (1765-1793).] The Better Sort: or, The Girl of Spirit. An Operatical, Comical Farce. Boston: Isaiah Thomas, 1789.

First edition of America's first musical comedy—a parody of the author's famous novel. Long unidentified, a presentation copy now held by Yale reveals William Hill Brown as the author of this work. Earlier in the same year he had published the markedly different in tone The Power of Sympathy, inspired by a local scandal which was still ongoing—and which The Better Sort provides a continued commentary on. The epilogue addresses Brown's "slander-loving readers" and comments that farce not based on a real scandal "is a farce indeed." Extremely rare in commerce, it is not recorded at auction by RBH. BAL 1520; Evans 21678.

Octavo (230 x 140mm). 50pp, plus leaf with list of songs (stain on title page and a little foxing elsewhere, a few chips and hole in blank margin of final leaf). Stab-sewn pamphlet, untrimmed. Provenance: Lawrence Public Library (stamp on title).
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
16.06.2023
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

More from Creator

The Power of Sympathy
The Power of Sympathy
$100

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.