Eccentricities for Edinburgh: containing poems, entitl'd A Lamentation to Scotch Booksellers. Fire; or the Sun-Poker. Mr. Champernoune. The Luminous Historian; or Learning in Love. London Rurality; or Miss Bunn, and Mrs. Bunt

Colman, George, the Younger

Published by printed for John Ballantyne, Hanover Street; and for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London; by James Ballantyne and Co., Edinburgh, Edinburgh, 1816

About this Item

First edition, 8vo, pp. vii, [1], 106, [4] ads; original blue paper-covered boards, brown paper shelfback, printed paper label on spine; label darkened, boards a little toned, all else very good, sound and clean. Colman "The Younger" (1762-1836) "was a playwright, writer of scurrilous satiric verse, and theatre manager whose comic operas, farces, melodramas, and sentimental comedies were box-office successes in the late 18th and early 19th centuries . He took over The Haymarket theatre on the death of his father in 1794 but his life was plagued with financial insecurity and difficulties resulting in a long spell in debtor's prison. Here he resided for many years continuing to direct the affairs of his theatre and was finally released through the intervention of King George IV, who appointed him in 1824 Examiner of Plays, more commonly called Licenser, a post made vacant by the death of John Larpent. In effect, this gave him complete authority to censor any plays or parts of plays that he deemed immoral, overly political blasphemous, or otherwise dangerous. It was position some of his contemporary playwrights considered he abused by being a hypocritically severe censor. However, actors recalled his generosity and humanity, friends remembered his readiness to help them, proprietors his straightforward business manner and the public his entertaining productions" (milesbarton[dot]com].

Seller Inventory # 66591

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Eccentricities for Edinburgh: containing poems, entitl'd A Lamentation to Scotch Booksellers. Fire; or the Sun-Poker. Mr. Champernoune. The Luminous Historian; or Learning in Love. London Rurality; or Miss Bunn, and Mrs. Bunt
• Publisher: printed for John Ballantyne, Hanover Street; and for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London; by James Ballantyne and Co., Edinburgh, Edinburgh
• Publication Date: 1816
• Edition: First Edition.
• Seller catalogs:
  • English Literature
  • Poetry