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Messiah by HANDEL, George Frederic
London: Printed by Messrs. Randall & Abell, [c. 1773]. First edition, fifth issue (Smith's fifth edition -- see below). Folio (13 5/8 x 9 inches; 346 x 228 mm). [2, title], [2, A List of the Subscribers], [2, index], 188, 35, [1, blank] pp. All leaves engraved except for the letterpress subscriber list and index. Full red morocco, single-fillet gilt border around a smaller single-fillet gilt border rolled to a panel design, elongated gilt fleurs de lis stamps at central panel midpoints and corners, spine tooled and lettered in gilt in compartments, five raised bands, edges dyed yellow. Ownership inscription ("Fanny Birch 1797) and original subscriber inscription (William Cowper?), somewhat feathered and trimmed, on title-page. Leaf 1r (p. 1) with owner's signature to upper outer margin. Some contemporary and near-contemporary marginalia. Lower outer corner of title with expert restoration. Leaf 11 (pp. 21/22) with restored fore-edge. Some marginal toning with occasional light foxing and a few stains. Overall a well-used but very good copy. A charming copy of the full score to Handel's most famous work, and indeed, one of the most popular and widely recognized pieces of music ever composed. Although portions of Messiah had been published after its initial performance in 1742, the full score of this famous work was not published for another twenty-five years. As William G. Smith has observed, until relatively recently "The 1767 edition of the Score, published by Randall and Abell, ... [had] been generally accepted as the only issue of the Full Score ... having [their] imprint" (Smith, Concerning Handel (London: 2007); p. 87). However, as Smith argues, there were at least five or six editions of Randall and Abell's Messiah which appeared between 1767 and into the early 1770s. The present copy seems to be the fifth version of the full score, with the alterations in the list of subscribers which mark it as such (including "Dr. Samuel Arnold" instead of "Mr.", "Dr. Samuel Howard" instead of "Mr.", and "Mess. Thompson" instead of "Thompsons"). These alterations also help to date the work; as Arnold became a doctor in 1773, we can surmise that the present work, which is undated, was published in that year or later. First issues of the full score of Messiah are unobtainable, but other early issues are exceedingly scarce, as well. According to ABPC and Americana Exchange, a Randall & Abell Messiah like the present copy has come up just once at auction in the past three decades.
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