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Frankenstein; or, The Man and the Monster! A Peculiar Romantic Melo-Dramatic Pantomimic Spectacle, in Two Acts. PLUS 23 Other Early Nineteenth Century Play Bills Bound Into 3 Leather Volumesby MILNER H M & Mary Wollstonecraft ShelleyFirst Edition
Book DescriptionLondon: John Cumberland & Duncombe, 1826 3 volumes uniformly bound, half calf marbled boards, spines with raised bands and gilt decorated panels, black morocco label with gilt 'PLAYS VOL. I, II or III', corners rubbed, upper board of VOL I neatly rubbed back in the centre to the board beneath, marbled endpapers with binders labels of Deighton & Moxon, 19 Pavement York, closed edges faded marbling, Each title may have slight offsetting from the facing engraved frontis, the frontispieces to the Dolby printed plays are by J R Cruikshank, a uniformly bound set of nineteenth century playbills, all in same format etc, some in the Dolby's British Theatre imprint, others not but in same format including; ---Henry Milner's Frankenstein: or The Man and the Monster. A Romantic Melo-Drama, in Two Acts. FOUNDED PRINCIPALLY ON MRS. SHELLEY'S SINGULAR WORK ENTITLED FRANKENSTEIN; OR, THE MODERN PROMETHEUS (1826) 28 pp. Copper-engraved frontispiece portrait of Mr. O. Smith as the Monster in Frankenstein. Figure drawing at end of text showing the position of the characters when the curtain falls. Duncombe’s Edition. This has as a frontis the first pictorial representation of the monster in print. Early Frankenstein playbill, the script of the 1826 staged theatre production as performed at the London Theatres. Preceded only by the first two editions of Shelley's book this item precedes the scarce third London edition by five years. Lists characters and the actors who played them, listing the Monster with six asterisks only, but giving the actor's name,--- this is bound in with eight other play bills into VOL I, viz; ( approx 300pp) The Barber of Seville by FAWCETT / The Highland Reel by O'KEEFE / Monsieur Tonson by MONCRIEFF/ Humphrey Clinker by DIBDIN/ Oberon, or The Charmed Horn by WIELAND / The Robber's Wife by POCOCK / Frankenstein, or, The Man and The Monster by MILNER & Mary Wollstonecraft SHELLEY / The Irishman in London by MACREADY/ Intrigue, or, The Bath Road by POOLE, all published by John Cumberland, London excepting Frankenstein & Intrigue which are by Duncombe, London, VOL II, ( approx 400pp) The Pilot by FITZ-BALL / The Busy Body by CENTLIVRE / She Stoops to Conquer by Dr GOLDSMITH (Dolby 1823) / The Stranger by THOMPSON ( a four leaf section pulled at head with short margin tear and the pages sitting a little proud but still attached) / All in the wrong by MURPHY (Dolby 1824) some light foxing / The Fall of Algiers ANON (Dolby) small brown stain to text at foot of frontis and some offset to title over the publisher information ( a dark water mark) and some other minor foxing VOL III, ( approx 500pp) King Henry VIII / King Henry IV part II by SHAKSPEARE / Brutus or the Fall of Tarquin by John Howard PAYNE / The Fatal Dowry by MASSINGER / The Devil's Ducat by Douglas JERROLD / Cymbeline by SHAKSPEARE / The Grecian Daughter by Arthur MURPHY / The Road to Ruin by Thomas HOLCRAFT. ( NB- the scan shows the offset marking on the title and the colour of the boards as darker than appears to the naked eye, we will only accept a telegraphic bank transfer as payment for this item) Henry Milner's Frankenstein or the Man and the Monster (1826), a minor work, which nevertheless is still known for being the first version that showed the creation/awakening of the Monster. In Shelley's novel the actual creation is only described in a few lines: "It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs." (Shelley 1992: 56) In Peake's Presumption the Monster is still created off-stage. At the end of the first act Frankenstein disappears to his laboratory. A servant watches him through a window, but runs off frightened when Frankenstein cries, "It lives!" A horrified Frankenstein reappears on stage when suddenly the Monster himself, throwing down the laboratory's door, rushes on stage and presents his monstrosity to the audience. Like Mary Shelley Peake did not reveal the secret how Frankenstein animates his Monster. Milner, however, provides exact stage directions for the creation scene in Frankenstein or the Man and the Monster: "Laboratory with bottles and chemical apparatus. First sight of the monster an indistinct form with a black cloth...music....A colossal human figure of a cadaverous livid complexion, it slowly begins to rise, gradually attaining an erect posture. When it has attained a perpendicular position, and glares its eyes upon him, he starts back with horror." (Milner 1. iii 1826) In subsequent years many stage and film productions of Frankenstein would present similar creation scenes.. First Edition. Half-Leather. Very Good/No Jacket. Illus. by J R Cruikshank. 16mo - over 5¾" - 6¾" tall. Bookseller Terms of Sale
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