Theatrical Calendar

Scope and Content

Contemporary notebook containing calendars of plays performed at Covent Garden and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the 1740 and 1741 seasons: 

  • (a) folios 1-14, Course of Plays, 1740, a calendar of plays performed at Covent Garden, 19 September 1740-15 May 1741;
  • (b) folios 16-26, Course of Plays, 1741, a similar calendar for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 5 September 1741-31 May 1742;
 with marginal annotations in the same hand concerning actors (including Peg Woffington, whose Covent Garden debut is entered, 6 November 1740; Colley Cibber; David Garrick; Mrs Clive [Catherine or Kitty Clive née Raftor]), benefits (over sixty are recorded), visits of the royal family and miscellaneous information regarding the plays. Folios 15-15v contain a list of the Company for the 1741 Season and folio 27 a note of money Recev'd of Chs. Fletewood [the Drury Lane manager] at times since the House shut up, i.e. on 11 June, 13 July and 12 August 1742. Folios 27v-34 are blank.

Bibliography

See Johnsonian News Letter, volume viii (1948), where attention is drawn to this manuscript; In January 1952 there was deposited temporarily in the Library the Register of the 18th Century theatrical manager John Rich - sent to us from Chatsworth (where it is part of the Kemble collection) for microfilming for the Folger Library .