Mr Gay — Polly

London, William Heinemann, 1923. First edition. Leather. A smartly bound, illustrated edition of John Gay's sequel to 'The Beggar's Opera&apos. 'Polly' was first performed posthumously on 19th June 1777 at the Haymarket theatre. First thus, the first edition with Nicholson's illustrations. With half-title. Illustrated, with a coloured frontispiece and six further coloured plates by William Nicholson. Nicholson was known for his still life and landscape paintings. He also worked as a designer for theatre, which has informed his illustrations to this work, which are the characters in costume. This opera follows the adventures of Polly Peachum in the West Indies. Its performance was forbidden by the Lord Chamberlain, most likely through Walpole's influence who saw the satire to be too strong. A lovely copy of this opera, with the musical scores as vignettes alongside the text. In a quarter crushed morocco binding with cloth covered boards. Externally, excellent with minor shelfwear. A few light marks to boards. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are generally bright. Offsetting to page 17 from a previously inserted leaf. Scattered spotting to pages. Very Good Indeed . Ill.: William Nicholson. Very Good Indeed .