Librettiste

Four Original Mezzotint Posture or Droll Prints-- "Poor Tom Bowling"; "Paddy Bull's Expedition"; "The Soldier's Adieu": "Walter and His Three Graces.".

1791 · 76499 — London: Robert Sayer 1791-1794. The 1790s witnessed a minor boom in ‘Posture’ prints of subjects taken from Charles Dibdin’s songs. Posture prints often referred to as Song Sheets or Drolls were mezzotints measuring roughly 14 x 10 inches which were advertised for sale in both colored and uncolored versions. Upon the print we can see the lyrics and an etched accompanying image. In the main the major audience for these was the middle class and they are representative of the most popular songs of the era. Three of the four prints offered here were written by Charles Dibdin uncle of the venerable Thomas Frognall Dibdin. The composer/writer of Walter and His Three Graces is unknown though likely Dibdin as well and while Dibdin wrote the music for “A Soldier’s Adieu†the libretto was written by Isaac Bickerstaff. The four mezzotints on offer here are;Poor Tom Bowling 1791 Paddy Bull's Expedition 1792 The Soldier's Adieu 1793 Walter and his Three Graces 1794. On the upper left of each lyric area is the Sayer stock number and they are respectively; 274 275 296 & 316. All were printed by Robert Sayer and are glassed in their original frames. A Soldier’s Adieu has an overabundance of lyrics and the frame covers the imprint and date. Toning and some staining but in remarkably good condition considering their fragility. “Poor Tom Bowling†& “Paddy Bull’s Expedition†are recorded by OCLC in one copy only each are and both at Yale although unquestionably the Bodlean has copies but they are offline. No auction records.Robert Sayer was a leading publisher and seller of prints maps and maritime charts in Georgian Britain. He is chiefly remembered for his atlases and other cartographic works publishing the Mundane System 1774 of Samuel Dunn and the famous North American Pilot 1775 He would have issued these song sheets as a bread-and-butter steady source of income. He was not the only printer issuing these song sheets as they were steady sellers to all classes. "Such songs would constitute a major but feasible luxury for a skilled labourer such as a coachman with an income of 15 to 20s. per week†N. Grindle. And they were immensely popular and many printers of the time put forth a number of them including S. W. Fores. Even American printers entered the fray with the venerable Isaiah Thomas publishing Charles Dibdin's 'Nancy or the Sailor's Journal’ in 1798 Dibdin's most popular song Poor Tom Bowling based on the life of Charles’ brother was unquestionably his masterpiece. Even the literati of the day were admirers of Dibdin’s songs with Thoreau claiming Poor Tom Bowling as one of his favorite songs. Furthermore there is an extant manuscript book of vocal music entitled ‘Songs and Duetts’ copied out in Jane Austen’s hand. "Included in this manuscript book is ‘The Soldier’s Adieu’ by Charles Dibdin; with two brothers in the Navy Jane however crossed out the reference to ‘soldier’ and replaced it with ‘sailor’†Jane Austen’s House.Charles Dibdin 1745-1814 British musician dramatist novelist actor and songwriter As his parents had plans for him to become a cleric he was sent to Winchester but his inherent love of music soon had him abandoning that path and he was soon employed as a singing actor. He was to pursue music as a vocation for the rest of his life and is considered the most popular songster of 18th century England. His military and naval songs were especially loved "It was said his sea songs were worth ten thousand sailors to the cause of England and were officially appropriated by the British navy to use during the war with France.†His reputation grew and grew and eventually he owned a small London theater called the Sans Souci which he opened in 1795 to host his one-man shows. Numerous books devoted to his songs were published in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.Provenance: Collection of John B. and Marie-Teresa Vander Sande Robert Sayer unknown