$9,000
A Letter to The Town, Concerning the Man and the Bottle. London: Printed and Sold by W. Reeve and A. Dodd, 1749. Three-quarter calf over marbled boards. 4to. Leather rubbed, minor internal wear and staining; very good. Rare. Ex-libris Stanley Collins. Toole Stott 1232. According to Milbourne Christopher, “January 16, 1749 was a night long remembered by the Londoners who jammed into the New Theatre in the Haymarket, a night much discussed in the annals of British drama.” Advertising material made the fantastic claim that a man would squeeze himself inside an ordinary wine bottle as part of his conjuring entertainment. But as curtain time came and went, an already skeptical crowd grew restless. When the performer failed to appear, a riot broke out. A lit candle was thrown on stage and the curtains caught fire, eventually leading to the total destruction of the theatre. The incident, forever after known as the “bottle conjuror hoax,” spawned many copycats, as well as countless cartoons, satires, broadsides, and the publication of the rare book offered here.
Auctioneer:
Potter & Potter
Date:
2015-05-31
