Royall Tyler, 1790

[TYLER, Royall (1757-1826).] The Contrast, a Comedy; in Five Acts. Philadelphia: Prichard & Hall, 1790.

First edition, extremely scarce at auction, of "the first American play ever acted on a regular stage by an established company of comedians" (Church). George Washington appears prominently in the list of subscribers of this comedy, which satirizes American anglophiles and lampoons cultural differences between the two nations in the style of Sheridan. The author, Royall Tyler, attended Boston Latin and Harvard University before serving in the Massachusetts militia during the Revolutionary War. A writer and a roué, he was known for partying and dissolute behavior alongside his literary pursuits, having fathered illegitimate children with both his college cleaning lady and his mother-in-law. Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was related by marriage to Tyler's wife, based the "diseased in the mind" Jaffrey Pyncheon in The House of the Seven Gables on him. The last copy recorded at auction by RBH is the Frank Hogan copy in 1946, already then described as "very rare." Evans 22948; BAL 20726; Sabin 97617; Church 1252.

Octavo (200 x 119mm). Half title, frontispiece by Peter Maverick after W. Dunlap (some dampstaining and foxing). Later half calf over older boards, preserving earlier pastedowns (worn). Provenance: Ellen D. Ray (gift inscription from her sister) – J. Campbell, Esq. (inscription on title).