The Beggar's Opera
Antiquarian & Collectible Performing Arts Satire Musical Theatre Restoration & 18th-Century Drama Literary Classic Ballad Opera
John Gay’s 1729 ballad-opera masterpiece, “The Beggar’s Opera,” is one of the most influential satires ever written for the stage, and this scarce 1961 Swiss Argonaut Books hardcover is the edition collectors reach for when they want a faithful reproduction of the original. Bound in sturdy cloth and housed in its original slipcase, the book re-creates every typographic quirk and woodcut vignette that delighted London audiences nearly three centuries ago. Unlike modern paperbacks that re-set the text, this volume lets you read the play the way Gay’s contemporaries saw it, complete with the bawdy songs and political jabs that turned the work into an overnight sensation and changed musical theatre forever.
For theatre historians, antiquarian book lovers, or anyone building a performing-arts library, this copy offers the best of both worlds: the charm of an 18th-century classic without the fragility or price-tag of a 1729 original. The book itself is remarkably fresh—tight signatures, bright pages, no prior-owner marks—while only the slipcase shows the minor shelf scars you’d expect after sixty years. Displayed on a shelf or consulted for research, the elegant, slim profile and period-accurate typography make it a conversation piece that signals serious literary taste.
Because the text is in the public domain, the value here lies in the craftsmanship and scarcity of this particular Argonaut reproduction. Copies surface far less frequently than the ubiquitous Penguin reprints, especially in clean condition with the slipcase intact. Whether you’re staging a revival, studying the evolution of musical satire, or simply want a handsome gift for a theatre buff, this edition delivers an authentic slice of stage history that will only become harder to find as libraries disperse their mid-century holdings.
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