Lacking Gimcrack

[beamjockey]

Why is it that, although Thomas Shadwell's play The Virtuoso was first produced 335 years ago, no free copy appears to be available on the Web?

I am curious to read it-- the virtuosi are an intriguing band of enthusiasts about whom I have learned only recently-- but I will have to locate a library that holds it.

Google Books has scanned various editions, but none is available in entirety.

At least one POD-shark company seems to have an edition, which suggests that a public-domain version is lying around somewhere. But I haven't found it.

(The existence of the Print-On-Demand version complicates the matter of paying money for a decent used copy. One would want to select carefully to avoid paying for an OCR'ed horror.)

Comments

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

There aren't any editions that are old enough to be in the public domain but new enough to be scannable, probably.

If you do buy a copy, buy the University of Nebraska Regents Restoration Drama edition, which has reasonably helpful footnotes.

[marydell.livejournal.com]

Questia has a complete shadwell online, but I think you have to get a trial membership to read it.

There's a copy on the shelf at the Harold Washington library downtown, according to the chi public lib web site (it lets you search the whole collection, pretty cool) Your suburb should have a reciprocal agreement that lets you check out from there and do interlib loan etc...pretty much all of the suburban libraries do. link: http://www.chipublib.org/search/details/cn/160233#checkAvailability

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I have objected to this POD scheme of taking public domain works and convincing Google not to offer the entire text. Strenuously, sir. Strenuously.

K.

[apostle-of-eris.livejournal.com]

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=Shadwell&n=200000237&tn=Virtuoso&x=75&y=19