Life of Mrs. Siddons

1st Edition . Hardcover. Very Good. FIRST American edition printed same year as London edition. Highly collectible. Blind stamp and plate of commercial library, 8pps of publisher ads, lovely green silk moire binding, age darkened spine, title printed on paper pasted down on spine (as typical for hard to print on fabrics). Sarah Siddons 1755 - 1831, was acknowledged as the queen of the stage, best known for her role tragic role as Lady Macbeth. In addition to the wide acclaim she received as an actress of this period, she has been immortalized through having her portrait painted by 2 of the most respected portrait artists of the 18th century, Gainsborough and Reynolds. Gainsborough is reported to have had difficulties with the nose and to have exclaimed, 'Confound the nose, there's no end to it.' Sir Joshua Reynolds painted his famous portrait, Mrs. Siddons as the Tragic Muse in 1784, and signed it on the hem of her dress, "for," he told her, "I have resolved to go down to posterity on the hem of your garment." Additionally, her dramatic achievement and fame is honored through the Sarah Siddons Award for dramatic achievement in theatre: a genuine and prestigious award, named in honor of Siddons. The award is given annually in Chicago by the Sarah Siddons Society since 1952. You can also find impressive statues of her both in Westminster Abbey and on Paddington Green, St Mary's Garden. This is more than a biography of her life on the stage, the author at the time of publication stated that it was also a history of the stage at her time. He claimed to have been given her personal papers to aid him in writing this book.