7.1: Printed plays, circa 1849-circa 1917

Most of these playscripts bare the imprint of either ‘Lacy’s Acting Edition of Plays’, published in London by the playwright and publisher Thomas Hailes Lacy (or T.H. Lacy, 1809-1873), or ‘French’s American Drama’, published in New York by Samuel French (1821-1898). French acquired Lacy’s company in the 1880s and formed the imprint ‘French’s Acting Editions of Plays’. The plays were published over many years and were the central resource for 19th Century theatrical productions.