Three volumes in one, folio. (378 × 230 mm). 60 ff.; 39 ff.; 71 ff. Contemporary panelled calf, boards with decorative roll tool border to enclose central gilt ruled panel with fleurons at corners, gilt title direct in blind to central compartment of front panel, smooth spine with gilt floral tools within gilt decorative rules.

This sammelband is also of great interest in terms of its printing, not least the use of pewter plates and punches, more versatile than the traditional copper for the production of detailed musical notation. The prolific John Walsh, who printed a very large number of musical books (Smith in his bibliography lists over 600 issued between 1695 and 1720), was an innovator in the field, likely the first to make use of pewter and a proponent and developer too of the passe-partout title. The present volume features pictorial passe-partout half-titles (all in this sammelband feature some contemporary colouring by hand) - the same for each work with the putti supporting the Royal arms of Queen Anne, the winged female trumpeter with the banner with motto, the seated Euterpe (the muse of music) with music and musical instruments - but with a second plate giving a different title for each; for 'Hydaspes' the title is supplied in manuscript and the passe-partout title is that for another work 'The Additional Songs … in Hydaspes' although the index verso appears to be correct. The titles too are engraved passe-partout versions with matching details for each save for the second plate added for the title. Also of note is that for the earlier operas, i.e. 'Clotilda' and 'Almahide', the sheets are all printed recto (or verso) only, while for 'Hydaspes' the sheets are all printed recto and verso. These differences as well as differences in the engraving style of each of the operas presented provide interesting contrasts and offer an opportunity for further complementary study.

Finally, in terms of the provenance of the volume, there is a musical connection, and a Scottish one, also: Ebenezer Oliphant, 7th of Condie, whose bookplate is found on the front pastedown had a Strathspey reel composed in his honour by John Bowie, the fiddler-composer, teacher and instrument tuner of Perth. Titled 'Mr. Oliphant of Condie's Welcome Home', the reel was published in Bowie's 'Collection of Strathspey Reels & Country Dances &c.' issued c.1789, and to which Oliphant was a subscriber; 'The Green Shades of Gask' that was also included references too the Clan Oliphant.

'One of the most fascinating but little-studied aspects of dominance achieved by engraving is the use by Walsh and others of the passe-par- tout technique of printing title-pages. The technique involved the creation of title-page plates with a blank area within which title in- formation could be printed from a second plate or supplied in manuscript. Different works thus have the same passe-partout title-page. Such title-pages are distinguished from engraved or woodcut borders in that they carry some perti- nent information, such as the imprint. Engraved title-pages were not that unusual during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries but they were 'nearly always cut for a particular book' [Alfred Forbes Johnson in 'A Catalogue of En- graved and Etched English Title-Pages Down to the Death of William Faithorne', 1934]. Plates were occasionally reworked for use in second and subsequent editions but publishers do not seem to have considered adapting them for passe-partout use. The condition necessary for the emergence of the passe-partout title-page as a regular feature was the frequent publishing of similar items. Thus it was in maps and music that the passe-partout technique was first estab- lished.' (David Hunter).

All of these operas are scarce on the market; although all are represented in institutions, 'Almahide' is the rarest with Hunter reporting only nine locations.

‘This was the first opera performed in England, wholly in Italian, and by Italian singers; who were Nicolini, Valentini, Cassani, Margarita, and Isabella Girardeau’. (Charles Burney).

Provenance: ownership inscription to title of 'Clotilda' of Will[iam]. Cristall, dated 'Jan. 9th / 1730'; armorial bookplate of Ebenezer Oliphant of Condie (1766 - 1807) with the motto 'Altiora Peto' to front pastedown].

[Hunter 53 (59), 69 (69) & 64 (64); see David Hunter's 'Opera and Song Books Published in England 1703–1726: A Descriptive Bibliography', London, 1997; see also David Hunter's 'The Printing of Opera and Song Books in England, 1703–1726' in the Music Library Association's 'Notes', 1989; Smith 296, 354, 344; see William C. Smith's 'A Bibliography of the Musical Works Published by John Walsh During the Years 1695–1720', London, 1948].