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WEAVER, John (1673-1760), translator. FEUILLET, Raoul-Auger. Orchesography. Or, the Art of Dancing, by Characters and Demonstrative Figures. Wherein the whole Art is explain'd; with compleat Tables of all Steps us'd in Dancing, and Rules for the Motions of the Arms, &c. Whereby any person (who understands Dancing) may of himself learn all manner of Dances. London: H. Meere, 1706.
4o (251 x 19 mm). 2 engraved plates on recto and verso of one inserted leaf showing Tables of Positions, 42 engraved plates on 21 leaves and numerous text woodcuts and engravings (two full-page). (Small chip on one blank fore-margin, otherwise very fine.) Contemporary panelled calf (rebacked); folding case. Provenance: Earl of Ilchester (bookplate).
FIRST ENGLISH EDITION of the first English version of the French choreographer Raoul-Auger Feuillet's Chorérgraphie first published in 1701. The work included the most widely adopted dance notation system of the period this system of dance notation which was supposed to enable an executant to perform by "reading" the steps as a musician "reads" musical notation.
The British dancer, choreographer, teacher, and dance theorist, John Weaver is regarded as the father of British pantomime and a pioneer of the ballet d'action. The son of a dancing master, he himself was apprenticed to a dancing master in Shrewsbury (probably Edward Dyer), where he became a dancing master from 1695. From 1700 to 1736 he danced in the London theatres of Drury Lane, Lincoln's Inn Fields, and York Buildings, performing mostly comic and character roles. He wrote his own libretti, notated many court dances, wrote on the history of dance. His translation Feuillet's method brough the most widely adopted dance notation system of the period to an English-speaking audience. VERY FINE AND CRISP. Eitner III, 435; Grove II, 724; Leslie II, p. 557 ("the drawing and printing are superior to the original Feuillet...a most handsome volume").
4o (251 x 19 mm). 2 engraved plates on recto and verso of one inserted leaf showing Tables of Positions, 42 engraved plates on 21 leaves and numerous text woodcuts and engravings (two full-page). (Small chip on one blank fore-margin, otherwise very fine.) Contemporary panelled calf (rebacked); folding case. Provenance: Earl of Ilchester (bookplate).
FIRST ENGLISH EDITION of the first English version of the French choreographer Raoul-Auger Feuillet's Chorérgraphie first published in 1701. The work included the most widely adopted dance notation system of the period this system of dance notation which was supposed to enable an executant to perform by "reading" the steps as a musician "reads" musical notation.
The British dancer, choreographer, teacher, and dance theorist, John Weaver is regarded as the father of British pantomime and a pioneer of the ballet d'action. The son of a dancing master, he himself was apprenticed to a dancing master in Shrewsbury (probably Edward Dyer), where he became a dancing master from 1695. From 1700 to 1736 he danced in the London theatres of Drury Lane, Lincoln's Inn Fields, and York Buildings, performing mostly comic and character roles. He wrote his own libretti, notated many court dances, wrote on the history of dance. His translation Feuillet's method brough the most widely adopted dance notation system of the period to an English-speaking audience. VERY FINE AND CRISP. Eitner III, 435; Grove II, 724; Leslie II, p. 557 ("the drawing and printing are superior to the original Feuillet...a most handsome volume").