The gamester

[TRANSPORTATION]

Published by Sold by J. Marshall [1796], [London], 1796

About this Item

15pp, [1]. With a woodcut illustration to title. Stitched as issued. Entirely uncut and unopened, slightest of marking to extremities, else a fine copy. Two editions were printed in 1796, in this variant the second line of the imprint ends 'for Moral'; the phrase 'Great allowance will be made to Shopkeepers and Hawkers' is set as part of the imprint; the phrase 'Entered at Stationers Hall' is in italics, and p. 15 ends with an ornament incorporating the phrase 'The End. 'His gaming was the occasion of his being transported as a convict to Botany Bay'. A fine copy, stitched as issued and entirely unopened, of the rare chapbook issued by the Cheap Repository for Religious and Moral Tracts narrating the fictional account of inveterate gambler Tricket who, having lost his position as a bricklayer turns to crime, and is apprehended after picking the pocket of a gentlemen. He is promptly brought before the Justice of the Peace and 'convicted at the next assizes on the clearest evidence, and sentenced to death; but some favourable circumstances in his case were reported.and the sentence was in consequence changed from death to transportation'. Tricket despairs despite this reprieve, yet it his long-suffering wife who suffers the most: 'The fear of death at first made even Botany Bay appear a deliverance, but when he was to depart thither, bitter indeed, was the affliction of his faithful wife; for since he had appeared a penitent she had become so much endeared to him, that all his past injuries being quite forgotten, his leaving her was worse than death'. The 'Cheap Repository' series of moral tales were begun in 1795 by Hannah More (1745-1833), intended to be distributed as an antidote to the immoral popular literature circulated in ballad and chapbook form by street vendors. As such, and as the imprint of the present work confirms, 'great allowance' was made to 'shopkeepers and hawkers', who were offered drastically discounted rates on bulk orders. In this instance a single copy was sold at one penny, 25 copies may be had for 1s. 6d., 50 for 2s. 6d., and 100 for 4s. 6d. Given the cheap production and entirely disposable nature of this type of work, it is remarkable that this copy has survived in such original condition. ESTC T40397. Size: 8vo. Seller Inventory # AQ20554

Bibliographic Details

Title: The gamester

Publisher: Sold by J. Marshall [1796], [London]

Publication Date: 1796