A Checklist of New Plays and Entertainments on the London Stage, 1700-1737

A number of sources provided the titles for this checklist. William J. Burling culled The London Stage for possible new plays, searched eighteenth-century editions of plays (usually first editions) for related advertising notices by the publishers, and examined well-known contemporary lists. He also read extensively into 37 years' worth of eighteenth-century newspapers. By far the most profitable line of research, however, involved music reference sources, such as The British Union-Catalogue of Early Printed Music, Roger Fiske's seminal 1973 study of theater music, and various specialized works on such publishers as William Walsh. Also of interest and occasional aid were eighteenth-century songbooks, such as those by Thomas Durfey.