mother and daughter

Total view of entrance façade

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English libretto to Charles Coffey's ballad opera The devil to pay or, The wives metamorphos'd. The Devil to Pay is an adaptation of Thomas Jevon’s play The Devil of a Wife (1686). Nearly fifty years later, the ballad opera appeared at Drury Lane with Charles Coffey and John Mottley each responsible for half of the three acts. However, a much shorter and more well-received one-act version, edited by Theophilus Cibber, is represented in the printed libretto. Today Coffey is generally the only name widely attached to The Devil to Pay. The opera’s popularity is attested by the frequent performances and a translation into German, which contributed to the development of the Singspiel.

Map shows southern and eastern portions of North America; Greenland, the islands of the Caribbean and New Spain; areas of Indian habitation, routes of exploration along Pacific coastline with dates. Includes illustration and notes. Relief shown pictorially. Scale not given.

Map shows the provinces of New Spain and major towns, the Yucatan peninsula, and upper Central America. Includes illustration. Relief shown pictorially. Scale [ca. 1:7,241,000].

The interior of the south transept is shown with its elaborately decorated ceiling and walls as well as the curved crossing pier.

This interior view shows two side chapels. Elaborate Baroque decoration and pristine white walls are accompanied by two large windows in this particular view of the nave.

The view is straight up into the cupolas and shows the paintings with their relief texture encircling the frescoes. The arrangement of the subject matter in the paintings enhances the cupola shape. The subject matter appears to be scenes from the the life of St. Benedict, the Pentecost, and redemption.

The highly carved choir stalls are in a dark wood with relief decorations above.

An angel and a putto decorate the choir stall.

The choir stall is adorned with a putto.

The pulpit is decorated with many figures of putti and angels. Surrounding the pulpit is a relief depicting the Assumption.

The baptismal font is highly carved and decorated with many figurative sculptures.

The south facing wing of an abbey building is visible in this view. Part of the facade is blocked by a clump of trees. The building is three-stories and in a restrained Baroque style.

The three-story abbey buildings and the inner courtyard are shown in this view. The buildings are decorated with quoins and simple pediments on some windows and less elaborate linear decoration around other windows. A small fountain is situated in the center of the courtyard.

The richly carved altar sits at the entrance to the choir.

The hall is highly decorated with sculptural details on the walls and ceilings. The ceiling also contains a painted scene. Lining the room are over life size statues of the Hapsburg emperors situated next to elaborate Corinthian columns. The room is opulent and above each window is a painted portrait.

The interior of the library is decorated in a Baroque style with ceiling painting, columns with Corinthian capitals. The ceiling includes a pale pink hue topped with a white relief floral motif.

An interior view of a picture gallery with white walls. Frescoes and stucco decoration decorate the ceiling.

A corridor outside the monks cells displays paintings and the arched ceilings are decorated with relief floral motifs.

John Gay is credited with inventing the ballad opera, a genre that blends spoken plays and previously composed songs to new texts. Although The Beggar’s Opera (1728) was his most successful endeavor, he continued to compose English musical dramas. Achilles was finally performed in 1733, one year after Gay died. In this story, Achilles appears as a girl named Pyrrha, unknown to most of the inhabitants of the island of Scyros, in order to circumvent a prediction that he will die in battle. Deidamia (the king’s daughter) knows the secret, however, because she is carrying the disguised man’s child. After Achilles’s identity is revealed, he and Deidamia are able to wed. Then, in a fateful twist of irony, Achilles plans to join the Greeks in the Trojan War.

Map shows magnetic variations, trade routes, seasonal currents, coastal ports and settlements for six continents; continents of Australia and North America are incomplete. Includes text notes, illustrated title cartouche, and dates of discovery. Inset: "Asin que rien ne manquast à cette carte, nou arons ajoûté ce Cercle Polaire en partie pour montrer l'inclinaison de Meridien vers le Pole en partie pour évitar le trop grand rétrecissement de nôtre échelle." Scale not given.