Thomas D’Urfey’s Wit and Mirth: or, Pills to Purge Melancholy, 1719. d'Urfey (c.?1653 – 26 February 1723) was an English writer and playwright. He wrote plays, songs, jokes, and poems. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the ballad opera. The multi-volume Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy, written between 1698 and 1720, is a collection of songs and ballads. "The origins of Wit and Mirth: or Pills to Purge Melancholy, the most famous song book of its day, may be traced back to a single volume of 'witty ballads, jovial songs, and merry catches' by an earlier generation of lyricists, published without music in 1661 under the title An Antidote against Melancholy: made up in Pills. For the third edition, still without music but livened up by more recent songs, the title was changed to Wit and Mirth: An Antidote against Melancholy (1682), and in 1699, still in one volume, it was published by Henry Playford with music. Over the course of the next two decades it was expanded and republished again and again, eventually to become this six-volume 'standard edition' of contemporary popular comic and bawdy ballads, with an increasing emphasis on the work of the stammering dramatist and lyricist Thomas D'Urfey, whose songs were sung by all the town. Among the composers were Dr. John Blow and Henry Purcell" (Wikipedia). "Not all songs have music scores. Reference is made to tunes not in this book, but probably well known in London in 1719-20" (Gutenberg.org).For more information, see Wit and Mirth: or Pills to Purge Melancholy | laytonCollection (thomaslayton.org.uk)

Condition: top of spine with slight damage; lower 1/5th of the spine is missing. Some slight wear of cover edges. Small white stains on front cover. Owners name plate coat-of-arms inside front cover ("Francis Darby, Colebrookdale"). Some staining of title page, first index page, pages yellowed from aging and some stains on some pages, one page (p244, as shown) with a small tear at the edge