Advice: avoid marrying a ?charming? woman.

May 11, 2022

Rare Books Documents Photos and Artwork

Lot 155

Advice: avoid marrying a ?charming? woman.

Estimate: $70 - $100

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Description

Sheet music with the advice: avoid marrying a ‘charming’[i.e.educated] woman.

“Mrs PRICE BLACKWOOD” (Helen Selina BLACKWOOD, Baroness Dufferin and Claneboye (née Sheridan, 18 January 1807 – 13 June 1867), later Countess of Gifford.

The Charming Woman, Words and Music by Mrs. Price Blackwood. Boston: published by Parker & Ditson, 107 Washington Street, [undated but 1835?]. Folio (13 ¼ x 10 inches). A bi-folium, with 3pp on the 2 leaves. Engraved throughout, title, music and lyrics, printed on recto and verso of the first leaf, and recto only of the second leaf. New York retail stamp at foot of first page. (Removed from an album, occasional very light spotting).

The engraved words and music – with heavy sarcasm the author points out the attributes of a ‘charming woman’ = an educated woman / blue-stocking, finishing with a warning that a ‘sensible’ young man should avoid marrying a ‘charming woman’. The final irony: the author was herself a ‘charming’ woman (according to her own criteria). Helen Selina Blackwood, Baroness Dufferin and Claneboye (née Sheridan, 18 January 1807 – 13 June 1867), later Countess of Gifford, was an Irish songwriter, composer, poet, and author. Admired for her wit and literary talents, she was a well-known figure in London society of the mid-19th century.

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