In 1963 the Library purchased 1194 French plays published
between 1700 and 1840 from the firm of Martinus Nijhoff of The
Hague. They had possibly been assembled by three private
collectors, as the 70 volumes were in three series, each with
uniform binding: Recueil dramatique (776 plays), Répertoire
dramatique (103 plays) and Magasin théâtral (315 plays). In 1976
the Library bought 1053 French plays of the same period from the
bookseller Chris Kohler of Dorking, England. In assembling the
collection, Kohler ensured that there was no duplication with
the Nijhoff collection. A further 210 plays were purchased from
Kohler in 1977. The two collections contain 2457 plays published
in France between 1701 and 1840. They include tragedies,
comedies, historical dramas, vaudevilles, comic operas and
operas. There are a small number of French translations of
English and German plays, particularly works of Shakespeare. The
collections include eighteenth-century editions of major
playwrights of the previous century, such a