Joseph M. Field, International Copyright, and a Masque for Boz

• Published in: Dickensian 2022-12, Vol.118 (518), p.291-256
• Main Author: Hanna, Robert C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Actors; Dickens, Charles (1812-1870); Theater
• ISSN: 0012-2440

According to Appletons' Cyclcpadia if American Biography, Field's parents were 'Irish exiles', who resided in London at the time of his birth in 1810 and who emigrated to the United States when he was still 'at an early age'.1 Gary Scharnhorst has more recently determined that Field was born 'in the village of Stockton, near London', that his family emigrated in 1815, and that he 'was educated in the public schools of New York'.2 Field's professional theatrical career commenced on 1 July 1830, when New York's Park Theatre announced,'Mr. J. M. Field, of this City, will This Evening make his first appearance on any Stage, in the character of Pierre', in Thomas Otway's 1682 tragedy Venice Preserved; or, A Plot Discovered.3 A theatrical critic identified as 'C' published the following assessment of the actor's performance: Mr. J. M. Field, whose performances, during the season, have given the highest gratification to the lovers of the Drama, takes a benefit this evening; on which occasion he will appear, for the second time, as King Lear . . . sustained by the combined strength of the very talented stock company. Sea air, six months rapid travelling, and the roast beef of old England, have made Joe look fresh and hearty and ten years younger'.17 While the aforesaid list of Field's professional and private travels is by no means exhaustive, it does indicate how both Mr and Mrs Field had an extensive acquaintance with both larger and smaller American venues. [...]their arrival in Boston could have given the couple advance notification of upcoming plans for Boston's Tremont Theatre, for in 1841, the Tremont, under the new management of George Andrews and John Preston, was recruiting for a new acting company. On 1 November 1841, the Boston Morning Post informed its readers that 'Charles Dickens, the author of the Pickwick Papers and other popular works, and Professor Wilson, the veteran editor of Blackwood's Magazine, intend to visit this country in January'.24 By 12 November, Bostonians learned that Dickens 'will cross the Atlantic in the steam ship of the 4th of January, and may be expected to arrive about the 20th'.25 Now, patrons of the Tremont Theatre already knew that Edward Stirling's first dramatisation of Nicholas Nicklely had premiered on 1 March 1839, as had Stirling's second dramatisation on 29 December 1840.26 In anticipation of Dickens's arrival, Tremont's 1841-42 troupe decided to add Nicklely to its repertoire, with performances commencing on 10 Ja