The Dramatick Writings of Mr. William Shakespere, With the Notes of all the various Commentators; Printed Complete from the Best Editions of Samuel Johnson and George Stevens. London: Printed for John Bell, 1788.
PROBABLY THE MOST BEAUTIFULLY PRODUCED SET OF THE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE OF THE 18TH CENTURY AND THUS ONE OF THE EARLIEST OF ANY OF THE EXCELLENT EDITIONS.
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Volume 1 comprises Prolegomena featuring an engraved portrait frontispiece of Shakespeare and other engraved plates, along with Prefaces by Pope, Theobald, Hanmer, Warburton, and Samuel Johnson, as well as an Advertisement to the Second Edition by Mr. Stevens and an Essay on the Origin of the English Stage. Volume 2 also contains Prolegomena but with portrait engravings, including David Garrick, Shakespeare, and others, alongside a fold-out facsimile of Shakespeare's Will, Malone's Chronology, List of Ancient Translations, and Rowe's Life of Shakespeare. The subsequent volumes individually include various plays: Volume 3 encompasses The Tempest and Two Gentlemen of Verona, Volume 4 holds The Merry Wives of Windsor and Much Ado About Nothing, Volume 5 contains Measure for Measure and The Comedy of Errors, Volume 6 features Love's Labour's Lost and A Midsummer Night's Dream, Volume 7 includes The Merchant of Venice and As You Like It, Volume 8 comprises The Taming of the Shrew and All's Well That Ends Well, Volume 9 holds Twelfth Night and The Winter's Tale, Volume 10 encompasses Macbeth and King John, Volume 12 includes King Henry IV Part 2 and King Henry V, Volume 13 holds King Henry VI Part 1 and 2, Volume 14 contains King Henry VI Part 3 and King Richard III, Volume 15 features King Henry VIII and Coriolanus, Volume 16 holds Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra, Volume 17 encompasses Timon of Athens and King Lear, Volume 18 includes Hamlet and Titus Andronicus, Volume 19 contains Troilus and Cressida and Othello, and finally, Volume 20 comprises Cymbeline and Romeo and Juliet. This set contains 19 of 20 volumes, lacking volume 11 which would contain Richard II and King Henry IV part 1.
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This lovely set is remarkably similar to one which sold at Bonhams Fine Books and Manuscripts sale on the 22nd of June 2022 lot 136 which realised £956.25 (GBP).
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Size: 94 x 146 mm (approx., each)
Condition:
Near contemporary full marbled calf bindings with particularly nice gilt borders to the boards in a classical style. Most tooled labels are retained but a small number are lacking or fragmented. This set contains 19 of 20 volumes, lacking volume 11 which would contain Richard II and King Henry IV part 1. This set is one where individual volumes are regularly found for sale and thus completing this set would be fairly easy, especially in this manner of binding which is very typical for the set. The pagination of this set is fairly erratic and as such a full collation is not provided here. For example, the pagination runs consecutively through some consecutive volumes but resets within most volumes for the beginning of each play. Despite this, the volumes appear to be complete with the various illustrated plates throughout, though these are not always bound in their typical positions. For example, the frontispiece for Cymbeline is bound in during Act 3 as opposed to at the beginning, but is still present. Some joints are fragile but all boards are attached, most being reasonably secure. The bindings are rubbed with some minor losses at the extremities as typical. A few blanks are detached.
Overall a good set of this fantastic edition.
