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Published by Spring Books, London
First Edition
Hard Cover. Condition: Fair. Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket. First Edition Thus. Later Printing. Publisher's full black cloth, gilt lettering on spine, gilt rendering of author's signature on front cover, t.e.g. (red). . Volume shows some wear and rubbing, mostly around corners and head and heel of spine, rear cover lightly stained, front hing sprung, former owner's name on ffep, rep, and rfep, some mild notes and underlining throughout, else good. FAIR. 8vo 8" - 9" tall. xxi, (i), 1081 pp.
Published by London : O.U.P., 1912
Seller: MW Books, New York, NY, U.S.A.
First Edition
First Edition. Poor copy in the original leather boards; wear and tear as with age. Text remains in fine condition and without blemish. Physical description; various pagings ; 16 cm. Subjects; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616) Histories. Shakespeare, William (1564-1616). Poems. English literature Early modern, (1500-1700). 1 Kg.
Published by London : O.U.P., 1912
Seller: MW Books Ltd., Galway, Ireland
First Edition
First Edition. Poor copy in the original leather boards; wear and tear as with age. Text remains in fine condition and without blemish. Physical description; various pagings ; 16 cm. Subjects; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616) Histories. Shakespeare, William (1564-1616). Poems. English literature Early modern, (1500-1700). 1 Kg.
Published by Nelson Doubleday, Inc., New York
Seller: The London Bookworm, East Sussex, United Kingdom
First Edition
Cloth and Boards. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Fair. Reprint. Hardcover. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Arranged in Chronological Order. All the Plays. All the Poems. Volume One. Wear and a couple of tears to edge of D/J. Small piece of D/J. missing from bottom of spine. With an Introduction to Each Play, Adapted From the Shakespeare Primer of Professor Dowden. There are no footnotes to interfere with the reader's enjoyment of every page, but a glossary is provided at the end to clarify obsolete words and phrases. These two handsome volumes are a supber addition to the library of every well-educated person. 570 pp. Hand cut pages. (We carry a wide selection of titles in The Arts, Theology, History, Politics, Social and Physical Sciences. academic and scholarly books and Modern First Editions, Reference books ,and all types of Academic Literature.) Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall Octavo. Hardcover.
Published by Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1971
Seller: MW Books, New York, NY, U.S.A.
First Edition
First Edition. Library copy with library marks. Fine cloth copy in a good if somewhat edge-torn and dust-dulled dust-wrapper. Remains particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description; [8], 193 pages ; 23 cm. Notes; Includes bibliographical references (pages 186-188). Contents; Time and the 'destroyer' in the sonnets -- As you like it : 'subjective, ' 'objective, ' and 'natural' time -- Season and mask in Twelfth night -- The delay of Hamlet -- Tragedies of love and time : Romeo and Juliet, Troilus and Cressida, Othello -- The crime of Macbeth -- The speech of 'time' in The winter's tale -- Conclusion : the living statue. Subjects; Shakespeare, William 1564-1616 Philosophy. Shakespeare, William 1564-1616 Criticism and interpretation. Didactic literature, English History and criticism. Moral conditions in literature. Philosophy in literature. Moral conditions in literature. 1 Kg.
Published by Spring Books no date, London
Seller: Bauer Rare Books, San Diego, CA, U.S.A.
First Edition
First edition thus. 8vo. [xxi], 1081 pp. Hardcover binding, gilt lettering cover and spine, overall very good condition. (101948).
Published by Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1971
Seller: MW Books Ltd., Galway, Ireland
First Edition
First Edition. Library copy with library marks. Fine cloth copy in a good if somewhat edge-torn and dust-dulled dust-wrapper. Remains particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description; [8], 193 pages ; 23 cm. Notes; Includes bibliographical references (pages 186-188). Contents; Time and the 'destroyer' in the sonnets -- As you like it : 'subjective, ' 'objective, ' and 'natural' time -- Season and mask in Twelfth night -- The delay of Hamlet -- Tragedies of love and time : Romeo and Juliet, Troilus and Cressida, Othello -- The crime of Macbeth -- The speech of 'time' in The winter's tale -- Conclusion : the living statue. Subjects; Shakespeare, William 1564-1616 Philosophy. Shakespeare, William 1564-1616 Criticism and interpretation. Didactic literature, English History and criticism. Moral conditions in literature. Philosophy in literature. Moral conditions in literature. 1 Kg.
Published by London, Spring Books, um., 1958
Seller: Augusta-Antiquariat GbR, Diedorf OT Biburg, Germany
First Edition
1. Auflage 20,5x16,5 cm XXI, 1081 Seiten Hardcover. Original Leineneinband mit goldbedrucktem Vorderdeckel und Buchrücken. Minimale Lagerspuren. Guter Zustand. Seiten durchgehend gebräunt. Sonst innen sauberer, sehr guter Zustand. - Inside with browining, very clean. With an introduction and glossary by B. Hodek. Mit einer genealogischen Tafel zu Beginn. Aufgrund des Gewichts und der Dicke des Buches erfolgt der Versand als Paket bis 2 kg. Versandkosten werden angepasst. Sprache: englisch.
Published by Clarendon Press, Oxford, England, 1971
ISBN 10: 0198120060ISBN 13: 9780198120063
Seller: Kurt Gippert Bookseller (ABAA), Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
Book First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Very good+ condition. Dust Jacket Condition: Very good- condition (DJ). First Edition. [viii], 193 pages of text including an index. Hardcover binding in almost new condition. Price-clipped dustjacket with several tears and creases, and minor rubbing to the extremities; protected in archival mylar. Pencil underlining and notations scattered lightly througout the final 30 pages. First edition. Previous owner's name neatly on the rear endpaper. From the collection of Louis Marder, Shakespeare historian and collector of books by, on or referring to William Shakespeare. Size: Octavo (8vo). Book.
Published by London : Henry Frowde Oxford University Press, 1912
Seller: MW Books Ltd., Galway, Ireland
First Edition
First Edition. Fine copy in full limp suede binding. Particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description: 3 parts in 1: (387, [1]; [2], 410; [2], 529, [1] p.) ; 15.5 cm. Single volume only. Subjects: Shakespeare, William 1564-1616. Histories. Poems. 1 Kg.
Published by London : Henry Frowde Oxford University Press, 1912
Seller: MW Books, New York, NY, U.S.A.
First Edition
First Edition. Fine copy in full limp suede binding. Particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description: 3 parts in 1: (387, [1]; [2], 410; [2], 529, [1] p.) ; 15.5 cm. Single volume only. Subjects: Shakespeare, William 1564-1616. Histories. Poems. 1 Kg.
Published by Harper & Borthers,, New York, 1842
Seller: Ziern-Hanon Galleries, Frontenac, MO, U.S.A.
First Edition
Full Calf Leather. Condition: Poor. First American Edition. FIRST AMER. EDITION. Two volumes complete. Full contemporary (original) calf leather binding with a red and a black label on the spine of each volume. Moderate to heavy shelf wear. Volume I has the top & bottom caps pulled away and inexpertly repaired. Previous owner's name in pencil on front free endpage. Text block pulling away in Volume I. Marginal dampstaining to Volume II. Numerous plates. The tissue guard for the plates is heavily foxed the plates and the other pages only have light sporadic foxing. Reading copies only. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hardcover.
Published by THE NONESUCH PRESS, LONDON, 1953
Seller: booksonlinebrighton, Brighton, United Kingdom
Book First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Brown Buckram cloth quarter binding with gilt blocked titles and marbled paper effect cloth boards, 220 x 140 mm. Applied head and tail bands,1953 1st printing thus by The Nonesuch press established by Herbert Farjeon published and dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II in the year of the Coronation. Four Vols complete (Lacks slipcase). Please see our images of the actual set offered for sale for further details and condition. Very Good ( No notable shelf wear or soiling to cloth. No previous owner names or insc. No notable defects). A heavy set and an additional charge will need be made for overseas shipping.
Published by John G. Murdoch, 1876
Seller: Berkshire Rare Books, Maidenhead, United Kingdom
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Used - Good. 1st edition. Spine and binding intact though spine is exposed at the very top and worn at the foot. Outer edges of contents in gold gilt. Top edges show no foxing. Cover intact but shows a little wear on corners. Beautifully inscribed in copperplate on inside front cover by previous owner in 1877. Inside front cover appears stained by water which has seeped into the next page but beyond that - the title page is free from damage except for a little yellowing at the edges. Chrome lithographs intact and in very good condition.
Published by Bell and Daldy, London, 1865
Seller: Conover Books, Martinsville, VA, U.S.A.
Book First Edition
Leather Bound. Condition: Poor. No Jacket. First Edition. Edge and corner wear, scuffed and scratched, spine is detached as well as the front board and first few pages, corners are bumped and rubbed, shelf worn, foxing, chipping and fraying at the head and tail of the spine, some of the interior pages are loose (all pages are accounted for), former owner's name in ink on the title page, overall a very very rare and collectible used first edition! Extremely scarce and hard-to-find title! Brown leather binding with gilt lettering and illustration on the front board and spine. Gilt outer page edges. 943 historical pages! "No man of sound sense ever writes unintelligibly, and no true poet ever makes inharmonious verses. Shakespeare was both; and yet in his plays we meet with passages which are devoid of meaning, and lines without any poetic melody. The natural inference then is, that these defects are due not to him, but to transcribers and printers, and it becomes the duty of the critic to endeavour to discover and bring back the real words of the poet." ---- from the Preface.
Published by Published by Scott and Webster, London, 1833
First Edition
, the works of Shakespeare in 8 volumes, illustrated with 40 monochrome steel engravings across all volumes, first volume also with 3 portraits of Shakespeare and with prefaces by Rowe, Pope and Johnson along with a Life of Shakespeare and other articles on his works First Edition , very minor wear to spines, wear and marking to boards, generally pages clean with some spotting in places, front and rear prelims usually foxed, plates often foxed slightly and sometimes stained/tanned, overall a nice collection in very good condition , full calf, gilt borders on front and rear, gilt rules and floral decoration on spines, gilt titles and volume numbers to black leather title labels on spines, , octavo, 22 x 14cms Hardback ISBN:
Published by Leipzig / Leipsic, Verlag Ernest Fleischer,, 1833
Seller: Galerie für gegenständliche Kunst, Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany
Book First Edition
Vollständige Ausgabe in stattlichem Handeinband der Zeit: Ganzpergament / Pergament / GPgt / Pgt / 8vo im Format 19,5 x 26,8 cm mit Rückentitel und Linienverzierung von Deckel und Rücken ebenfalls in Goldprägung, in neuerem Pappschuber, dieser mit farbigem Handmarmorpapier bezogen. LX+1064 Seiten, mit einer Frontispiz-Abbildung (Kupferstich). - "Warum handgebunden? - Die wesentlichsten Vorzüge des guten Handbandes sind: Die einzelnen Druckbögen werden mit der Hand nach dem Schriftspiegel gefalzt. Die Bogenränder werden dadurch zwar ungleich, aber das Satzbild steht gerade. Um infolge der ungleichen Ränder ein späteres zu starkes Beschneiden mit der Maschine zu vermeiden, werden die Bogen einzeln, vorne und unten, mit der Pappschere auf ein Mittelmaß rauh beschnitten. Dadurch wird der Druckrand weitestgehend geschont. Als erste und letzte Lage wird dem Buche zum Schutze eine leere Papierlage hinzugefügt, welche mit einem feinen Leinen- oder echten Japanpapierfalz versehen ist. Geheftet wird der Handband nach sorgfältiger Auswahl des Heftzwirnes auf echten erhabenen oder aufgedrehten flachen Bünden und auf Pergamentriemchen (welche beim Pergamentbande durch den Rücken gezogen werden). Die Deckel werden in einem tiefen Falz angesetzt, mit den Bünden nach außen. Ein Herausreißen aus der Decke ist somit nur unter Zuhilfenahme von Werkzeug möglich. Zum Kapital wird kein schlappes maschinengewebtes Bändchen verwendet, sondern das Kapital wird von Hand mit dem Buchblock umstochen, gibt dadurch dem Rücken einen festen Abschluß und bietet zugleich dem späteren Ledereinschlag ("Häubchen") die Unterlage. Als Einbandmaterial kommen sumachgares, lichtechtes Saffian, Kalbleder, vereinzelt auch Rindsleder, ferner naturelles und weißes Schweinsleder sowie Kalbspergament zur Verwendung. Ein mit der Hand hergestelltes, dazupassendes Überzugpapier sowie Handvergoldung oder Blinddruck am Rücken ergänzen das Werk nach außen. Ein solcher Einband entspricht allen Anforderungen, die an einen Gebrauchsband gestellt werden können." Aus einem alten Prospekt von Richard Hönn, ehem. Handbinderei des Verlages Albert Langen, Werkstatt für feine Buchbinder-und Lederarbeiten in München, Dienerstrasse 14. - Englische Kunstbuchbinderei im 19. Jahrhundert, Pergamentband, Pergamentausgabe, Pergament-Handband, Ganzpergament-Handeinband, englische Literatur im 16. Jahrhundert. - Pergament-Vorzugsausgabe / Erstausgabe in guter Erhaltung Versand an Institutionen auch gegen Rechnung Sprache: Deutsch Gewicht in Gramm: 2000.
Published by Printed for the company of Booksellers, Dublin, Ireland, 1783
Seller: Brainerd Phillipson Rare Books, Holliston, MA, U.S.A.
Association Member: SNEAB
First Edition Signed
Charmingly bound in full, supple leather with a moroccan label printed in gold on the spine. Well worn and rubbed along the edges and corners, this volume has the patina of time reflecting over two centuries of care. The hinges have been expertly strengthened. A bookplate has been removed from the front paste-down resulting in the loss of some paper. With an "R" and "No. 154"in ink written at the edge of the space.The top 1" of the front endpaper has been neatly torn off. Signed elegantly in ink over the preface by "Rebecca Parker's" and "Margaret Parker's"; also signed "Rebecca Parker" on the first page of the text beneath the title: The Beauties of Shakespeare. The binding is tight and the text (275 pages) is complete with some foxing to the preliminary pages and one or two stains and a small piece missing from the bottom corners of 2 pages-- 33 and 153, not affecting the text. A serviceable copy of this uncommon first Irish edition. An fascinating copy of the first Irish edition of The Beauties of Shakespeare: taking advantage of the national boundaries of copyright, this edition reissued pirated the second London/ Kearsley edition with a modified title page and numbering for the Irish English-reading market. It is a different selection from that compiled by William Dodd. Not as rare as the London editions: ESTC lists 3 copies in England (Birmingham Central Libraries, BL, Cambridge), two in Ireland (NLI and TCL) and 6 in the US (Harvard, UCL Irvine, Spencer Research Library, University of Michigan & the Harry Ransom Center (2 copies) (ESTC N32782; Jaggard, p.562). Beauties were popular books that doubled as entertainment and instruction. With the legal death of perpetual copyright the literary marketplace opened-up, with such compilations allowing the work of venerated authors to be incorporated into educational books and titles for children (as is evident here with a number of the PO inscriptions and doodles done in younger hands). Though his book selling career was tumultuous, George Kearsley (1739-1790) did see success as a Beauties publisher, with editions of his The Beauties of Johnson (1781) appearing for the next 70 years (much to Johnson's disgruntlement) (ODNB).Quair Books The First Irish Edition (reissuing the second Kearsley/ London edition of 1783).
Published by Printed by John Exshaw., Dublin., 1794
Seller: Sapience Bookstore, Hexham, United Kingdom
Book First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Very good. Beautifully bound in contemporaneous full tree calf with gilt tooled borders and gilt tooling and calf tiles to spines. The calf to the joints is often cracked or cracking but the bindings are all very solid and well cared for and preserved. New calf tiles have replaced missing originals in many instances and many volumes have a/multiple vertical crack/s down the calf to the spines which has been artfully repaired. Several of the volumes also have the headbands and top rim of calf missing from spines. Gilt inner dentelles. Marbled endpapers. Armorial bookplate of 'Stephen Glynne Williams' to each front pastedown. Minor foxing to outermost extremities of some of the volumes. Illustrated with engraved frontispiece to volume I and 2 further plates. 12 3/4".
Published by Bioren & Madan, 1795
Seller: BookManBookWoman Books, Nashville, TN, U.S.A.
Book First Edition
Leather. Condition: Fair. 1st Edition. Stated First American Edition.Shelf 1086 Volume 1 only with a likeness of Shakespeare from the collection of his Grace the Duke of Chandos (probably the first printed image of Shakespeare in America). Philadelphia. Printed and Sold by Bioren & Madan 1795. Volume one only of the 8 volume set. Paper browning; foxing; boards held in place by string type binding; front board held in place by only one string and close to separating; first few pages close to separating; top one inch of title page missing; horizontal closed tear across title page; rear board loose but not to extent of front board; few early pages have creased/folded tips of bottom corner; wear to the surface, edges and corners of covers including bumped and rubbed corners, quarter inch of top and bottom of spine strip missing, surface and edge rubbing; Not a book club (BC) copy. No previous owner name, not ex library, not a remainder.
Published by Bioren & Madan, 1796
Seller: BookManBookWoman Books, Nashville, TN, U.S.A.
Book First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Good ++. First American Edition. STATED FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. Shelf 1086 Text clean; book tight; paper browning; foxing; leather covers; areas of rubbing.scuffing to surface, edges and corners of covers; chip to head and foot of spine strip; Not a book club (BC)copy. No previous owner name, not ex library.
Published by Bioren & Madan, Philadelphia, 1796
Seller: Sleepy Hollow Books, Huntington, VT, U.S.A.
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Good. First American Edition. Brown leather, well worn, cracked along spine, first few pages rough, text quite solid. A real treasure. FER ; Ex-Library.
Published by Bioren & Madan, Philadelphia, 1796
Seller: Sleepy Hollow Books, Huntington, VT, U.S.A.
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Good. First American Edition. Brown leather, well worn, cracked along spine, front cover coming loose, damp-stain to first 50 pages, first few pages rough, text quite solid. A real treasure. FER ; Ex-Library.
Published by Bioren & Madan, Philadelphia, 1796
Seller: Sleepy Hollow Books, Huntington, VT, U.S.A.
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Good. First American Edition. Brown leather, well worn, cracked along spine, damp-stain to bottom of first few paged, text quite solid. A real treasure. FER ; Ex-Library.
Published by Bioren & Madan, Philadelphia, 1796
Seller: Sleepy Hollow Books, Huntington, VT, U.S.A.
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Good. First American Edition. Brown leather, well worn, cracked along spine, damp-stain to top of first few paged, text quite solid. A real treasure. FER ; Ex-Library.
Published by London F.C. and J. Rivington; et al 1821, 1821
Seller: Buddenbrooks, Inc., Newburyport, MA, U.S.A.
First Edition
21 volumes. The First Edition of Boswell s Malone Edition, a highly important printing of the bard's works. This copy with very interesting and established provenance. The set was owned by Edward Weeks, member of an old Boston and New England family and long-time editor of The Atlantic where he wrote a column for many years entitled "The Perpatetic Reviewer." Previous to Mr. Weeks, the set was owned by the aviator, Louis Bleriot, the first person to fly across the English Channel. His signature is in one of the volumes. With engraved frontispiece portraits of Shakespeare in Volume I, II and III, engraved illustration of the Globe and folding leaves in Vol. III, with steel-engraved plate in Vol. VIII, a large folding engraved plate in Vol. XVI, and printed music in Vol. XVII. 8vo, handsomely bound in contemporary full smooth tan polished calf, the covers gilt decorated at the borders with a roll-tooled chain pattern, gilt decorated board edges, the spines attractively gilt decorated in elaborate panels within the compartments, raised bands gilt ruled, contrasting lettering labels in red and green in three compartments. A very handsome and stately set in proper bindings, internally very fresh, bindings with some minor age evidence, some restoration to some hinges on some volumes. A handsome and pleasing set. AN IMPORTANT AND EARLY PRINTING OF THE WORKS. This variorum edition not only forms a fine summery of the cumulative scholarship on Shakespeare during the 18th century but has time and again been called the foundation of modern Shakespearean scholarship. James Boswell, the son of Johnson s biographer, had a hard task in ordering Malone s papers - "I may add", he states in his 50 page introduction, "that it is not everyone who could have deciphered his notes." Along with all of Malone s material this set contains three full volumes of scholarly works including the prefaces of all of the major editions of the previous century, more then one life of Shakespeare, Boswell s life of Malone, histories of the stage, Shakespeare s will, Coat of Arms and other relative documents to the Bards life and extensive notes on and from the modern editions. In addition to all of this material is the extensive and very useful Glossarial Index and an Addenda. No less then 35 publishers joined forces to produce these volumes and it is alone among the variorum editions to include a volume of Poems. Its influence was such that many years later the Sette of Odd Volumes, a renowned bibliophile dining club, limited its membership to 21 stating this in its list of rules; "The Sette of Odd Volumes to consist of twenty one, this being the number of volumes of the variorum Shakespeare of 1821".
Published by F.C. & Rivington, London, 1821
Seller: Booklegger's Fine Books ABAA, Park Ridge, IL, U.S.A.
First Edition
Condition: Fine. A handsome 21 volumes complete 3/4 leather bound with marbled boards and end papers, Malone's Variorum Shakespeare. Considered one of the finest scholarly Boswell/Malone editions. First printing, thus. Five raised bands to spines. Top edge gold gilt. No cracked hinges. No bumped corners. Although, one volume has very light rubbing to corner. No bookplates or ownership signatures. A lovely set which will cost extra to ship. See All Pictures.
Published by Philadelphia. Printed and Sold by Bioren & Madan 1795, 1795
Seller: Riverby Books, Fredericksburg, VA, U.S.A.
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. The Plays and Poems of William Shakspeare. Corrected from the latest and best London edition, with notes by Samuel Johnson, L.L.D. To which are added a Glossary and the Life of the Author Embellished with a striking likeness from the collection of his Grace the Duke of Chandos. First American Edition. Philadelphia. Printed and Sold by Bioren & Madan 1795 4 volumes only of the 8 volume set. Hardcovers. Bound in full leather with maroon spine labels for the titles and black ovals for the volume numbers. These appear to be the original eighteen century American bindings. Binding are good and tight, except for volume 1 where the front hinge is cracked. Endpapers have many ownership names on them, mostly that of George Johnston. The name John Johnston appears several times as well, as doess the name Hugh. The word Shakespeare is written on the foreedges of two of the volumes. Pages are somewhat foxed. Bindings are tight and still attractive. The most famous Johnston family in American were the fur traders John Johnston and his Native American wife raised their children with a famously fine library of classical titles, such at these. That does not, however, mean that this set belonged to him; Johnston was not an uncommon name. Volume 1. xlviii + 384 pages. This volumes contains the engraved portrait, preface the American edition, Life of Shakespeare including his will, glossary and the plays: The Tempest, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Merry Wives of Windsor, Measure for Measure, and The Comedy of Errors. There is a tattered bookplate on the inside front cover with name George Johnston written in it. The names George and John Johnston are signed on the first blank as well. On the inside front cover there is a little doodle of two characters that seems to be made from the letters in the word george. Front hinge cracked, but holding tight. Volume 4. Printed 1796. Contains King John, Richard II, Henry IV part 1, Henry IV part 2, Henry V. 447 pages. A lot of writing on the blank pages. The names Geo. Scott, Pe Johnston, John J., George Johnston s Book bought 1801. On the final blank, Shakespeare s name is written three times and John Falstaff s once. Volume 5. Printed 1796. Contains all three parts of Henry VI, and Richard III. 392 pages. George Johnston s name appears several times. Volume 6. Printed 1796. Contains King Henry VIII, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra. 388 pages. George Johnston s name appears at the front. On the back blank there are several more names, John Johnston, George Johnston, Hugh Sarrence and others. An attractive set of the first American printing of Shakespeare. Half a set anyway. Please email for photos.
Published by Bioren & Madan, Philadelphia, PA, 1795
Seller: BookScene, Hull, MA, U.S.A.
First Edition
Leather Bound. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket (as issued). First Edition. 1795. Corrected From the Latest and Best London Editions, With Notes By Samuel Johnson, L.L.D. to Which Are Added, a Glossary and the Life of the Author. First American printing of the works of Shakespeare. Imbellished with a striking Likeness from the Collection of his Grace the Duke of Chandos. 1st American Printing. Volumes 1,3,4,5,6,7 ONLY of 8 volume set. Full leather bound, boards undecorated, spine has deep-red title band and black edition band, with gold lettering, stars and bands. Plain endpapers and page edges. Volume One has frontispiece portrait of Shakespeare. All title pages state 'First American Edition', with a date of 1795 or 1796. Some spine ends have small leather loss, to level of top or bottom of text block. All hinges are intact but very tender, with some cracking along spine/board borders. Page ends fairly clean with only minor age toning. Text blocks are firmly bound. Small ancient previous owner name on all title pages. Many pages clear of foxing, but light foxing or tanning throughout. RBR5G.
Published by Bioren and Madan, Philadelphia, 1795
Seller: Donald A. Heald Rare Books (ABAA), New York, NY, U.S.A.
First Edition
8 Volumes. 12mo. (6 1/2 x 3 3/4 inches). Vol.1: Title [2] Frontispiece [2] [i-iii] iv-xlviii, [1-3] 4-384. 432 pp. Vol. 2: [1-7] 8-412. 412 pp. Vol. 3: [1-7] 8-432. 432 pp. Vol. 4: [1-7] 8-447 [1]. 448 pp. Vol. 5: [1-7] 8-392. 392 pp. Vol. 6: [1-7] 8-388. 388 pp. Vol. 7: [1-7] 8-452. 452 pp. Vol. 8: [5] 8-304, [i-iii] iv [5-7] 8-128. 432 pp. Contemporary tree sheep, rebacked, preserving spines in six compartments ruled gilt with red and brown morocco lettering-pieces in second and fourth compartments and gilt foliate in rest, [SHAKSPEARE'S | WORKS] in second compartment and volume number in fourth compartment. Some early ownership signatures on titles A complete copy of the rare first American edition of the works of Shakespeare, here spelled "Shakspeare." This is the first edition to be printed outside the British Isles, with the first engraving of Shakespeare printed in the New World, in contemporary bindings in fine condition. "Old World, he is not only thine! Our New World too has part, in his stupendous mind and heart." - Inscription on a Shakespeare statue in Central Park, erected 1872 In a time of high anti-British sentiment in the newly-formed United States, after the American Revolutionary War and before the War of 1812, Joseph Hopkinson, son of Founding Father Francis Hopkinson, decided to edit and publish an eight-volume set of that most English of writers, William Shakespeare. Later to be a US Congressman, Joseph brought out the first three volumes in 1795, and the remaining five in 1796. Joseph, whose father was also America's first composer, wrote the preface and "Life of the Author," marking the first publication of American literary criticism of Shakespeare. Befitting an American, Hopkinson, in his preface, takes issue with the competing "authoritative" British editorial interpretations of Shakespeare, in favor of a less-guided, more individual reckoning with his writing and its meaning. It was only sixty years prior, in 1730, that an American audience first saw a performance of a Shakespeare play, an amateur production of Romeo and Juliet in New York. At that point, Shakespeare had been dead for 114 years. It would seem that part of American tardiness on this matter was due to conservative public morality, as the preface to the first American edition is consumed with defending Shakespeare's plays against claims of moral indecency. Hopkinson assures his readership that the poet is a genius, if still yet imperfectly known, and asides, his contemporaries were even more base: "[W]e contend that none of his personages are expressly drawn to recommend vice, and that his plots are never, like those of Farquhar, and others, in a state of oppostition to conjugal virtue. His works indeed abound with exquisite maxims of morality." The stipple engraved frontispiece portrait of Shakespeare is the first published image of the author in America. The engraver, Robert Field, was a British artist, trained at the Royal Academy, who worked in Philadelphia, and made engravings of images of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Field first appeared in America in 1794 and worked in the young country for over a decade, spending time in Washington DC, and later, Canada and Jamaica. In a 1927 guide to Field's work, the author Harry Piers calls Field's Shakespeare portrait, "a poor reproduction of the original, and does not equal Field's other engravings" but to the modern eye there is a freshness to the less restrained marking method in Field's engraving that evokes the populism of Shakespeare's work and brings him to life. As Anna Kerr at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Library writes, Shakespeare, from this first American edition forward, became imbricated in our nation's public life, inseparable from the United States and its conception of itself: "This first American edition, nonetheless, foreshadows the American engagement with Shakespeare throughout history, by people from every walk of life. Abraham Lincoln, for example, invoked the words of Shakespeare as political rhetoric during the Civil War, even as soldiers from both sides of the conflict performed his plays in between battles. Pioneers, miners, and farmers moving West often performed his plays as a form of entertainment during times of hardship. African-American actors and playwrights developed their own theatres in the early 19th century, from which Ira Aldridge, the noted Shakespearian actor, found his beginning, and subsequent immigrant movements to the United States have continued to engage with Shakespeare as a means of sharing in the American spirit, from Yiddish King Lear to Kabuki Macbeth." Contents: Vol. 1. Frontispiece; Title; Preface; The Life of Shakspeare; Shakspeare's Will Extracted from the Registry of the Archbishop of Canterbury; A Glossary, Explaining the Obsolete and Difficult Words in Shakspeare's Works; Tempest; Two Gentlemen of Verona; Merry Wives of Windsor; Measure for Measure; Comedy of Errors; Erratum. Vol. 2. Much Ado About Nothing, Love's Labours Lost, Midsummer-Night's Dream, Merchant of Venice, As You Like It. Vol. 3. Taming of the Shrew, All's Well that Ends Well, Twelfth Night: or, What You Will, The Winter's Tale, Macbeth. Vol. 4. King John, Richard II, Henry IV, Part I; Henry IV, Part 2; Henry V. Vol. 5. Henry VI, Part I; Henry VI, Part 2; Henry VI, Part 3; Richard III. Vol. 6. King Henry VIII, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra. Vol. 7. Timon of Athens, Troilus and Cressida, Titus Anronicus, Cymbeline, King Lear. Vol. 8. Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, Advertisement, Dedication, and The Author's Poems including "Venus and Adonis," "Tarquin and Lucrece," Sonnets, "Passionate Pilgrim," and "A Lover's Complaint." Evans 29496, 31180. ESTC W28892. Jaggard, p.507. Piers, Robert Field: Portrait Painter in Oils, Miniature and Water-Colours and Engraver, pp. 16, 194. Sabin 79727.