Prolusions; or, select Pieces of antient Poetry, compil'd with great Care from their several Originals, and offer'd to the Publick as Specimens of the Integrity that should be found in the Editions of worthy Authors.

[CAPELL, Edward]

Published by London: Printed for J. and R. Tonson, 1760

About this Item

Sole edition, 8vo, (iv), xi, (i), 23, (1), 23, (1), 13, (3), 93, (15), 81, (3) pp. Some occasional foxing, marbled endpapers. Later gilt decorated black morocco, a.e.g., some faint rubbing, a very good copy. Including "The Wife" by John Overbury and Sir John Davis' Poems, but notable for the inclusion of Edward III, not previously published since 1599, which he attributed to Shakespeare, something that was controversial for centuries and is only now beginning to gain some acceptance. The owner of most of the early Shakespeare editions, Capell completed a full transcript of Shakespeare's plays which led to a printed edition appearing later in the same decade. This work was "published. as a manifesto. offered to the public as specimens of the integrity that should be found in the editions of worthy authors'. the printing and punctuation (with a system of signs for asides, gestures, changes of address and even for irony) caused a minor stir in literary circles." (ODNB). Printed by Dryden Leach, this was one of the first books to be published in England without catchwords, and on wove paper.

Seller Inventory # 48655

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Prolusions; or, select Pieces of antient Poetry, compil'd with great Care from their several Originals, and offer'd to the Publick as Specimens of the Integrity that should be found in the Editions of worthy Authors.
• Publisher: London: Printed for J. and R. Tonson
• Publication Date: 1760
• Seller catalogs:
  • Literature