A Preliminary List of Books and Manuscripts Relating to the Life and Writings of William Shakespeare, Forming the Collection of Marsden J. Perry of Providence (title on front wrapper: "A Preliminary List of the Shakespearean Collection of Marsden J. Perry")

IMPORTANT PRIVATELY-PRINTED AMERICAN LIBRARY CATALOGUE: MARSDEN J. PERRY'S "PRELIMINARY LIST". COPY NUMBER 3 OUT OF 10, NUMBERED BY HAND IN RED PEN. "The edition of this Preliminary List is strictly limited to Twenty copies, ten in quarto and ten in octavo." One of 20 privately-printed copies, no. 3 out of the first 10 numbered luxury copies in large 4to format. [BIBLIOGRAPHIES; SHAKESPEARIANA] PERRY, Marsden Jasiel. A preliminary list of books and manuscripts relating to the life and writings of William Shakespeare, forming the collection of Marsden J. Perry of Providence Providence, Rhode Island, Privately printed, 1891. FIRST and ONLY LIMITED EDITION. Large 4to. 133 pages (i.e. 266 pages) 28 cm. Verso pages blank. Publisher's original printed wrappers. Excellent condition. Probably, one of the last few copies in private hands, given that OCLC lists 6 locations for this issue of 10 luxury copies (Harvard, Brown, Grolier, Penn, SLV and obviously the Folger). OCLC no. 24631908. "The purpose of the owner of this Collection in printing this preliminary list, is to facilitate the purchasing of additions to the collection; for this end, only sufficient details are given to indicate the condition of copies." Marsden Perry's Shakespeare collection is legendary and was one of the finest of its kind to have ever been assembled. He was an American financier and electricity and streetcar magnate who lived in Providence, RI (in the former John Carter Brown House); collector of rare Shakespeare editions, many of which, after being purchased by Henry Folger, are now at the Folger Shakespeare Lirbary in Washington D.C.…