THE NEW CENTURY SHAKESPEARE

Boston: Dana Estes and Company, 1900. Twenty volumes uniformly bound. This is the SPECIAL ROLFE EDITION, limited to TEN SETS, this being #2. "The Cambridge text from the latest edition of William Aldis Wright: with introductions, notes and glossaries to each play by Israel Gollancz, Editor of The Temple Shakespeare. This set is edited and contains a special introduction by Wm. J. Rolfe. The set was bound by Whitman Bennett. Covers are bordered in heavy fillet with corner theatrical faces, an inner narrow fillet, with a central vignette of Mr. Shakespeare in profile. Spines are in six panels with gilt titles and designs. Top edges gilt. Inner dentelles. Marbled endpapers. Printed on Japon vellum. Each volume provided with a frontispiece in two states, each with a captioned tissue-guard. Additional illustrations in each volume, all in two states with captioned tissue-guards. The New Century Shakespeare was also published in limited edition of 100 and 1000. We are unable to locate another set from this special edition of ten. The sets with higher limitation were printed in twenty-four volumes. We believe that the limited set of ten was published complete in twenty volumes. Volumes 21-24 included those plays ascribed to Shakespeare, a Life of Shakespeare, and additional glossary. The twenty volumes include all 37 of the plays with the Poems and Sonnets. Volume 2 shows evidence of old water-staining. Pages are quite pliable, some wrinkling, without any loss of paper. Plates show water-stain. Binding does not show any damage. All other volumes are in superb condition. This is a beautifully-crafted set, A rare find among the Bard's offerings. Postage will be extra.. Special ROLFE EDITION. Full Crimson Morocco. Nearly Fine/No Dust Jacket. Large Octavo.