Tales from Shakespear. Designed for the use of young persons.
by LAMB, Charles
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Holt, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Printed for Thomas Hodgkins at the Juvenile Library. 1807. First edition, first issue. Two volumes. 12mo. 165x100mm. Vol. I. ix [i.bl], [2], 235, [1 with T. Davison imprint]. 10 engravings. Vol. II. [4], 261, [3pp. adverts with the Hanway Street address]. 10 engravings. Contemporary calf, spines with red morocco labels lettered in gilt and small round black labels numbered in gilt. At head of spine, in gilt, is the Pelican of Mercy and the motto, "Pandite Coelestes Fortae". This is the crest of James Gibson of Ingliston, Writer to the Signet whose armorial bookplate is on the front pastedowns. Also with the label of Donald and Mary Hyde, who formed one of the great libraries of eighteenth-century literature and whose Samuel Johnson collection was donated to the Houghton Library at Harvard. Slight split to the head of joint with upper boards and corners a little bumped. Housed in a custom-made box. Internally very good but with some foxing, heavy to a few leaves in volume two. The illustrations (although unsigned and unattributed, they are almost certainly by the Irish artist William Mulready). An extremely nice copy of the rare first issue in a smart contemporary binding. With Mary providing the adaptations of the comedies and Charles the tragedies (the history plays and Roman plays were not adapted), Tales from Shakespear was one of the most popular books of the nineteenth century and the first to present Shakespeare's plays in a form suitable for children. Its popularity did much to broaden Shakespeare's appeal and ensure the flowering of his Victorian cult. The title page shows Charles Lamb as the sole author, Mary's contribution going unacknowledged until the seventh edition in 1838. A strange omission given that the book was published by William Godwin (Thomas Hodgkins was employed to run The Juvenile Library) whose strong-minded wife must, one would imagine, have lobbied for Mary's work to have been recognised.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Voewood Rare Books (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 4086
- Title
- Tales from Shakespear. Designed for the use of young persons.
- Author
- LAMB, Charles
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- London: Printed for Thomas Hodgkins at the Juvenile Library. 1807
- Date Published
- 1807
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
Voewood Rare Books
About the Seller
Voewood Rare Books
About Voewood Rare Books
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...