![The Works of Mr William Shakespear In Six Volumes Adorn'd With Cuts Revised and Corrected with an Account of the Life and Writings of the Author](https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/545/099/1363099545.0.m.jpg)
The Works of Mr William Shakespear In Six Volumes Adorn'd With Cuts Revised and Corrected with an Account of the Life and Writings of the Author
by William Shakespeare; Nicholas Rowe
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller
-
BATH, Somerset, United Kingdom
Item Price
£17,000.00£15,300.00
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Jacob Tonson, 1709. First edition. Leather. Very Good. 8" by 5". None. Six volumes of Tonson's dramatic works of Shakespeare. Volumes I-V are in uniform bindings as a set, with the pages trimmed down. Volume VI is bound in a different half calf binding with larger page sizes due to their not being trimmed as closely as volumes I-V. The sixth volume could be trimmed and bound to match.This is the first edition of this work, edited by Nicholas Rowe. It is the first edition of Shakespeare's works to be published in the eighteenth century and has been referred to as the first 'modern' edition of the plays.As stated to the title page of volume I this set was originally published as six volumes as seen here. A seventh volume was published by a different publisher, E Curll, a year later in 1710 which added his poetry and critical remarks on his plays by C Gildon and is sometimes seen bound together with this set. This set contains all six volumes of Shakespeare's dramatic works edited by Rowe and is as originally published.Due to this work, Rowe is widely considered to be the first editor of Shakespeare. His practical knowledge helped him to divide the plays into both scenes and acts, including the entrances and exits of the players. He was also one of the first to prefix each play with a list of the dramatis personae and to write a 'life of the author'.The work is based on the somewhat textually corrupt Fourth Folio.To volume VI signature A4 under the 'here' of 'where.' and to volume I signature 'A' under the 'G of Goodness'. This copy is not the lineatim reprint issued in the same year. [ESTC T138296]Rowe basing his edition on the Fourth Folio paved the way for eighteenth century editors of Shakespeare, as subsequently they tended to use the Fourth Folio as their basis. This includes Alexander Pope.Jacob Tonson was an eighteenth-century English bookseller and publisher best known for having obtained a copyright on the plays of William Shakespeare by buying the rights of the heirs of the publisher of the Fourth Folio after the Statue of Anne came into effect, the first statute to provide for copyright regulated by the government rather than private partiesEach play has a separate title page with the imprint 'printed in the year 1709'Volume I The Tempest, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Measure for Measure, The Comedy of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, Love's Labour's Lost. Volume II: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, Taming of the Shrew, All's Well that Ends Well, Twelfth night, The Winter's TaleVolume III: King John, King Richard II, King Henry IV Part I, Henry IV Part II, King Henry V, King Henry VI Part I, King Henry VI Part II. Volume IV: King Henry VI Part III, Richard III, King Henry VIII, Troilus and Cressida, Coriolanus, Titus Andronicus.Volume V: Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello.VI: Anthony and Cleopatra, Cymbeline, Pericles Prince of Tyre, London Prodigal, Tomas Lord Cromwell, Sir John Oldcastle, The Puritan, a Yorkshire Tragedy and Locrine.This is the first ever illustrated works of Shakespeare, with a plate per play and frontispiece to each volume.With a frontispiece and eight plates to volume I, seven plates to volume II, seven plates to volume III, six plates to volume IV, frontispiece and seven plates to volume V and a frontispiece and nine plates to volume VI.Volumes II, III and IV are bound without the frontispiece of Shakespeare (indentical in each volume). Volume I, V and VI, have this frontispiece present.Volume II, uses Midsummer Night's Dream frontis instead, volume III uses King John frontis as main frontispiece, volume IV uses the frontis to Henry VI part 3. With the bookplate of Sir Archibald Grand of Monymoske, Bart, to the front pastedown of volume I. Grant was a politician and agricultural improver. From the antiquarian library of Christopher Rowe. Christopher Rowe was a schoolmaster in Norwich and then in Bristol. Throughout his career he inspired many to love literature, history and music. He was a specialist on 17th century printer and bookseller, Humphrey Moseley and began his, unfortunately unfinished, PhD dissertation on him.Collated complete save for the three duplicates of the Shakespeare frontis to II,III and IV In full calf bindings with gilt stamping to spine. Volume VI is half calf binding with marbled boards. Volumes I-V are rebacked with original boards preserved. Externally, generally smart with rubbing to the boards and spines. Bumping to the extremities. Rubbing to volume VI is heavier to the boards. Slightly chipping to spine label of volume VI. Prior owner's bookplate to front pastedown or endpaper of all volumes, Christopher Rowe. Prior owner's bookplate to volume I, Sir Archibald Grand. Prior owner's inscription to recto of front endpaper and to title page, James Macphereson, Ardesier. J Macphereson's inscription to the recto of front endpaper to volume IV. 'Volume the Fifth' to volume V has been removed through scratching of the paper to volume V. Internally, all volumes are firmly bound. Pages are very slightly age toned, mostly to edges, and relatively light spotting throughout, moreso to page edges apart from volume VI which has heavier foxing to the last few pages. Some offsetting to title pages. Very Good
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Details
- Bookseller
- Rooke Books
(GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- EXP1-A-1
- Title
- The Works of Mr William Shakespear In Six Volumes Adorn'd With Cuts Revised and Corrected with an Account of the Life and Writings of the Author
- Author
- William Shakespeare; Nicholas Rowe
- Illustrator
- None
- Format/Binding
- Leather
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Jacob Tonson
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1709
- Size
- 8" by 5"
- Keywords
- Shakespear Shakspear Shakspeare Nicholas Rowe Shakspear Tonson
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
Rooke Books
Books are sent on approval and may be returned in like condition for any reason within 14 days of receipt. Responsibility of return to be with the purchaser.
About the Seller
Rooke Books
Biblio member since 2007
BATH, Somerset
About Rooke Books
Welcome to Rooke Books Antiquarian Bookseller
We are a small team dedicated to bringing you very scarce books at reasonable prices. We specialise in rare and hard to come by works on all subjects over the last 500 years, together with modern first editions and decorative sets and bindings. Our library has something for every interest and specialism. We deliver worldwide using a fully tracked and insured courier delivery service.
Where are We?
Based in the literary city of Bath, our offices are housed in the Eastern Dispensary. Built in 1845, the building originally existed as a charitable institution providing medical care. The building now houses our collection of over twenty thousand books and has five full time members of staff.
We are a small team dedicated to bringing you very scarce books at reasonable prices. We specialise in rare and hard to come by works on all subjects over the last 500 years, together with modern first editions and decorative sets and bindings. Our library has something for every interest and specialism. We deliver worldwide using a fully tracked and insured courier delivery service.
Where are We?
Based in the literary city of Bath, our offices are housed in the Eastern Dispensary. Built in 1845, the building originally existed as a charitable institution providing medical care. The building now houses our collection of over twenty thousand books and has five full time members of staff.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Folio
- A folio usually indicates a large book size of 15" in height or larger when used in the context of a book description. Further,...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Chipping
- A defect in which small pieces are missing from the edges; fraying or small pieces of paper missing the edge of a paperback, or...
- Rebacked
- having had the material covering the spine replaced. ...
- Marbled boards
- ...
- Spine Label
- The paper or leather descriptive tag attached to the spine of the book, most commonly providing the title and author of the...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Reprint
- Any printing of a book which follows the original edition. By definition, a reprint is not a first edition.
- 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...
- 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...
- 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....
- 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...
- A.N.
- The book is pristine and free of any defects, in the same condition as ...
- Plate
- Full page illustration or photograph. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e.,...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- 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...
- Recto
- The page on the right side of a book, with the term Verso used to describe the page on the left side.