SHAKESPEARE, William (1564-1616). Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies . London: H. Herringman, E. Brewster and R. Bentley, 1685. 2 (358 x 224mm). Title and double-column text within rule borders, ornamental initials and vignettes. Engraved portrait frontispiece of the author by Martin Droeshout (Repaired tears in title and a few other leaves into text but without loss, extreme fore-margin repaired in frontispiece and title, stain on Mm5r and Qq5 and elsewhere, occasional light dampstain, tear into headline on Nn3.) Contemporary vellum gilt, wide brass clasps, red speckled edges (lightly rubbed, minor restorations at hinges), modern red half morocco box, spine lettered with title and 'The famous Lord Carnarvon copy, being the only one known in original vellum binding with original clasps'. Provenance : a few pen trials; George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon (1866-1923, autograph inscription dated 1887 on flyleaf 'This is a perfect copy of the 4th Edition and has a considerable additional value from being in the original binding'; Porchester bookplate, collection sold to Edouard Rahir in 1904); Charles H. Babcock (bookplate). THE FOURTH FOLIO OF THE GREATEST WORK IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. Only about half of Shakespeare's plays appeared in print in his lifetime, and most of those in 'bad' quarto editions resulting from reported texts only. The first folio edition of 1623 attempted to establish a reliable text and a complete corpus (although it omitted Pericles ) and thus was probably responsible for the preservation of at least 16 plays which may otherwise have been lost. Pericles joined the corpus in the third folio edition, of which the fourth folio is a reprint. The present copy has the variant title omitting Chiswell from the imprint as described by Greg and Pforzheimer. The present copy previously formed part of the choice library of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon. Carnarvon is today best remembered as the Egyptologist who, together with Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, a discovery 'unique in the annals of excavation' (DNB). Carnarvon's extensive library was sold to the Parisian bookdealer, Edouard Rahir in 1904; this volume of Shakespeare does not appear in his privately-printed Catalogue of books selected from the library of an English amateur (1893-7), which contained a very limited selection of primarily French books. Greg III: 1119; Pforzheimer 910; Wing S-2915; PMM (1623 edition).
SHAKESPEARE, William (1564-1616). Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies . London: H. Herringman, E. Brewster and R. Bentley, 1685. 2 (358 x 224mm). Title and double-column text within rule borders, ornamental initials and vignettes. Engraved portrait frontispiece of the author by Martin Droeshout (Repaired tears in title and a few other leaves into text but without loss, extreme fore-margin repaired in frontispiece and title, stain on Mm5r and Qq5 and elsewhere, occasional light dampstain, tear into headline on Nn3.) Contemporary vellum gilt, wide brass clasps, red speckled edges (lightly rubbed, minor restorations at hinges), modern red half morocco box, spine lettered with title and 'The famous Lord Carnarvon copy, being the only one known in original vellum binding with original clasps'. Provenance : a few pen trials; George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon (1866-1923, autograph inscription dated 1887 on flyleaf 'This is a perfect copy of the 4th Edition and has a considerable additional value from being in the original binding'; Porchester bookplate, collection sold to Edouard Rahir in 1904); Charles H. Babcock (bookplate). THE FOURTH FOLIO OF THE GREATEST WORK IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. Only about half of Shakespeare's plays appeared in print in his lifetime, and most of those in 'bad' quarto editions resulting from reported texts only. The first folio edition of 1623 attempted to establish a reliable text and a complete corpus (although it omitted Pericles ) and thus was probably responsible for the preservation of at least 16 plays which may otherwise have been lost. Pericles joined the corpus in the third folio edition, of which the fourth folio is a reprint. The present copy has the variant title omitting Chiswell from the imprint as described by Greg and Pforzheimer. The present copy previously formed part of the choice library of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon. Carnarvon is today best remembered as the Egyptologist who, together with Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, a discovery 'unique in the annals of excavation' (DNB). Carnarvon's extensive library was sold to the Parisian bookdealer, Edouard Rahir in 1904; this volume of Shakespeare does not appear in his privately-printed Catalogue of books selected from the library of an English amateur (1893-7), which contained a very limited selection of primarily French books. Greg III: 1119; Pforzheimer 910; Wing S-2915; PMM (1623 edition).
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
