Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$832.56 + shipping
Description: New Edition 1709. This complete play has been taken at some time from the Complete Works in six volumes. This complete play in it's own right has te original Frontispiece and dated titlepage . One play from the Works of Shakespeare edited by Nicholas Rowe. The First edition of Shakespeare’s works to be edited and illustrated and the first Octavo edition. Rowe was the first to introduce the Dramatis Personae, create Scene and Act breaks and note the entrances and exits of the players. A rare and important work, the 1709 edition is the first published works of Shakespeare after the Folios and is credited with introducing Shakespeare to a wider audience and securing his place as the greatest writer in the English language. This play is bound in green buckram, with gilt titles to front and spine, in Fine condition, Book is very good++ and bright. Contents good. A good alternative to the ultra rare individual folio play. More images can be taken upon request. Ref 15629
Seller: Lasting Words Ltd, Northampton, UK, United Kingdom
William Shakespeare. The Life and Death of Richard III. Jacob Tonson, UK, 1709.
Price: US$960.65 + shipping
Description: New Edition 1709. This complete play has been taken at some time from the Complete Works in six volumes. This complete play in it's own right has te original Frontispiece and dated titlepage . One play from the Works of Shakespeare edited by Nicholas Rowe. The First edition of Shakespeare’s works to be edited and illustrated and the first Octavo edition. Rowe was the first to introduce the Dramatis Personae, create Scene and Act breaks and note the entrances and exits of the players. A rare and important work, the 1709 edition is the first published works of Shakespeare after the Folios and is credited with introducing Shakespeare to a wider audience and securing his place as the greatest writer in the English language. This play is bound in green buckram, with gilt titles to front and spine, in Fine condition, Book is very good++ and bright. Contents good. A good alternative to the ultra rare individual folio play. More images can be taken upon request. Ref 15630
Seller: Lasting Words Ltd, Northampton, UK, United Kingdom
Price: US$21774.68 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 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
Seller: Rooke Books PBFA, Bath, United Kingdom
Price: US$40000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: THE WORKS OF MR. WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR IN SIX VOLUMES: ADORN'D WITH CUTS was published in 1709 by Jacob Tonson & edited by Nicholas Rowe. They are the 1st edition of Shakespeare's plays published after the four folios. These are the first illustrated edition of Shakespeare's plays, 1st edition to indicate acts, scenes & dramatis personae, 1st to provide stage directions, 1st to include a formal biography of Shakespeare. Also includes THE WORKS OF MR. WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR. VOLUME THE SEVENTH. CONTAINING VENUS & ADONIS, TARQUIN & LUCRECE AND HIS MISCELLANY POEMS published in 1710 by Edmund Curll. "The significance of the 'volume the seventh' as has been generally understood, is in the fact that the book was intended as a supplementary volume to be sold to purchasers of the set of Rowe's Works of Shakespeare" (Alden, 1916). This octavo set is bound in full calf, with gilt & blind tooled covers, gilt tooled spines with five raised bands, gilt titles to spines. Frontispiece & plates present all volumes. The text block (19 cm) is laid paper. Endpapers are wove, indicating the set was bound after 1759. An owner's inscription on volume 5's title page reads "ex libris Georgii Trenthas(?) Talbot". The 14th Earl of Shrewsbury (George Talbot 1719-1787), lived about the same time these volumes were bound. The father of the Earl (George Talbot 1675-1733) died before these volumes were bound, given the use of wove paper. It seems likely that this set was owned by the 14th Earl. CONDITION - In all seven volumes there are no missing pages, no page tears, corners not bumped, hinges are sound, binding is tight. Calf on all boards in fine condition. Top & bottom edges of spines rubbed. Light toning throughout. No markings at all except as noted below in Vol 1 & 5. Vol 1: old bookseller's price in pencil on front pastedown & ink gift inscription on free front endpaper. Vol 2: occasional foxing. Vol 3: small scuff to spine, small stain pg. 1087, some foxing. Vol 4: 3/8" worming bottom of front hinge, ¼" spots pp. 1561-1562, some foxing. Vol 5: title page has ink in old hand "ex libris Georgii Trenthas(?) Talbot" . Plate facing Hamlet Play Title page has been hand-colored. Small scuff to spine, ¼" stain pp. 2182 & 2183, small ink stain on fore-edge of pp. 2383-2391 doesn't affect text, areas of foxing pg 2573 & 2641-2647. Vol 6: foxing on pp. 2661, 3771, 3185. Vol 7: worming like Vol 4, stain in dedication pages, some foxing. Overall a gorgeous set in very good condition. DISTINGUISHING POINTS: Vol.1-5 are first editions, conforming to ESTC T138294 for signatures, pagination & plates, and to Ford's "Shakespeare, 1700-1740" first issue criteria regarding collation & pagination errors. Vol. 6 conforms to ESTC T138297 & to Ford's Second Issue criteria. ESTC T138297 refers to this edition as a 'lineatim reprint (possibly surreptitious) of the ESTC T138294 edition of the same year'. However, UCLA Clark rare book library states "H.L. Ford in 'Shakespeare 1700-1740', Oxford, 1935, claims that there were 2 printings of Tonson's 1709 ed. However, a comparison of sets of this ed. with Ford's distinguishing points of the 2 printings reveals that each set is composed of sheets from both printings, and that in many cases individual vols. are also composed of sheets from both printings. Possibly the printings were not discrete." Vol. 7 (Poems) is described in ESTC T138298 as "Intended to accompany the 6v. Rowe edition of 1709." It conforms to ESTC T138298, which states: "Editor's dedication signed: S.N. The 'critical remarks' and 'An essay' are by Charles Gildon." Vol. 7 contains the same Dedication by Charles Gildon. According to Alden, "There has been considerable uncertainty as to the editor of the volume, some authorities referring it to Charles Gildon, known to be the author of the essays it contains, others to a mysterious 'S. N.,' because in some copies those initials are attached to the Dedication." SHIPMENT: free, via US Postal Service Registered mail only
Seller: Cedar Tree Antiques, Upland, CA, U.S.A.