Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies … the Second Impression
by SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM
- Used
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Stevenson, Maryland, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
The First Folio, published in 1623, was such a success that just nine years later the collection was printed again. The Second Folio venture was undertaken by a group of booksellers and rights holders, some of whom had been members of the First Folio syndicate. The massive book includes 36 plays, half of which had not been printed prior to the First Folio, as well as commendatory verses and dedicatory epistles by contemporary admirers of Shakespeare. One of these, John Milton's "An Epitaph on the admirable Dramaticke Poet, W. Shakespeare," was Milton's first appearance in print.
For almost four centuries Shakespeare's transcendent genius has been recognized. In 1623 Ben Jonson wrote of Shakespeare, "He was not of an age, but for all time." In 1840 Thomas Carlyle called Shakespeare, "the chief of all poets hitherto, the greatest intellect who, in our recorded world, has left record of himself in the way of literature." And Harold Bloom recently wrote, "There is no substitute for Shakespeare . . . Shakespeare is the Western Canon."
With the First Folio now commanding $10,000,000, a Second Folio in an appealing early binding is one of the most desirable books in English literature.
Folio. 13 x 8 ½ inches. Title-page with the engraved portrait of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout, with a short tear. Paneled calf ca. 1700, rebacked preserving portions of original spine, recornered, later endpapers, red sprinkled edges. Some restoration to first and last leaves, a few paper flaws and repairs, early handwritten notes on first two and last leaves. Some spotting and staining. An excellent, tall copy. STC 22274e.3 (the reissue with the A2.5 (title and its conjugate) printed on thicker paper, with "Blacke beare" in the imprint).
Provenance: 18th-century armorial bookplate of the Earl of Rosebery.
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Details
- Bookseller
- 19th Century Rare Book and Photograph Shop (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 32820580
- Title
- Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies … the Second Impression
- Author
- SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Printed by Tho. Cotes, for Robert Allot
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1632
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
19th Century Rare Book and Photograph Shop
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
19th Century Rare Book and Photograph Shop
About 19th Century Rare Book and Photograph Shop
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,...
- 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...
- 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....
- 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...
- Rebacked
- having had the material covering the spine replaced. ...
- 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...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...