Mr. VVilliam Shakespeares comedies, histories, and tragedies. : Published according to the true originall copies.

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Mr. VVilliam Shakespeares comedies, histories, and tragedies. : Published according to the true originall copies.

Plays

The second impression.

London : Printed by Tho. Cotes, for Robert Allot, and are to be fold [sic] at the signe of the Blacke Beare in Pauls Church-yard, 1632.

[20], 303, [1], 46, 49-100, [2], 69-232, 168, 269-419, [1] p. : 1 port. (engraving) ; 33 cm (fol.)

Colophon: Printed at London by Thomas Cotes, for John Smethwick, William Aspley, Richard Hawkins, Richard Meighen, and Robert Allot, 1632.

First issue, variant Ib, with [superscript pi]A5 recto ("Effigies" page) in state Ib--as formulated by William B. Todd, "Issues and states of the Second Folio and Milton's epitaph on Shakespeare," Studies in bibliography, v. 5 (1952-53), p. 81-108.

Signatures: [superscript pi]A⁶ *⁴ A-2B⁶ 2C² a-3c⁶ 3d⁴.

Pollard, A.W. Short-title catalogue of books printed in England, Scotland, & Ireland and of English books printed abroad, 1475-1640 (2nd ed.) (STC), 22274a
Greg, W.W. Bibliography of the English printed drama to the Restoration, p. 1113-15[dagger]

Great Britain -- England -- London.

STC 22274 Fo.2 no.03

Folger copy 3 is disbound and housed in two cases: in one case (37 cm.), the prelim. leaves through f5 as loose leaves, encapsulated; in the other case (33 cm.), f6 through the end. The loose leaves are embrittled to the point of disintegration, affecting text; lesser embrittlement continues into the other portion. Described in the 1890 octavo catalogue of the Warwick Castle Library Shakespeare Collection (Folger MS uncatalogued) as with "many pages very weak, and some broken".

Port. (on title page) in state 3.

Wanting leaves 2v2.5; leaves 2v3.4 duplicated.

Damp-stained, 2x6 ff.

Underlining and annotations on the order of copy-editing visible 2B2 ff., with some marginalia cropped. On a slip inscribed in the hand of James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps: "Instead of there being a 'few corrections' of the text in this remarkable volume, there are several hundred, many of them being of great interest." Described in Halliwell-Phillipps's Hand-list of ... Shakespeariana (1862), #107: "This annotated folio belonged to the late Mr. [Samuel Weller] Singer, and was purchased by me at his sale at the low price of 19l., its curiosity having escaped the notice of the auctioneers. Some of the old manuscript emendations are ingenious and perhaps sometimes right."

The recto of leaf [superscript pi]A1 (with the so-called "verses" on the verso) is inscribed in a seventeenth-century hand with a list of books and/or authors and: "Sold the 14th = of February 1649; this booke, and I warrant it to be of the best addition, and perfectt; booke; sold by me SI Sarah Iones hir marke = widdow = at the whit = hors = book = seller in the littl = Britton, in london;" This copy is described in the sale catalogue of the library of Samuel Weller Singer, III (Sotheby, May 16, 1860 ff.), #1474, as "wanting the verses", so this leaf evidently is supplied from another copy.

Described in the 1890 folio catalogue of the Warwick Castle Library Shakespeare Collection (Folger MS M.b. 31) as "wanting the whole of signature CCC," so evidently the present gathering 3C is supplied from another copy.

Bookplate of Warwick Castle Shakespeare Library.