Catalogue of the Books Presented by Edward Capell to the Library of Trinity College in Cambridge

by Unknown

SHAKESPEARE, William.

The Birth of Merlin.... 1662. 4^o. See Rowley, William.

The Two Noble Kinsmen.... 1634. See Beaumont, Francis, and Fletcher, John.

Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. Published according to the True Originall Copies. [Portrait.] London Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed. Blount. 1623. [Colophon] Printed at the Charges of W. Iaggard, Ed. Blount, I. Smithweeke and W. Aspley, 1623.

F^o. (13 × 8¹⁄₂). *. 1.

Engraved portrait on titlepage, signed Martin Droeshout. Collation: A⁶, with titlepage inserted after A 1, 2 leaves unsigned, A-2B⁶2C²a-g⁶2g³h-x⁴, 2 leaves unsigned, ¶-2¶⁶, 1 leaf signed 3¶, 2a-2f⁶2g²2G⁶2h⁶2k-3b⁶, paged (irregularly and in three portions, beginning respectively on A 1, a 1 and 2a 1, in the last of which the numbering jumps from 156-257). Verses to the reader signed B. I. facing title. Titlepage with portrait. Epistle dedicatory to William Earl of Pembroke and Philip Earl of Montgomery, signed by Iohn Heminge and Henry Condell. Address to the readers, signed by the same. Commendatory verses signed Ben: Ionson and Hugh Holland. Table of contents (which omits 'Troilus and Cressida'). More commendatory verses signed L. Digges and I. M. List of the principal actors. The three parts, comedies, histories, and tragedies, have separate pagination and signatures. 'Troilus and Cressida' which is inserted at the head of the tragedies, is unpaged and occupies sigs. ¶-3¶ and the two unsigned leaves preceding them. The arrangement of the preliminary matter offers some difficulties. The only leaves signed are the third and fourth, A 2 and A 3, containing the epistle dedicatory and the address to the readers. The fifth leaf, containing Jonson's verses, certainly forms one sheet with A 3; and in the same way the sixth leaf, containing Holland's verses, certainly forms one sheet with A 2. It is further highly probable that the seventh leaf, containing the table of contents, forms one sheet with the verses signed B. I. (A 1), and that the titlepage is on a single leaf inserted; also that leaves eight and nine, containing the further commendatory verses and the list of actors, form one sheet together. As the present copy shows no trace of ever having been tampered with, the above arrangement is probably original. It should however be noted that in the Chatsworth copy the unsigned sheet here placed after quire A is there bound up in the middle. This may be the correct arrangement, but the copy is not in its original state. In the Grylls copy the preliminary matter has been rearranged. For the irregularities in the making up of the volume and the variations presented by different copies see Mr. Sidney Lee's Introduction to the Oxford Facsimile. The first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays, in which twenty appeared for the first time.

BM 1385.

M^r. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. Published according to the true Originall Coppies. The second Impression. [Portrait.] London, Printed by Tho. Cotes, for Robert Allot, and are to be sold at his shop at the signe of the blacke Beare in Pauls Church-yard. 1632. [Colophon] Printed at London by Thomas Cotes, for Iohn Smethwick, William Aspley, Richard Hawkins, Richard Meighen, and Robert Allot, 1632.

F^o. (13³⁄₄ × 9¹⁄₈). *. 2.

Engraved portrait as before. Collation: A⁶ (A 3 misprinted A 2) *⁴; A-2B⁶C²a-y⁶2a-3c⁶3d⁴, paged (irregularly and in three parts, beginning respectively on A 1, a 1, and 2a 1, in the last of which the numbering jumps from 168 to 269). Verses to the reader, signed B. I., facing title. Epistle and address as before. Commendatory verses, two copies unsigned not in previous edition, copies signed L. Digges and I. M. List of principal actors. More commendatory verses signed Ben. Ionson, I. M. S. (not in previous edition), and Hugh Holland, Table of contents including 'Troilus and Cressida'. The three parts have separate pagination and signatures and 'Troilus and Cressida' begins those of the tragedies. The misprint in the signatures of the preliminary matter is accounted for by the fact of the compositor having reprinted that in the first folio, irrespective of the fact that the titlepage is here included in the quire. In the present copy sufficient room has not been allowed for the imposition of the portrait which consequently covers some of the printing of the titlepage. In some copies one of the other stationers' names replaces Allot's in the imprint. But beyond this there were two distinct settings up of the titlepage. Thus the Grylls copy differs from the present in reading 'M^r.' for 'M^r.', 'Copies' for 'Coppies', 'sold at the signe' for 'sold at his shop at the signe', and 'Blacke' for 'blacke'. There are also two settings of sig. A 5 in the preliminary matter, one having an ornamental initial 'S' at the beginning of the first copy of verses, the other a factotum. Second edition.

BM 1386.