Shakespeare's Plays & Poems.

A handsome, illustrated edition of Shakespeare' complete works, comprising the Bard's canonical plays, together with his sonnets and narrative poems, the whole prefaced with an introductory Essay on Oratory by Francis Gentleman.

Apparently an unrecorded variant edition. The title pages in volumes 2 to 5 of this set are stated 'Second Edition', but otherwise there is no resemblance to the five-volume duodecimo recorded as ESTC T138849. Neither is our edition ESTC N474724, which is described as a duodecimo in sixes, our edition being the size of a conventional octavo but bound in twelfths, and the pagination in our edition is continuous not separate for each play as described in Jaggard.

This edition like the others by Bell is illustrated with copper-plate engravings, 'the first edition with artistic illustrations, and clearly influenced by the unrivalled French school of the period' (Jaggard).

From the library of the Earls of Normanton, with their bookplate to the front pastedown of each volume.

Second edition(?); 8vo in twelves (19.5 x 11.5 cm); no engraved general title or volume titles, each play/part with letterpress title-page dated 1774, 41 engraved plates and titles, continuous pagination, occasional MS corrections in pen, slight offsetting from plates, to titles, the odd small tear, some worming to vols 5 and 9 not affecting text, periodic spotting; contemporary mottled calf, contrasting red and green morocco lettering-pieces to spines, remains of original ribbons, joints rubbed with the occasional small split but all holding, spine ends and corners a little chipped, overall a very good set.

cf. ESTC N474724, T138849 & T207671; cf.Jaggard p.504.