Bidspirit auction | [LITERATURE] - SHAKESPEARE William (1564

[LITERATURE] - SHAKESPEARE William (1564 - 1616) - 1632. The Merchant Of Venice. The Forbidden Play Of Shakespeare - Shakespeare, William. ”The Merchant of Venice”. London: Thomas Coates for Robert Allot, John Smethwick, William Aspley, Richard Hawkins and Richard Meighen, 1632. Folio, contemporary calf binding, ff. 11. Text in two columns. Extracted from the Second Folio (pp. 163-184). Woodcut headpiece and initial. Signature [N4]-Q2. The most controversial Shakespeare’s play from the second corrected folio edition: the razor sharp drama of the attempt by the Jewish moneylender, Shylock, to pursue his claim against Antonio for a pound of flesh. The play, to this day controversial in its portrayal of Shylock, was first published in the quarto edition of 1600 and with added stage directions in the 1623 First Folio. Essentially a page-for-page reprint of the first folio, the second folio was printed by Thomas Cotes nine years later in 1632. Cotes assumed Jaggard’s shop in 1627 and printed the second folio for the five publishers listed in the colophon (each of whom had rights to one or more of the plays. The Second Folio, like the First Folio of 1623, contains all 36 plays that are considered to be wholly or in part by Shakespeare (with the exception of Pericles, which was added to the Third Folio edition of 1663). It is estimated that no more than 1000 copies of the Second Folio were printed, and it is believed that less than 200 copies are still in existence today, many of which are incomplete or in poor condition. Because of their incalculable impact on language, thought and literature, the folios of Shakespeare are, without parallel, the most desirable of all English language books. Condition: Some light soiling, faint marginal smudge on last page not affecting legibility, corners rounded, a few small marginal closed tears. A wonderful piece. References: Gregg III, 1113-116; Pforzheimer 906; STC 22274a; W. Todd, The Issues and States of the Second Folio and Milton’s Epitaph, in «Studies in Bibliography» V (1952-53), pp. 81-108. W.A. Jackson, Pforzheimer Catalogue: «The folios are incomparably the most important work in the English language». Legacies of Genius, 36: «[The folio editions] have an aura of book magic about them. For a bibliophile it is a volume devoutly to be wished for and rarely attained; to a library it is a crowning jewel of a collection? Shakespeare, indeed, is a name to conjure with. No lengthy explanations are needed; he is simply the most distinguished author in the English language». •⁠> This lot is located in and ships from the UK. No export license is required for values under £65,000; above this threshold, a UK export license will be needed. Import duties and taxes in the destination country are the buyer's responsibility.