Printed for J. Tonson and the rest of the Proprietors, 1734
An important early eighteenth-century edition of Shakespeare’s plays, scarce in commerce and highly prized for bringing the Bard to a new generation of readers more than a century after his death. Printed in 1734, these volumes belong to the great wave of Tonson editions which carried Shakespeare’s works into the homes and libraries of Georgian England, decades before the variorum editors and scholarly refinements of the later century. Sets like this survive far less frequently than the grander folios, and their rarity on the market today makes them a compelling acquisition for collectors of Shakespeareana.
Bound in contemporary calf, the books have been handsomely and sympathetically rebacked, preserving their eighteenth-century character while ensuring structural integrity. The spines, with gilt decoration in compartments and red morocco labels lettered in gilt, gleam richly against the darker patina of the original boards.
The contents are as engaging as they are significant: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, The Tempest, Measure for Measure, Richard III, and many more—each play introduced with an engraved frontispiece scene that captures the drama and atmosphere of Shakespeare’s stage. The engravings remain darkly impressed, a theatrical overture to each tragedy and comedy alike.
Condition: Boards rubbed and marked with age, as expected of volumes nearly three centuries old, but solid and well restored, with a noble shelf presence. The text shows occasional foxing, toning, and signs of use, but remains crisp and legible throughout; the engravings retain good detail.
This is not only a beautiful set but an increasingly rare survival of Shakespeare in print within living memory of the Restoration stage—an edition that helped cement his reputation long before the Victorians made him a cultural monument.
A desirable eighteenth-century edition of Shakespeare, complete in two volumes, and with the added charm of its period bindings restored for continued enjoyment. A fine bridge between the earliest folios and quartos, and the great scholarly editions of the later eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
