SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM. THE EXCELLENT HISTORY OF THE MERCHANT OF VENICE. PRINTE...

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Important Notices Sotheby's Conditions of Sale and Terms of Guarantee constitute the entire agreement with all bidders. Sotheby's accepts no liability beyond what is set out in Sotheby's Conditions of Sale and Terms of Guarantee. The phrase "Seller Estimate" used above is no different from the estimates appearing elsewhere on this site and in Sotheby's catalogues and website. For a more complete description of what an estimate is, please refer to the Bidding Guide & FAQs Items sold through Sotheby's are excluded from the eBay Money Back Guarantee, even though you may see references to the eBay Money Back Guarantee while bidding on live auction items. Sotheby's guarantees the Authorship of all lots for a period of five years. For a complete statement of the Terms of Guarantee please review the Conditions of Sale full size Full Size Image With the Extreme Cruelty of Shylocke the Jew towards the saide Merchant, in Cutting a Just Pound of his Flesh. And the obtaining of Portia, by the Estimate 250,000 - 350,000 USD 4to (7 1/8 x 5 3/8 in.; 182 x 136 mm). Woodcut printer's device on title-page (McKerrow 283), woodcut initial and head- and tailpiece; a few trifling scattered stains. Blue morocco by W. Mansell, covers gilt-paneled, smooth spine gilt-letter, marbled endpapers, gilt edges. CONDITION REPORT 4to (7 1/8 x 5 3/8 in.; 182 x 136 mm). Woodcut printer's device on title-page (McKerrow), Woodcut initial and head- and tailpiece; a few trifling scattered stains. Blue morocco by W. Mansell, covers gilt-paneled, smooth spine gilt-letter, marbled endpapers, gilt edges.In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE. SALEROOM NOTICE PROVENANCE Abbie Ellen Hanscom Pope (died 1895; sold, 1896, with a large portion of her library by Dodd, Mead to) -- Robert Hoe (morocco label; Anderson, 18 January 1912, lot 3032) -- P. A. Valentine (Bartlett Census) -- Hannah D. Rabinowitz (morocco label). acquisition: Seven Gables, 1965EXHIBITED LITERATURE STC 22297; ESTC S111195; Bartlett 70; Bartlett Census 650; Greg I:172 b ; Greg III:1107-08; Greg, "On Certain False Dates in Shakespearean Quartors," in The Library 9 (1908): 113-31, 381-409; Pollard, Shakespeare Folios and Quartos , pp. 81-104 CATALOGUE NOTE Second edition, a superb unwashed and entirely unsophisticated copy of one of the rarest of the Pavier-Jaggard quartos.In a brilliant piece of bibliographical detective work, Greg proved in 1908 that this quarto and eight others were all printed in the first half of 1619 and were intended as a collected issue of Shakespeare's plays. However, the project was abandoned about midyear, probably due to copyright difficulties. The nine plays were subsequently sold singly or, possibly, as a group to be bound up by purchasers. This discovery--that there had been a collected Shakespeare before the First Folio--still ranks as one of the highest achievements in Shakespearean bibliography.Just two years after Shakespeare's death, and fully four years before the First Folio, Pavier and Jaggard conceived the idea of issuing a collection of Shakespeare's plays: they began with 2-3 Henry VI (with a single title-page) and Pericles , printed together with continuous signatures; continued with the apocryphal Yorkshire Tragedy , Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice , Merry Wives of Windsor , A Midsummer-Night's Dream , King Lear , and Henry V ; and concluded with the apocryphal Sir John Oldcastle-- all of these last seven with individual signatures. If the false or undated imprints on most of these quartos had been intended to fool the Lord Chamberlain, they failed in their purpose, for on 3 May 1610 he wrote to the Stationers' Company asserting copyright, and the Pavier-Jaggard venture was abandoned shortly thereafter.The Pirie copy is one of about twenty-six surviving copies of the 1619 Merchant of Venice. The copy text for the Pavier-Jaggard issue was the first quarto, which was actually printed in 1600 by James Roberts. All complete copies of the first quarto edition are in institutions, so the Pavier-Jaggard issue is the earliest obtainable printing.The 1619 quarto is a considerable rarity in its own right: at least one copy of the other eight Pavier-Jaggard titles has appeared at auction since the last public sale of The Merchant of Venice , from the library of J. T. Adams of Snaithfield, Sheffield, at Sotheby's London, 7 December 1931, lot 227.SUGGESTED LOTS Discover more upcomingAuctions From Sotheby's How liveauctions work Frooition www.frooition.com | eBay design, eBay store design, eBay shop design, eBay template design, eBay listing design This listing is currently undergoing maintenance, we apologise for any inconvenience caused. read more

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