SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM

THE TRAGEDY OF RICHARD THE THIRD: WITH THE LANDING OF EARLE RICHMOND, AND THE BATTELL AT BOSWORTH FIELD. LONDON: PRINTED BY THO. COTES, 1632

Folio (12 1/8 x 8 1/2 in.🔴; 308 x 216 mm). 173-204pp. Expertly bound to style in paneled calf, covers tooled in blind, upper cover gilt lettered.

From Shakespeare's second folio

Shakespeare's famed four folios comprise the first four edition🐈s of his collected plays, all printed in the 17th century. The second folio of 1632, like the first folio of 1623, contains 36 plays. It is estimated that fewer than 1,000 copies of the second folio were printed and fewer than 200 copies are in existence today.

"Richard III," one of Shakespeare's longest works, follows the rise and fall of King Richard III before and during his short re🐷ign,🍨 centering on the king's ruthless and bloody transformation from Duke of Gloucester to King. This tale of manipulation and deceit explores the motives and conflicts behind Richard's pursuit of an all-encompassing power.

The Shakespeare Folios 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 distin♏guished author in the English languag🅘e" (Wolf).

(See lots 124-127)

REFERENCE:

STC 22274a; Greg III:1113-1116; Jaggard 496; Pforzheimer 906; Wolf, Legacies of Genuis 36