"You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me."
— C. S. Lewis
William Shakespeare | First Editions
1564 - 1616
See below our stock of William Shakespeare First Editions, fine bindings, sets and other collectible material.
![Tales From Shakespeare. [writings/plays including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, etc.]. Charles LAMB, William SHAKESPEARE, Mary, Arthur RACKHAM.](/pictures/thumb/47314.jpg?v=1542993293)
Tales From Shakespeare. [writings/plays including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, etc.]
London: J.M. Dent and Co., 1909. First Rackham Illustrated Edition. Quarto, with 12 colour plates and other black and white drawings. Publisher's red cloth with titles and decoration in gilt to spine and upper, top edge gilt, others tinted green, illustrated endpapers, in original dust-wrapper. Book is near fine, jacket... More
![Tales From Shakespeare [writings/plays including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, etc.] By Charles and Mary Lamb. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. RACKHAM, William SHAKESPEARE, LAMB.](/pictures/thumb/42754.JPG?v=1493310915)
Tales From Shakespeare [writings/plays including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, etc.] By Charles and Mary Lamb. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
London: J.M. Dent and Co. 1909. First Rackham Illustrated Edition. Quarto, with 12 colour plates and other black and white drawings. Publisher's green cloth with titles and decoration in gilt to spine and upper, top edge gilt, illustrated end papers, original printed dust-wrapper. Lightly rubbed to extremities, edges toned, offset... More
A Midsummer-Night's Dream. With Illustrations by W. Heath Robinson
Constable and Co. Ltd., London, 1914. FIRST HEATH ROBINSON EDITION, trade issue, in the first of three publisher's bindings. Quarto, pp. 185. With twelve mounted coloured plates and thirty-two black & white illustrations. All tissue guards intact. Mid-green cloth blocked in gilt and colours. Some light edge-spotting, Constable's catalogue insert... More
Songs From the Plays of Shakespeare
London: Aldine House 1898. FIRST EDITION, Illustrated by Paul Woodroffe. Pp.85. With 12 full-page plates with tissue guards. Bound in half dark blue morocco over original gilt-stamped cloth sides, t.e.g., others untrimmed. Tissues lightly spotted else clean within; externally near fine. A handsome copy in a suitable recent leather binding. More
The Winter's Tale.
London: J. M. Dent and sons, no date [circa1922]. [Illustrated] FIRST ARMFIELD ILLUSTRATED EDITION. Quarto (28 x 22cm), pp.[10]; 99; [1]. With 12 chromolithographic plates, including a frontispiece. Publisher's grey cloth with gilt titles to spine and upper board. Pencil gift inscription to flyleaf; light spotting to title page. Lightly... More
Stockdale's Edition of Shakespeare: Including, in one volume, the Whole of his Dramatic Works; with Explanatory Notes compiled from Various Commentators. Embellished with a Striking Likeness of the Author.
London: Printed for John Stockdale, 1784. [Shakespeare's Plays]. FIRST ONE-VOLUME OCTAVO SHAKESPEARE, the first one-volume edition of Shakespeare since the Fourth Folio of 1685. Octavo (24 x 15cm), pp.[20]; 1079 [1]. With a copper engraved frontispiece portrait of the author. With original tan calf boards, recently re-backed to style with... More
The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: with Explanatory Notes. To Which is Added, a Copious Index to the Remarkable Passages and Words, by Samuel Ayscough.
London: Printed for John Stockdale [etc.], 1807. [Shakespeare's Works]. STOCKDALE EDITION, the Fourth Edition thus. In three volumes. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.[26]; 542; [2]; pp.[6]; 543-1080; [4]; pp.[4]; 1752; [12]. With a frontispiece copper engraving of the Bard to volume I. The plays over two volumes, and the Index... More
The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare, With a Biographical Introduction by Henry Glassford Bell.
Glasgow: William Collins, Sons and Co., 1877. [Shakespeare's Plays]. FINELY BOUND ONE-VOLUME EDITION. Small quarto (26 x 20cm), pp.[8] li; [1] 952 [2]. With 15 etched plates including a frontispiece, and a steel-engraved vignette title page. In contemporary brown full morocco with raised bands, gilt titles to spine and extensive... More
The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare, With a Biographical Introduction by Henry Glassford Bell.
Glasgow, Edinburgh and London: William Collins, 1864. [Shakespeare's Plays]. ONE-VOLUME EDITION. Small quarto (24 x 17cm), pp.li; [1] 952 [2]. With 15 etched plates including a frontispiece, and a steel-engraved vignette title page. In contemporary black full morocco with raised bands, gilt titles to spine and extensive gilt decoration to... More
The Works of William Shakespeare. The Text revised by the Rev. Alexander Dyce.
London: Bickers and Son, 1880. FINELY BOUND, fourth edition thus. In ten volumes. Octavo. With a steel engraved frontispiece portrait of the Bard and a facsimile plate of signatures and seals to vol. I. The final volume consists of an extensive glossary. Finely bound in contemporary dark brown full calf... More
The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare, with notes, critical, historical, and explanatory, selected from the most eminent commentators: to which is prefixed a life of the author.
London: Saunders and Otley, 1825. Eight volumes. Octavo. Bound in contemporary brown calf, with gilt ruling and blind tooling to boards, rebacked to style, with original black labels, raised bands and gilt decoration; all edges marbled, original grey endpapers with bookplate. Bindings show well, boards show some rubbing, with occasional... More
The Dramatic Works of Shakespeare. With Biographical Introduction by Henry Glassford Bell.
London: William Collins, Sons & Co. 1864. Finely bound 6 volume collection. Small Octavo. pp. cviii, 309; 532; 476; 482; 464; 440. Frontispiece to vols. 1 and 2. In half magenta calf with raised bands and gilt titles and details to spines. Top edges gilt. Red and gold marbled boards... More
Works of Shakespeare. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by C. H. Herford.
London: Macmillan and Co., 1901-1912. FINELY BOUND. In ten volumes. Crown octavo (18 x 13cm), pp.[2] xxii, 389 [2]; pp.[2] vi, 572 [2]; pp.[2] vi, 500 [2]; pp.[2] vi, 494 [2]; pp.[2] viii, 542 [2]; pp.[2] iv, 515 [3]; pp.[2] vi, 521 [3]; pp.[2] vi, 417 [3]; pp.[2] vi, 398... More
The Winter's Tale.
London: J. M. Dent and sons. 1922. First Edition thus. Quarto, pp.99. With 12 chromolithographic plates including a frontispiece. Handsomely bound in recent half red calf over red cloth boards, raised bands and gilt titles to spine. Original cloth cover and spine bound in to rear. Slight dustiness to the... More
![The Pictorial Edition of the Works of Shakspere [Shakespeare]. Edited by Charles Knight. Including Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, King Lear, Antony & Cleopatra, The Merchant of Venice, etc. William SHAKESPEARE, Charles KNIGHT.](/pictures/thumb/45879.jpg?v=1493310978)
The Pictorial Edition of the Works of Shakspere [Shakespeare]. Edited by Charles Knight. Including Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, King Lear, Antony & Cleopatra, The Merchant of Venice, etc.
London: Charles Knight and Co., n.d. [1842]. 8 volumes, large octavo, consisting of two vols. each of the Comedies, Tragedies and Histories, one of the Doubtful Plays and one of the Biography. Contemporary dark blue calf over textured floral cloth sides, twin labels, full gilt, a.e.g., marbled endpapers. Generously illustrated..... More
The Works of William Shakespeare. Knight's Cabinet Edition.
London: Charles Knight and Co., 1843-1847. [Drama] FINELY BOUND COMPLETE WORKS. Twelve volumes. Small octavo (14 x 9 x 28cm). Each volume with a wood engraved title page, and a wood engraved title page for each play. Ten volumes of plays, with two additional volumes containing poems, biography and criticism... More
The Works of Shakespeare;
London: Routledge, Warne and Routledge, 1862. [Complete Works] FINELY BOUND AND ILLUSTRATED. Three volumes. Quarto (26 x 19 x 17cm). Liberally illustrated with in-text engravings by the Dalziel brothers, after Gilbert. Contemporary red half morocco with raised bands, gilt titles and decoration to spines, and red leather-grain-effect cloth over boards... More
The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare From Text Of Johnson, Stevens, And Reed, With Glossarial Notes, Life, Etc. A New Edition By William Hazlitt, ESQ.
London: Routledge, Warne, and Routledge 1860. Octavo. Four volumes. Pp.xix; 526. Pp;528. Pp;560. Pp;553. Green half calf binding with green cloth boards, marbled endpapers. Gilt top edges and gilt lettering and centre tooling to spine with plain raised bands. Occassional pencil underlining and some very light spotting to the prelims... More
The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare.
London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, no date (circa 1910). [Shakespeare's Plays] INDIA PAPER EDITION. Six volumes, small octavo (16 x 11 x 11cm). With frontispiece illustrations in colour. Attractively bound in full red leather with gilt decoration to spine, raised bands, gilt rule to covers, coated black endpapers, all edges... More
The Works of William Shakespeare.
London: Archibald Constable, n.d [c.1910]. FINELY BOUND EDITION. 12 volumes. Crown octavo (19 x 14 x 40cm). Half scarlet calf by The Times Bindery, with green morocco title labels, gilt to spine, matching buckram sides, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers. Contents a little thumbed, bindings with the odd mark or... More
Cassell's Illustrated Shakespeare: The Plays of Shakespeare. Edited and Annotated by Charles and Mary Cowden Clarke. Illustrated by H.C. Selous.
London: Cassell, Petter, and Galpin. n.d. (c.1870). FINELY BOUND. In three volumes. Quarto. Illustrated with wood engravings throughout. Superb contemporary full calf with gilt raised bands, twin, red and green, title labels, and gilt theatrical-themed tooling to spines; gilt rule to boards with "Second Year's Prize / St. Thomas's Hospital... More
The Works of Shakespeare. Edited by Israel Gollancz. With many illustrations, antiquarian and topographical.
London: J.M. Dent and Co., 1899. 12 volumes; 8vo. Contemporary binding by Riviere in half red calf with gilt titles and gilt to spines, red cloth boards, top edges gilt, marbled end papers. Illustrated with full page and in text drawings. Frontispiece portrait in colour. A lovely set, very lightly... More
The Complete Works of Shakspere (Shakespeare), Revised from the Original Editions with Historical and Analytical Introductions to each Play. Also Notes Explanatory and Critical, and a Life of the Poet, by J.O. Halliwell and other Eminent Commentators. Elegantly and Appropriately Illustrated by Portraits engraved on Steel, from Dagerreotypes of the Greatest and most Intellectual Actors of the Age, taken in the embodiment of the Varied and Life-like Characters of our great National Poet. The works include: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, King Lear, Antony & Cleopatra, The Merchant of Venice, etc.
London: John Tallis and Company, no date (circa 1870). [Shakespeare] FINELY BOUND. Three volumes, quarto (29 x 20 x 14cm). Contemporay full red morocco with gilt titles and gilt to spines, blind panelling to boards with corner pieces in gilt; marbled end papers; all edges gilt. Generously illustrated with fine... More
The Songs and Sonnets of William Shakespeare. Illustrated by Charles Robinson.
London: Duckworth and Co. n.d. [1915]. [Illustrated Poetry]. FIRST ROBINSON EDITION. Quarto (25 x 19cm), pp.240. Illustrated with 12 mounted colour plates, captioned tissues (one slightly short), and numerous two-tone illustrations and letter pieces. Recently bound in full red half morocco with gilt titles to spine, gilt border to covers... More
![The Plays of Shakespeare. Edited by Howard Staunton. [writings/works including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra, The Merchant of Venice, etc.] Illustrated by John Gilbert and Engraved by the Brothers Dalziel. William SHAKESPEARE.](/pictures/thumb/16544.jpg?v=1493310810)
The Plays of Shakespeare. Edited by Howard Staunton. [writings/works including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra, The Merchant of Venice, etc.] Illustrated by John Gilbert and Engraved by the Brothers Dalziel.
Routledge, London 1860. 4to, 3 volumes. With 5 mini engraved portraits of the author as frontispiece. Bound in contemporary full tan calf, red and green title labels, extra gilt; gilt rule to boards. Bindings rubbed. Complete and sound. A good sound set. More