- 729
Shakespeare, William
Estimate
150,000 - 200,000 USD
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Description
- Shakespeare, WIlliam
- Poems: Written by Wil. Shake-speare. Gent. London: Printed by Tho. Cotes, and are to be sold by John Benson, dwelling in St. Dunstans Church-yard, 1640
- printed book
8vo (5 3/8 x 3 1/2 in.; 139 x 88 mm). Frontispiece portrait by William Marshall after Droeshout with verses, two letterpress titles (*1 and A1) both with woodcut printer's device (McKerrow 283); second, undated, title-page extended and remargined at bottom, tiny abrasion at top of frontispiece, catchword *3 carelessly printed and punched through, final leaf (M4) extended. Russet morocco by Bedford, covers elaborately gilt-paneled, spine gilt in six compartments, marbled endpapers, gilt edges; spine lightly faded. Brown buckram folding-case.
Provenance
Alfred Henry Huth (morocco label) — Christie's New York, 18 November 1977, lot 115 (undesignated consignor) — Sotheby's London, 26 April 1982, lot 439 ("Property of a Gentleman"). acquisition: Purchased at the foregoing sale through Beranrd Quaritch
Literature
STC 22344; ESTC S106377; Bartlett 27; Grolier/Langland to Wither 84; Hayward 30; Pforzheimer 880
Condition
8vo (5 3/8 x 3 1/2 in.; 139 x 88 mm). Frontispiece portrait by William Marshall after Droeshout with verses, two letterpress titles (*1 and A1) both with woodcut printer's device (McKerrow 283); second, undated, title-page extended and remargined at bottom, tiny abrasion at top of frontispiece, catchword *3 careless printed and punched through, final leaf (M4) extended. Russet morocco by Bedford, covers elaborately gilt-paneled, spine gilt in six compartments, marbled endpapers, gilt edges; spine lightly faded.
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.
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.
Catalogue Note
First collected edition. A very good copy of the first collection of Shakespeare's shorter non-dramatic poetry. Benson's edition brings together all but eight of the sonnets, "A Lover's Complaint," "The Passionate Pilgrim" (mostly not by Shakespeare), "The Phoenix and the Turtle" (attributed to Shakespeare), and elegies and other poems honoring Shakespeare by Jonson, Milton, Digges, Herrick, Strode, Carew, and others.
Benson famously reorganised the sonnets, probably out of concern that an old-fashioned sonnet sequence would not appeal to the generation of the Cavalier Poets. Many are run together to form poems of twenty-eight lines or more, and all are given titles. Benson also made some effort to disguise the homoerotic content of some sonnets, perhaps most strikingly in his changes to Sonnet 101 ("O truant Muse, what shall be thy amends"), which he runs together with Sonnet 100 under the title "An Invocation to his Muse" while he also switches the gender of the pronouns to make the poet's lover female.
Benson famously reorganised the sonnets, probably out of concern that an old-fashioned sonnet sequence would not appeal to the generation of the Cavalier Poets. Many are run together to form poems of twenty-eight lines or more, and all are given titles. Benson also made some effort to disguise the homoerotic content of some sonnets, perhaps most strikingly in his changes to Sonnet 101 ("O truant Muse, what shall be thy amends"), which he runs together with Sonnet 100 under the title "An Invocation to his Muse" while he also switches the gender of the pronouns to make the poet's lover female.