Shakespeare, William | “To be, or not to be, that is the question”

Shakespeare, William

The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark. Newly imprinted and inlarged, according to the true and perfect Copy last Printed. London: R. Young for John Smethwicke, and are to be sold at his Shop in Saint Dunstans Church-yard in Fleet-street, under the Diall, 1637

4o (178 x 122 mm). Collation: A-N⁴ (leaf E¹ is mis-signed “D”). 52 leaves, printer's woodcut device on title-page, woodcut head-piece and initial, early ownership signatures to title, woodcut arms of Charles I pasted to verso, 20 blank leaves bound in at end; some soiling to title and first leaf, restoration to title with “By William” in neat manuscript, A2 and A3 with some neat restoration generally not affecting text, restoration to upper margin of E3 with some loss to heading, restoration to lower corner of L1, and other instances of minor repairs and spotting. Full 19^th-century tan morocco, covers elaborately paneled in gilt, gilt floral cornerpieces, spine with raised bands in six compartments, second with brown morocco lettering-piece, others ornately gilt, turn-ins gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt; minor rubbing to extremities, joints a little tender.

[With:] With a small archive of letters from Nancy Robinson to Adele Blackwell; letters from Lionel Robinson to Nancy Robinson, and from Arthur Swann (then of Parke-Bernet Galleries) to Nany Robinson. [And:] Adele Blackwell’s annotated Parke-Bernet Galleries catalogue of the Darwin P. Kingsley sale (30 January 1941).