Shakespeare, William

folio (309 x 206mm.), the Rufford-Purton copy, engraved portrait by Martin Droeshout and poem "To the reader" (both from the 1684 'Fourth Folio') mounted on front flyleaf, woodcut head-pieces and initials, text in double column, roman and italic type, headlines and catchwords, 'Effigies' leaf in the third setting, manuscript notes by Francis Rufford on front pastedown, throughout the text and on sheets bound in between E6 and F1 and at the end, notes by earlier owners elsewhere, eighteenth century sprinkled calf, raised bands, red morocco lettering-piece, in a collector's cloth folding box, lacking title-page, bbb4 and ccc6-ddd4 (all supplied in manuscript), [π]A3-4 cut down and remounted (both repaired with missing text supplied in manuscript), I3, Z1, c1, f2-f6, s6v, pp1, pp6, rr4 and ccc1 torn and restored with text supplied in text, front flyleaf, e1, l4, ss4 and bbb6 torn and repaired, marginal tears to M1, O3, X5, Y1, Bb3, I3 [signed h3], small holes in bb4, ll3, pp6, yy2, yy3, zz3 and e2, slightly browned and dampstained, occasional ink blots and grease stains, covers slightly scuffed, hinges cracked, corners worn

together with 6 sheets of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century letters and notes relating to this copy, 2 pages of notes from the Shakespeare Centre Library, Stratford-upon-Avon and 3 pages of documents relating to the deposit of this copy at the Library (in 3 envelopes)

Reverend Francis Rufford, Rector of Kinwarton and Great Alne (1787-1833)

ESTC S111233; Greg, III, p. 1113-5; Pforzheimer, 906; STC 22274

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The second folio edition of Shakespeare's works, the most important collection of texts in English literature, containing a poem marking the first appearance in print of John Milton.

The second folio was essentially a page-for-page reprint of the first folio of 1623 and was printed by Thomas Cotes who had taken over Isaac Jaggard's shop following his death in 1627. STC records seven variant issues as well as STC 22274: as these are identified by their title-page and colophon (both missing here), we have not been able to identify which issue this copy belongs to.

Francis Rufford (1787-1833) was educated at Wadham College, Oxford, and was Rector of  Kinwarton and Great Alne in Warwickshire from 1787 until his death. Rufford not only supplied missing text in his copy of the Second Folio but wrote notes on John Milton and Ben Jonson, provided lists of dramatis personae for several of the plays and a page of reflections on The Merry Wives of Windsor. He also transcribed, onto blank pages bound in at the end, the poem 'To the idol of my eye and delight of my heart,' written by the dramatist and song writer Charles Dibdin and which may have been originally composed for the Stratford-upon-Avon Jubilee in 1769.