Meres, Francis

8vo (5 1/8 x 3 1/8 in.; 130 x 81 mm). Roman letter (with italic). Woodcut initial, type-ornament headpieces, leaves A2–4 (dedication, preface_ cancelled as usual, and with both the cancellandum B1 and the cancellans B1 (=A8) present; title-page a bit frayed and neatly restored at lower margin, a few headlines shaved, final leaf Vv8 with some minor marginal restoration. Contemporary vellum, spine titled in ink; minor soiling. Red morocco folding-case gilt.

Sir Robert Buxton, Bt. (Shadwell Court Library bookplate) — H. Bradley Martin (bookplate; Sotheby's New York, 1 May 1990, lot 3052). acquisition: Purchased at the foregoing sale through Bernard Quaritch

STC 17834; ESTC S110013; Bartlett 291; Grolier/Langland to Wither 172; Pforzheimer 689

8vo (5 1/8 x 3 1/8 in.; 130 x 81 mm). Roman letter (with italic). Woodcut initial, type-ornament headpieces, leaves A2–4 (dedication, preface_ cancelled as usual, and with both the cancellandum B1 and the cancellans B1 (=A8) present; title-page a bit frayed and neatly restored at lower margin, a few headlines shaved, final leaf Vv8 with some minor marginal restoration. Contemporary vellum, spine titled in ink; minor soiling. Red morocco folding-case gilt.
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.

First edition of one of the most important books with contemporary references to Shakespeare, containing not only the first mention of his sonnets, but also the first list of his plays—which is of the greatest importance in determining the dates of cited plays that had not yet been printed.

"It is perhaps on account of its Shakespearean interest that it is often forgotten that this book has other claims to importance, for, besides providing a fund of information regarding Elizabethan taste and knowledge of art and natural history, it alludes to several works which are not now known to have been printed in English at that time" (Pforzheimer).

Leaves A2–4, containing the dedication to Thomas Eliot and a Latin preface, are cancelled in all of the surviving copies of this book except two: the University of Texas (Pforzheimer) and the Rosenbach Museum and Library. Cuthbert Burbie cancelled these leaves when he realized that Meres had used part of his preface to complain that the publisher had "watched his own profit rather than my wishes or the real advantage of the reader." Like the Greville—British Library, the Malone-Bodleian, and the Park-Huntington copies, the Martin-Pirie copy contains both the cancellandum leaf B1 (with "deny him to be" verso, line 1) and the cancellans (with "deny he liveth" verso, line 1).

Rare: no copy has appeared at auction since Mr. Pirie acquired the present at the sale of H. Bradley Martin, in 1990.