Holinshed, Raphael

3 volumes bound in 2, folio (350 x 222mm.), second edition, with the uncancelled leaves in volume 2 and some uncancelled leaves in volume 3, leaves 6m3-4 in volume 3 uncancelled but with the other cancels in this volume replacing the castrated leaves as normal (see below), black letter, double column, seven title pages within woodcut borders (McKerrow & Ferguson 147a, 148, 122 and 138), three other woodcut titles, woodcut head- and tail-pieces, decorative initials, later crushed maroon morocco gilt by Riviere, spines gilt in seven compartments, gilt edges, a few early marginal annotations in ink as well as some later ones in pencil, probably by William O'Brien (e.g. disputing the account of the Jesuit martyr Edmund Campion's trial and execution in volume 3, 6L^r), lacking title page to volume 3 (supplied in facsimile), two copies present (? both supplied) of leaf A2 in volume 3 (both extended and repaired), lacking initial blank and final leaf (blank according to ESTC) at the end of volume 2 and also lacking final blank at the end of volume 3, some occasional repairs affecting a few letters of text, occasional staining, a few small tiny burn-holes, STILL A CRISP, NEAR FINE COPY

William O'Brien, bequest bookplate dated 1899

STC 13569

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing unless otherwise stated
"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."

SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND EXPANDED FROM THE 1577 FIRST EDITION, OF THE GREAT ELIZABETHAN NARRATIVE HISTORY, USED BY SHAKESPEARE AS A PRINCIPAL SOURCE FOR MANY OF HIS PLAYS, including Richard II, Richard III, Macbeth, Henry IV parts I and II, Henry V, Henry VI parts I, II and III, Henry VIII and Cymbeline, as well as (conjecturally) King Lear and King John. The 1587 revision was a substantial collaborative undertaking prepared with great care by the printers, with authors and revisers including Protestants, Catholics and crypto-Catholics. The overall project was placed in the hands of the "learned corrector" Abraham Fleming.

The textual history of this second edition in particular is very complex and still not fully documented. However, most copies bear cancels in volumes 2 and 3 following censorship by the Elizabethan authorities who ordered the removal of passages in the continuation of the Scottish history that might jeopardize Anglo-Scottish relations, especially those concerned with English intervention in Scottish factional politics. The censorship also sought to cultivate good opinion both at home and abroad ahead of English efforts to negotiate a settlement in the Low Countries and of the expected response to the execution of Mary, queen of Scots. There were three stages in the castrations and revisions (see Cyndia Susan Clegg, ODNB), and consequently copies survive with various states of cancels, variant cancels and original leaves, as well as with facsimile castrated leaves printed in the early eighteenth century to replace cancels and missing leaves.

The present copy appears to have the original uncancelled leaves in volume 2; that is 2Q3-4, 2R3-4, and 2S2-5. In volume 3 leaves 6M3-4 also appear uncancelled, with the rest of the volume conforming to the usual account of castrations with various cancelled leaves or gatherings: 6U2 [signed A,B,C,D,E], 6U3-4 [6U3 signed F,G,H,I] and 6U5-6 are cancels; 7A-7I⁶ cancelled, 7L² and 7M cancels, the remainder of gatherings 7L and 7M cancelled.