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Dear Friend,
Shakespeare has been present at every important event in my life: I met my first girlfriend at a production of the Scottish play, and my family used Prospero’s farewell - ‘Our revels now are ended’ - to say goodbye to both of our parents. I do wish I could honour the First Folio’s 400th birthday by offering you a complete copy, but instead, on this auspicious day, please enjoy my Shakespeariana.
Best wishes,
Christian
DAVID GARRICK’S SHAKESPEARES Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Tragedy[with] Romeo & Juliet [with] Cymbeline [and 2 other plays] — William Shakespeare [David Garrick] — 1761
David Garrick’s editions of Romeo and Juliet (1766) and Cymbeline (1767) bound up with a 1761 imprint of the greatest of all Shakespeare tragedies, Hamlet. Small octavo-sized volume (11x17cm) bound in full polished calf; ‘Plays’ embossed on the spine in faded gilt; cracking to outer hinges but binding remains sound. 18th century ‘Contents’ list inked on the first flyleaf but otherwise no indication of ownership. All five imprints have stab sewing holes; Hamlet has had the heaviest use before bei…… Read more
‘SHAKESPEAR’S WOOD - SHARP - STRATFORD ON AVON’ Miniature Snuff Box from Shakespeare’s Mulberry Tree in New Place — Thomas Sharp [William Shakespeare] — 1756
Miniature snuff box designed and made by Thomas Sharp of Stratford from the mulberry tree at New Place after it was cut down by the Rev Francis Gastrell in 1756. The snuff box measures 29x13mm; the lid is decorated with what appears to be a version of Shakespeare’s coat of arms that shows Shake’s spear running diagonally across a shield or escutcheon. On the base is stamped ‘Shakespear’s wood - Sharp - Stratford on Avon’ - the same phrase runs around the barrel of the box. Provenance: The Penros…… Read more
SHAKESPEARE IN PROVINCIAL BINDING The Dramatic World of Shakspeare, in Six Volumes — William Shakespeare [notes by Joseph Rann] — 1786
‘An undistinguished publication... but attractively printed’ and attractively bound, as it happens. This set was owned for 250 years by the Little family of Newbold Pacey Hall just a few miles from Shakespeare’s birthplace at Stratford upon Avon. Six volumes bound in half calf with vellum tips, two morocco spine labels to each volume which give the title of every play; a mixture of green and black in colour, complementing the red upper labels. A little chipping to the leather at the head of the…… Read more
WIELAND’S HAMLET IN GERMAN Shakespeare Theatralische Werke — Christoph Martin Wieland - William Shakespeare — 1766
First edition of the most influential German translation of Hamlet - a single volume from Wieland’s Shakespeare edition that shaped a nation’s future relationship with the works. Octavo, bound in half calf over paper covered boards, rubbed and worn but sound; spine label and raised bands. Bookplate of Julius Gertig to the front pastedown and a boldly penned ownership inscription above, ‘J Ros...’ Engraved title page and Gesner vignette preceding the text of Hamlet; finger marking and minor stain…… Read more
FIRST DUBLIN EDITION The Works of Shakespeare — William Shakespeare — 1739
Single volume from ‘undoubtedly the rarest of any edition published in this period’ - the first Dublin edition containing Comedy of Errors, Winter’s Tale and 4 history plays. Quarter sheepskin binding over blue paper covered boards, some loss to leather at head of spine and loss to blue paper close to foreedge. Binding remains sound. No flyleaf at front of book - half title followed by title page printed in red and black. Printed on paper of varying sizes with many pages roughly opened; horizont…… Read more
ANOTHER STRATFORD BED: Last Will and Testament [of] Elizabeth Barodale of Stratford upon Avon — Elizabeth Barodale — 1771
Last Will and Testament of a Stratford woman who owned land close to New Place, Shakespeare’s grand home in the town - and took special care in this document over the disposal of her ‘Bed, Bedstead and the Appurtenances and entire Furniture of such Bed’. Single manuscript bifolium document measuring 33x21cm with legal text on two leaves and a docket on the final verso: ‘Copy of Mrs Elizabeth Borodale’s Will’ and in another hand ‘proved in Drs Commons’ - the official civil jurisdiction for verify…… Read more
1819 KEMBLE AND SIDDONS PLAYBILL Theatre Royal Covent Garden… Thursday, May 14, 1819 Will be acted (15th time) Shakspeare’s Tragedy of Julius Caesar — William Shakespeare, [Charles Kemble] — 1819
Two for the price of one: Shakespearean playbill advertising Charles Kemble as Marc Antony and John Philip Kemble as Brutus in Julius Caesar, with their sister Mrs Siddons promised the following day playing Lady Constance in King John: ‘Being the last season of Mrs Siddons’s appearing on the stage.’ (24.5x19cm) playbill, small tear at tail; vertical chainlines. An attractive item bringing together three members of the Kemble dynasty. Charles Kemble was the youngest member of his generation of th…… Read more
STRATFORD SHAKESPEARE WARS BROADSIDE: These Highly Valuable Relics... — Mary Hornby [William Shakespeare] — 1822
Souvenir of the heated dispute between Mary Hornby, recently ousted as custodian of Shakespeare’s birthplace, and the subsequent occupant, Mrs Court. Printed double-sided on card (9x13cm), the printing on the verso with text upside down. The text relates to Hornby’s ownership of the ‘the various Articles... that originally belonged to the Immortal Bard. These HIGHLY VALUABLE RELIQUES are now shewn at a house opposite his Birthplace, where she was obliged to remove them...’ followed by certificat…… Read more
HAMLET & GRAVEDIGGERS AS POLITICAL SATIRE: Funeral of the Constitution Hamlet Act Vth Scene a Church-yard Enter Two clowns with Spades — Isaac Robert Cruikshank (William Shakespeare) — 1829
Fine example - with contemporary colouring - of this Shakespeare-inspired political satire on the impact of Catholic Emancipation which depicts the Duke of Wellington and Robert Peel as the gravediggers of the British constitution while a stout, elderly Hamlet (the anti-Catholic Lord Eldon) looks balefully on. Etching (36x26cm) mounted on thick card with a bevel-edged burgundy matboard framing the image. A beautifully crisp etching with excellent contemporary colouring. A wonderfully lively depi…… Read more
AFTER FUSELI - A LOST HAMLET PAINTING: A Platform before the Castle of Elsinore: Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus, and the Ghost — [Henry Fuseli - Johann Heinrich Füssli - William Shakespeare] — 1830
Early nineteenth century oil-painted copy of Fuseli’s lost 1789 painting which depicts the ghost of Hamlet's father beckoning away his son to hear the terrible story of his death. Oil on wooden panel, 44.5x57.5cm, label to verso from its appearance at the 1969 Zurich Fuseli exhibition, wood repair to verso reinforcing a vertical split in the wood which rises 12cm from the base of the image, just visible in the painting itself. The panel is mounted in a heavy period frame with modern retainers ho…… Read more
PROVINCIAL SHAKESPEARE STAGED IN A VICTORIAN INN: Last Week! Theatre Green Dragon Inn, Kirby Lonsdale.. — William Shakespeare — 1857
Shakespeare’s plays taken back to their dramatic origins and staged in a provincial pub in the north of England. Playbill (39x17cm) advertising two plays scheduled for the evenings of February 26th and 27th, 1857, together with a pair of farces. Closed tear at head of the playbill, probably where it was hung for display. This playbill advertises the show as the ‘First night of Shakespear’s beautiful play compressed into Three Acts...’, listing actors and not holding back on exclamation marks. Th…… Read more
SPARKLING PUBLISHER’S CLOTH Shakespere’s Home at New Place Stratford upon Avon — J C M Bellew - William Shakespeare — 1863
Excellent copy of this attractively printed work. Finely bound in publisher’s brown cloth, brown coated endpapers, top edge gilt, a lovely clean text with extensive illustration and fold-out tables and charts. Final adverts dated February 1863. An author, preacher and public reader, Bellew published two books on Shakespeare.
SHAKSPEARE TERCENTENARY COMMEMORATION SUPPLEMENT APRIL 23 1864 [with] Shakespearian Tercentenary Festival [Flyer] — William Shakespeare — 1864
Lavish broadsheet Supplement issued by the Stratford Chronicle to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth in 1564, together with a flyer for the ‘Extra Performances in the Grand Pavilion’ for the second week of celebrations. Single bifolium (50x38cm), old folds, a couple of spots; a very nice copy. Illustrated with steel engravings and a Perpetual Shakespearian Calendar. The final page is made up of advertisements including a couple for editions of Shakespeare as well as London-…… Read more
‘OUT DAMNED SPOT’ SARAH BERNHARDT SLEEP-WALKS AS LADY MACBETH: A Cabinet Photograph — Sarah Bernhardt - Paul Nadar — 1884
Cabinet photograph of Sarah Bernhardt playing Lady Macbeth’s sleep-walking scene, a Parisian image issued to honour Bernhardt’s performance. Albumen print mounted on stiff card (10.7x16.5cm) with photographer Paul Nadar’s details printed below the image. On the verso is his ‘Medaille d’or’ and business details; Bernhardt’s name is written in ink by a secretary with the stamp of the ‘Maison Martinet’ at the foot of the card. Very uncommon. Sarah Bernhardt’s portrayal of Lady Macbeth lasted only a…… Read more
THE SPANISH HAMLET, INSCRIBED BY COELLO El Príncipe Hámlet — William Shakespeare; Carlos Coello — 1872
Carlos Coello’s pioneering Spanish rewrite of Shakespeare’s tragedy, inscribed in the year of publication to a friend: ‘Al Sr D Martin Venera, recuerdo d[] son amigo afectisimo/ Carlos/ Madrid... 1872’ Modern red buckram, bookplate of Libreria Miguel Miranda to the front pastedown. Old vertical fold to title page which is browned and marked close to the outer corners. Finger marking close to the margin of several of the early pages: [8] pp86. A further 40 blanks pack out the book to the rear. El…… Read more
BERNHARDT’S HAMLET TOO HAPPY! Le Personnage d’Hamlet et Son Interpretation par Mme Sarah Bernhardt — Emmanuel Regis [William Shakespeare; Sarah Bernhardt] — 1899
Presentation copy of a psychiatrist’s challenge to Sarah Bernhardt’s upbeat 1899 interpretation of the role of Hamlet. Blue printed paper wrappers; loss to the edges of the upper cover and one corner of the lower cover. Inscribed by the author ‘Bien sympathique hommage E Regis’ with the dedicatee’s name cut away from the top of the first page. pp12, offprint from the Revue Philomathique de Bordeaux. OCLC locates offprint in Angers and Yale only. Emmanuel Regis (1855-1918) studied medicine in Par…… Read more
WARTIME INSCRIPTION TO A US ARMY CHAPLAIN Shakespeare Bibliography: A Dictionary of every known issue — William Jaggard — 1911
With very interesting provenance, having been signed by the author and with a note from the book’s owner laid in: ‘During World War II when I was an Army chaplain in England I had chance to attend the Shakespearian festival at Stratford... I spent several hours with Mr William Jaggard.. As a souvenir of my visit I bought several books from him, amongst them, the Bibliography. At my request, he autographed the book. John R. Bradstreet. S.J.’ with Bradstreet’s ‘Catholic Chaplain’ stamp opposite. A…… Read more
PRESENTATION COPY Shake-speare: Handwriting and Spelling — Gerald H Rendall — 1931
Small quarto bound in quarter white buckram over paper covered boards, marked and a little stained. Presentation inscription to the first flyleaf: ‘Presented by the Author Dec. 1933’ with bookplate of Repton School Library and deaccession stamp; brown spotting throughout; oval Repton stamp to title page; pp 55 and one plate. Gerald Henry Rendall (1851–1945) was a teacher college administrator, born at Harrow, where his father was taught, educated at Harrow and at Trinity College, Cambridge; prin…… Read more
SIGNED BY LAURENCE OLIVIER The Film Hamlet: A Record of Its Production — Laurence Olivier, William Shakespeare, Brenda Cross [editor] — 1948
Inscribed by Laurence Olivier on the half title page 'To Fred Kennedy Every Good Wish, Laurence Olivier' after he adapted and starred in the film of Hamlet for Rank Films - with a photograph of Olivier in character laid in. Bound in grey boards with gilt decoration, near very good, rubbing and nick to spine, page corners finger marked, 6cm closed tear to tail of page 59. The photograph comes from Lord Olivier’s estate via Bernard Quaritch. A record of the main experiences and opinions of the exe…… Read more
UNKNOWN OPERA ADAPTATION OF HAMLET Hamlet Oper in Einem Vorspiel Und Drei Akten Nach Dem Trauerspeil Von Shakespeare.. — Ernst Roters, Terese Robinsohn [William Shakespeare] — 1957
Rare German Hamlet adaptation, self-published in the German Democratic Republic, the old East Germany, and seemingly not held in any institutional collection. Grey printed card wrappers, minor damage at the head and tail of the spine. Inscribed in the year of publication on the half-title: ‘Fur Kalzi und Gerda/ Berlin, dezember 1957/ Ernst’, pp54. Two pages of Dramatis Personae are followed by a summary in which Shakespeare’s tragedy is reduced to 3 Acts, set in Polonius’s house, then moving to…… Read more
INSCRIBED IN RUSSIAN: ‘TO PAUL SCHOFIELD - HAMLET WITH RESPECT TO TALENT’ Moscow Theatres — V Komissarzhevsky [Paul Schofield] — 1959
Inscribed to a legendary Shakespearian to mark the first Shakespearian performance in Russia by a leading British actor since the Bolshevik Revolution. Folio sized volume bound in cream buckram, browning along the top edge of the flyleaf, below which is written in Russian script by the book’s author Victor Komisarzhevsky: ‘To Paul Scofield - Hamlet who is so remembered and loved by Moscow, loved “how forty thousand brother could not.” With Respect to talent, V. Komisarzhevskii July 22, 1960.’ Ve…… Read more
SIGNED FIRST EDITION Hamnet — Maggie O’Farrell — 2020
Signed first edition of this breakout Shakespearean novel. Red decorative paper covered boards, a little softening at either end of the spine; signed in black ink to the title page. Very nearly fine in a near fine jacket, not price-clipped, a little creasing at the head of the spine. The novel was inspired by the story of Shakespeare’s son and tells of the bond between twins, and of a marriage pushed to the brink by grief.… Read more
Dr. Christian White
Christian White Rare Books
287 Leeds Road, Ilkley, LS29 8LL
07811 455398
info@christianwhiterarebooks.com
www.christianwhiterarebooks.com
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