1450500 1923 Shakespeare. The Players' Shakespeare. Each Copy Number 1.

 

THE PLAYERS' SHAKESPEARE Comprising: The Tragedie of Cymbeline; Loves Labour’s Lost; The Merchant Of Venice; The Tragedie of Macbeth; A Midsommer Nights Dreame; The Tragedie of Julius Caesar; The Tragedie of King Lear. Newly Printed From the First Folio of 1623.  Shakespeare, William; illustrated by Albert Rutherston, Norman Wilkinson, Thomas Lowinsky, Charles Ricketts, Paul Nash, Ernst Stern; introduction by Harley Granville-Barker.  Published by London: Printed at the Shakespeare Head Press for Ernest Benn Limited. - 1927, 1923.  First edition thus. Each copy number 1 of the Deluxe edition. Signed by the illustrators, art director and author of the introduction. Complete in seven volumes. Each volume in full green oasis morocco by either Riviere or Zaehnsdorf, with five raised bands, elaborate gilt decorated panles to the upper and lower boards within blindstamped rules. Top edge gilt, the others untrimmed. Printed on Batchelor's Kelmscott hand-made paper. Line blocks by Emery Walker. Large 4to. The Tragedie of Cymbeline, with five colour illustrations by Albert Rutherston; Loves Labour’s Lost with five colour illustrations by Norman Wilkinson; The Merchant Of Venice with five colour illustrations by Thomas Lowinsky; The Tragedie of Macbeth with twelve colour illustrations by Charles Ricketts; A Midsommer Nights Dreame with five pages of drawings [9] in black and white and five colour illustrations by Paul Nash; The Tragedie of Julius Caesar with ten pages of drawings in black and white and five colour illustrations by Ernest Stern; The Tragedie of King Lear with six pages of drawings in black and white and five colour illustrations by Paul Nash. An excellent set, the bindings with the occasional scuff or rubbed spot to the extremities are all square and firm, a few with some fading of the spine. A Midsommer Nights Dreame with a small unobtrusive ding to the head of the spine. The contents of each are entirely complete including all of the requisite loose tissue guards (some of which are spotted), all illustrations remain in fine, bright condition. The occasional foxing spot to the deckled edge of text block otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner’s inscriptions or stamps. A superbly produced and beautifully illustrated edition, offered in the most desirable deluxe issue. Each volume is signed by the artist in addition to Albert Rutherston and Harley Granville-Barker. This is presumably one of the publisher’s or contributors sets, each volume being copy number 1 (of a total limitation of 106). Due to each volume being published individually over a four year period complete sets are scarce in commerce.