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POEMS WRITTEN BY MR. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.
([London]: Reprinted for Thomas Evans, [1775]). 180 x 115 mm. (7 1/8 x 4 1/2"). 1 p.l., viii, 250 pp.Perhaps edited by E. Capell, per Jaggard. First Evans Edition.
FINE CONTEMPORARY FLAMED CALF, smooth spine gilt in compartments with tulip sprig centerpiece, red morocco label, marbled endpapers. Title page with engraved portrait of the author by Alexander Bannerman. Front pastedown with ex-libris of Belle Rennie; front flyleaf with 19th century signature of J. B. Gillett (but not the famous Texas Ranger James B. Gillett [1856-1937], whose signature is quite different). Jaggard, p. 435. Spine just slightly dulled, some superficial scratches at fore edge of front board, other minor wear to the binding, but still A LOVELY COPY--the text especially clean, fresh, and bright, and the binding scarcely worn and with lustrous covers.
This is a handsomely bound and exceptionally well-preserved copy of the first Evans Shakespeare, from the library of a woman who brought progressive educational methods to Britain. Jaggard notes that the poems here are arranged in the same order as in the 1640 first collected edition, including those that scholars considered doubtfully attributed to Shakespeare still kept in the same sequence. Jaggard further suggests this printing may have been intended as a supplement to the 1767-68 version edited by Shakespearean commentator Edward Capell (1713-81), who had carefully collated early printings of the Bard in order to correct errors made by subsequent editors, notably Sir Thomas Hanmer. This copy is enhanced by an appealing tree calf binding, its unadorned covers allowing the characteristic swirling pattern to shine, while the tastefully gilt spine makes a pleasing addition to the shelf. Our volume was once in the collection of Isabella "Belle" Rennie (1875-1966), who was a central figure in the introduction of the Montessori Method to Britian. She was instrumental in establishing Gipsy Hill College to train Montessori teachers, and used her own money to acquire a suitable premises for the school. She served as chair of the Board of Governors for 25 years, sometimes dipping into her personal funds to keep it going. As DNB notes, "It is remarkable that, at this period, a single woman had established herself in a position of such influence and authority," further observing that "there were not many aspects of educational liberation and progress in the inter-war period with which Miss Rennie was not concerned." Evans' Shakespeare is not a rare work, but this copy is in a particularly desirable state of preservation. (ST20898)
Price: $3,200.00