First Separate Edition
Mr. Johnson's Preface to His Edition of Shakespear's Plays.
London: Printed for J. and R. Tonson, et al, 1765.
Price: $3,000.00
About the item
First separate edition. Woodcut ornament to title-page. [iii]-lxxii pp., lacking half-title. 8vo. First Separate Edition. Mottled calf, black morocco spine label, a.e.g., gilt turn-ins, by Riviere & Son. Light rubbing to joints, washed, with faint trace of early inscription at head of title. Fleeman 65.10SP/2b; Courtney & Smith, p. 107; Chapman & Hazen, p. 148; Tinker 1347; Rothschild 1249; ESTC T006431.
Item #313399
The first separate printing of Johnson's Preface to his celebrated edition of Shakespeare. Johnson's "humanely poised preface" (ODNB) is the pinnacle of 18th-century Shakespeare criticism. Adam Smith described it as the "most manly piece of criticism that was ever published in any country." This offprint is printed from the type of the second impression of Johnson's Shakespeare, with new title.
