Lot 105
105
SHAKESPEARE, William (1564-1616) & John FLETCHER (1579-1625). The Two Noble Kinsmen: presented at the Blackfriers by the Kings Maiesties servants, with great applause. London: Tho. Cotes for John Waterson, 1634.
SHAKESPEARE, William (1564-1616) & John FLETCHER (1579-1625). The Two Noble Kinsmen: presented at the Blackfriers by the Kings Maiesties servants, with great applause. London: Tho. Cotes for John Waterson, 1634.
SHAKESPEARE, William (1564-1616) & John FLETCHER (1579-1625). The Two Noble Kinsmen: presented at the Blackfriers by the Kings Maiesties servants, with great applause. London: Tho. Cotes for John Waterson, 1634.
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SHAKESPEARE, William (1564-1616) & John FLETCHER (1579-1625). The Two Noble Kinsmen: presented at the Blackfriers by the Kings Maiesties servants, with great applause. London: Tho. Cotes for John Waterson, 1634.

Price realised GBP 47,500
Estimate
GBP 22,000 – GBP 28,000
Estimates do not reflect the final hammer price and do not include buyer's premium, and applicable taxes or artist's resale right. Please see Section D of the Conditions of Sale for full details.
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SHAKESPEARE, William (1564-1616) & John FLETCHER (1579-1625). The Two Noble Kinsmen: presented at the Blackfriers by the Kings Maiesties servants, with great applause. London: Tho. Cotes for John Waterson, 1634.

Price realised GBP 47,500
Price realised GBP 47,500
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Details
SHAKESPEARE, William (1564-1616) & John FLETCHER (1579-1625). The Two Noble Kinsmen: presented at the Blackfriers by the Kings Maiesties servants, with great applause. London: Tho. Cotes for John Waterson, 1634.

Roxburghe copy of the first edition, the only quarto edition, printed by Thomas Cotes who was also the printer of Fletcher's The Faithful Shepherdess (1629) and Shakespeare's Poems (1640). The play had not been included in the first folio of 1623 (the Roxburghe copy of which sold for £100 in 1812), and did not find its way into the subsequent Shakespeare folios, but the quarto edition became the basis of the 1679 Beaumont and Fletcher folio text. The title states that it was 'written by the memorable worthies of their time; Mr. Iohn Fletcher, and Mr. William Shakespeare. Gent,' and modern scholarship has identified Shakespeare as the author of act 1, act 2 scene 1, and act 5. Whereas collaboration was a constant habit between Beaumont and Fletcher, this collaborative work between Fletcher and Shakespeare is unique. Based on Chaucer's Knight's Tale, it was produced in either 1613 or 1614; Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, first performed on 31 October 1614, includes a reference to Palamon, one of the principal characters. The Rivals, a popular adaptation of the play by William D'Avenant, appeared in 1668 and 1669. Greg II, 492(a); Pforzheimer 899; BL/Treasures: Shakespeare in Quarto; STC 11075.

Quarto (175 x 126mm). Woodcut title device [McKerrow 283], woodcut headpiece and opening initial (slight paper faults affecting title and prologue on verso, title cropped short at bottom margin, B1 and B3 cropped at margins, partially affecting B3 catch-letter, corner repair to B4, M4 cropped at top margin). Red gilt-panelled morocco by Francis Bedford, gilt edges (upper joints lightly rubbed). Provenance: John Ker, third Duke of Roxburghe (1740-1804, stamp on title; in his sale by R.H. Evans, St. James's Square, London, 18 May 1812 (42 days), lot 4916 on the 21st day, sold for 6s. 6d, binding not described) -- B.F.S./J. Day (inscription on rear endpaper) – [John Fleming (his sale, Christie’s New York, 18 November 1988, lot 308) -- R[ichard] M[anney] (modern bookplate; sold in his sale, Sotheby's New York, 11 October 1991, lot 281) – [Christie’s, 8 June 2011, lot 56].
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