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a group of books sitting on top of each other on a tablean open book with a picture of shakespeare written on itan open book with a picture of a woman and a man sitting on a bench
BOISSINOT & TAILLIEZ BERGERAC

74 - SHAKESPEARE. Bell’s Edition of Shakspere.
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Estimate €300 - €400
Sale commission
Description
SHAKESPEARE. Bell’s Edition of Shakspere. Printed in full from the text by Sam. Johnson and Geo. Steevens, and revised from the latest editions. London: Bell, 1785–87. 44 volumes bound in 15 in-12 volumes (9 x 14 cm), green morocco binding, smooth spines with decorative motifs, title labels and burgundy morocco panels, gilt lace on the covers, gilt lace on the inside, gilt edges. Complete edition of 36 plays in 12 volumes, followed by the ‘Prolegomena’ (2 volumes, nos. 37, 38, 39, 40, bound in 2 volumes), and the ‘Annotations’ (annotations for 7 plays). Illustrated with 36 portraits of actors and actresses, 38 frontispieces (‘Troilus and Cressida’ and ‘King Lear’ each have two frontispieces) for the first 12 volumes, and five portraits of Shakespeare, a view of his house, a portrait of Samuel Johnson, a portrait of David Garrick and a frontispiece (‘Specimens of fans’). The frontispieces for the Annotations to *The Taming of the Shrew* and *King Lear* are missing. An actor and writer, Gentleman, regarded the famous actor David Garrick as ‘Shakespeare’s most astute commentator’. His edition of Shakespeare, published by Bell, is an ‘acting edition’, edited by Gentleman in the style of the books then used in London’s royal theatres, with his own adjustments to the text ‘in the interests of contemporary standards of sexual, social, and semantic propriety’ (ODNB). It is illustrated with new drawings commissioned from young artists, including Edward Francis Burney and Johann Heinrich Ramberg. Provenance: Baron de DAMAS, with the bookplates ‘Bibliothèque de Mme de Damas’, ‘Bibliothèque de Sauternes’ and (on all volumes) ‘Charles de Damas’.
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About the sale ANTIQUARIAN AND MODERN BOOKS
Auction location
Auction time 09/18/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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