SHAKESPEARE APOCRYPHA, A YORKSHIRE TRAGEDIE, 1619, GEORGE STEEVENS'S COPY

4to, second edition, nineteenth-century half calf on marbled boards, lacking blank D3, each leaf inlaid onto early 19th century laid paper, binding rubbed, one endpaper starting

George Steevens, 1736-1800 (ownership inscription on title page); ? sale of his library, Mr King's of King Street, London, 13-23 May 1800, lot 1311, 9s; "The gift of Hyades [?], b[ough]t by Him at Mr Nassau's Sale 1824 [presumably the library of George Nassau, Evans, February-March 1824, but not found in the catalogue]; Robert Crewe-Milnes, Marquess of Crewe, 1858-1945 (armorial bookplate)

STC 22341; Greg 1:272b; Pforzheimer 904

Condition is describedin the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A NOTED EXAMPLE OF SHAKESPEARE APOCRYPHA, FIRST ATTRIBUTED TO HIM BY PAVIER IN THE 1608 QUARTO AND LATER INCLUDED IN THE THIRD FOLIO OF 1664. The current scholarly consensus is that the play was written by Thomas Middleton. This edition is one of ten uniform quartos of Shakespeare plays printed by Jaggard for Thomas Pavier in 1619. They could be acquired as a collection, making them the earliest attempt at a single volume collection of Shakespeare. Most of the titles (but not this one) were pirated so were given a false publication date in order to avoid copyright infringements. Pavier gave A Yorkshire Tragedy the subtitle of "All's One, or One of the foure Plaies in one", but the other three plays have not been preserved. This copy belonged to George Steevens, one of the greatest Shakespeare scholars of the 18th century. RARE. The only copy to have come to the market since the 1970s was the Pirie copy (Sotheby's, New York, 3-4 December 2015, lot 732, $15,000).