SHAKESPEARE?S TRAGEDY OF HAMLET

First edition. With thirty very fine and impressive tipped-in colourplate illustrations by W. G. Simmonds, each with captioned tissue guards, and with a decorated title-page printed in black and red. 4to, very finely bound in full red polished calf, the boards with triple gilt ruled borders, the spine with gilt chained raised bands between beautifully gilt framed compartments contained theatrically appropriate central gilt tools of either a goblet and dagger or crossed swords, two compartments with black morocco labels gilt trimmed and lettered, the board edges and wide turn-ins gilt tooled in a thistle motif, marbled endpapers, t.e.g. xxvii, [1], 165pp. A very good and especially handsome copy, the text is solid and clean but for some neat underlining in the introduction, the plates are all bright and fine, the frontispiece plate with a bit of unobtrusive creasing to a lower corner, all others pristine. The binding is very attractive, the lower hinge just a touch started at the extremities, a few other bits of age evidence but in all a very bright and appealing copy.

Edizione: a very handsome copy of one of shakespeare's greatest plays. hamlet is considered the shakepearian tragedy at the pinnacle of the art. here in this fine edition arts and crafts movement painter and draftsman william simmonds renders brilliantly the story and characters of hamlet through fine illustrations which are rich and warm in colours and masterfully done. this is the only book simmonds illustrated for hodder and stoughton, unfortunate as these thirty plates will leave you wishing for more. as introduction the edition also includes a synopsis of the story as told by sir arthur quiller-couch.