Holinshed’s Chronicles

HOLINSHED, Raphael

Edité par Printed by Henry Denham, 1587, London, 1587

A propos de cet article

Three volumes, folio. Later bindings (18th/early 19th century), uniformly bound; volumes collating as follows:

DESCRIPTION

The celebrated Second Edition (1587) of Holinshed?s Chronicles, the most important and textually complex printing of England?s foundational historical work and the principal source for Shakespeare?s English history plays.

This set is notable for retaining both of the major politically sensitive texts ordered suppressed by the Privy Council, a survival combination rarely encountered:

? Volume II (History of Scotland) retains the uncancelled Scotland leaves, including pp. 421?436, containing the controversial narrative concerning the Earl of Lennox and the Stuart succession.

? Volume III (History of England) retains the full ?double? Elizabethan text, preserving both the earlier, politically sensitive account of the reign of Elizabeth I and the later, official revised version, printed sequentially within the volume.

VOLUME I

Volume I begins with the first printed text leaf. Two later blank leaves supplied at the front at the time of rebinding. The text block is complete and uniform, printed on laid paper consistent with the 1587 edition, with no evidence of supplied or reset text leaves. The volume concludes complete.

VOLUME II ? SCOTLAND (KEY TEXTUAL SURVIVAL)

Volume II retains the original uncancelled Scotland text, including the suppressed leaves pp. 421?436, which were ordered removed shortly after publication by Queen Elizabeth I?s Privy Council. The leaves are present on correct 16th?century laid paper, with no facsimile or later replacement. Minor binder?s mis-ordering of some leaves is present but without textual loss, a common and acceptable feature in large folio chronicles. Text complete.

VOLUME III ? ENGLAND (ELIZABETH I)

Volume III retains the full ?double? Elizabethan text, with the reign of Elizabeth I appearing in two distinct narrative treatments within the volume: the earlier, politically sensitive account and the later revised official version. Both are printed on uniform original paper, with no evidence of cancellation or replacement. Two later blank leaves supplied at the front; a few small early wormholes affecting initial leaves only. The text runs complete to the final leaf.

CONDITION

Later bindings, sound and functional. Light, scattered historical worming (chiefly to early leaves of Volume III), minor age-related wear, occasional misbinding without loss of text. Overall a clean, honest, and well-preserved example of a complex and frequently imperfectly surviving work.

SIGNIFICANCE

The 1587 Chronicles represent the definitive Renaissance English historical synthesis and the principal source for Shakespeare?s history plays (Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Richard III, Macbeth, King Lear, Cymbeline). Copies retaining both the uncancelled Scotland leaves and the full double Elizabethan text are rare and are particularly sought after by institutional collections.

This set represents a highly desirable textual state, combining both major suppressed passages in a single, coherent survival, and is eminently suitable for acquisition by research libraries or advanced collectors of English literature and history.

N° de réf. du vendeur ABE-1769513025495

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Holinshed?s Chronicles
• Éditeur: Printed by Henry Denham, 1587, London
• Date de parution: 1587
• Langue: anglais
• Reliure: Couverture rigide
• État de l'article: Assez bon
• État de la jaquette: Pas de jaquette
• Dimensions: 24 L x 37 H x 16 P (centimètres) 24 centimètres de largeur par 37 centimètres de hauteur par 16 centimètres de profondeur
• Poids: 6 kilogrammes