(London: J. S. Virtue & Co., n.d., circa 1870).

AN ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL SET OF THIS IMPORTANT EDITION IN ITS VERY BEST FORMAT. Truly an edition, printing and binding well suited for the greatest writer of the language and one that would be at home in even the finest of libraries.
"The text given by Mr. Knight... is founded upon the most careful collations; and a reason is assigned in those editions for every deviation from the received text of the modern copies. To print the Text of the Words of Shakespeare, such as we may judge that it proceeded from his pen, so as to make his real words accessible to all, is the object...”
Knight's important text includes of course all of the dramatic works, being the Histories, Comedies, and Tragedies. But unlike many other collections of the period it also includes the Poems and Sonnets and 13 "Spurious" plays which were attributed to Shakespeare in the 17th century but which were not included in the First Folio. Item #31950

2 volumes. The Imperial Edition, the best edition of the publisher and editor. Profusely illustrated with very grand full-page steel engraved plates of important dramatic scenes by select artists, the most famous of the engraved portraits of Shakespeare as frontispieces to the volumes, fine vignette half-titles, a fully illustrated and especially pleasing creation. Large Folio, (15” x 11”), in the publisher’s very deluxe and impressive binding of full maroon morocco handsomely decorated on the upper covers with wide ornate panels in gilt, the outermost panel of an elaborate roll tooled border enclosing a single gilt ruled inner panel, inner corner tools in a floral gilt motif, the innermost panel at the center of the covers elaborately gilt at the corners and sides in an arabesque pattern, designed lettering in gilt at the center, lower covers as the upper covers but in blind and without further lettering, the spines are decorated in similar style with gilt stippled raised bands, elaborately and fully gilt-tooled panels in the compartments lettered in gilt in one compartment, board edges and turn-ins gilt decorated, fine end-papers and all edges gilt. An extremely fine and unusually attractive set. The books are near as pristine with fresh white paper, the bindings bright and exceptionally well preserved.