Happy Birthday to the Bard of Avon!

Pictured here is our copy of the Second Folio, including the lovely finispiece from Romeo & Juliet because you know we love a good #finisfriday.

Mr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories, and tragedies. London: Printed by Tho. Cotes, 1632.

“When shall we three meet again”…

We’re kicking off September’s #LibraryBookArt challenge with our copy of George Kingsley’s The Social Choir (Boston, 1835), which features this fantastic drawing and inscription on its front pastedown. Who doesn’t love a casual Macbeth reference?

George Kingsley, editor. The Social choir. Boston : Leavitt, Lord, & Co.,  1835.  

#Onthisday in 1862 Vanity Fair illustrated Edwin Forrest, a famous Shakespearean actor of the mid 19th century and the namesake of Philadelphia’s Forrest Theater. The caption reads: “The great medium between the spirit of Shakespeare and the stage.” We may not know how true those words are, but his legacy definitely lives on in Philadelphia. 

Vanity Fair. Vol. 6, No. 149. September 20, 1862.  New York : Frank J. Thompson, , 1859-1863.

Shall [we] compare [this fore-edge] to a summer’s day? 

We’re celebrating #ForedgeFriday with our old friend, William Shakespeare! As if it could be any more beautiful, this gold and crimson number is elevated by a hand-tooled clasp. SWOON.

The songs & ballads of Shakespeare / illuminated by T.W. Gwilt Mapleson, Esq. Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. New York : Lockwood & Co., [1849]. [46] p. :  ill. ;  27 cm. (4to)