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SHAKESPEARE, William (1564-1616). The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark. As it is now acted at his Highness the Duke of York's Theatre. London: Andrew Clark for John Martyn and Henry Herringman, 1676.
4° (216 x 160mm). (Occasional light spotting, browning or marking, some light marginal staining, title slightly creased and with skillful marginal repairs, a few small paper flaws on A2, outer margins of C2.3 trimmed.) Late 19th/early 20th-century half sprinkled calf by Rivière and Son, gilt morocco lettering-pieces (extremities very lightly rubbed). Provenance: 'Hamlet' written on the margin of C1v -- clipped bookseller's description tipped onto upper pastedown -- Thomas Edward Watson (bookplate; by descent to the present owners).
[?]SIXTH EDITION, AND FIRST OF DAVENANT'S ADAPTATION, with the 4-line imprint on the title. Sir William Davenant had been granted a warrant to form a theatre company and to stage plays in 1660, which included the instruction to 'peruse all playes that haue been formerly written, and to expunge all Prophanesse and Scurrility from the same before they be represented or acted' (M. Edmond, Rare Sir William Davenant Manchester: 1987, p.144). Davenant's revival of Hamlet, the first production of the play to be staged after the Restoration, opened on 24 August 1661, and was notable for Mary Saunderson and Ann Gibbs's portrayals of Ophelia and Gertrude -- not only two of the earliest appearances of actresses on the English stage, but also the first appearance of identifiable actresses in Shakespearian leading roles on the English stage -- and the depiction of Hamlet by Thomas Betterton, Saunderson's husband-to-be (in the cast list on A2v Gibbs is listed as 'Mrs. Shadwel', following her marriage to the playright and poet Thomas Shadwell in c.1663-4, and Saunderson as 'Mrs. Betterton'). Pepys attended the première and considered it 'done with Scenes very well', reserving particular praise for Betterton, who 'did the Prince's part beyond imagination' (Diary, 24 August 1661). The text used as the basis for Davenant's adaptation was that of John Smethwicke's 1637 quarto edition, with 'extensive cuts ... made with care and sensitivity' (Edmond, p.168): the characters of Valtemand, Cornelius and Reynaldo are removed; Polonius's advice to Laertes and Hamlet's to the players are cut; some speeches are shortened; the soliloquy 'How all occasions do inform against me' is omitted. These excisions are explained thus in the preface 'To the Reader': 'This play being too long to be conveniently acted, such places as might be least prejudicial to the plot or sense, are left out upon the stage: but that we may in no way wrong the incomparable author, are here inserted according to the original copy with this mark'''. Two editions dated 1676 were printed by Clark for Martyn and Herringman, which can be distinguished by the imprint (the present copy has the 4-line imprint, while the other edition bears a 5-line imprint); Bartlett does not assign priority, describing both as 'sixth or seventh edition', but Greg states that 'several small points of typographical evidence agree in placing [the 4-line imprint] edition before [that with the 5-line imprint]', and that the latter 'may be some years later than its ostensible date' (Greg 197(j)). Bartlett Mr William Shakespeare 84; ESTC R17530; Greg 197 (i); Jaggard p.307.
4° (216 x 160mm). (Occasional light spotting, browning or marking, some light marginal staining, title slightly creased and with skillful marginal repairs, a few small paper flaws on A2, outer margins of C2.3 trimmed.) Late 19th/early 20th-century half sprinkled calf by Rivière and Son, gilt morocco lettering-pieces (extremities very lightly rubbed). Provenance: 'Hamlet' written on the margin of C1v -- clipped bookseller's description tipped onto upper pastedown -- Thomas Edward Watson (bookplate; by descent to the present owners).
[?]SIXTH EDITION, AND FIRST OF DAVENANT'S ADAPTATION, with the 4-line imprint on the title. Sir William Davenant had been granted a warrant to form a theatre company and to stage plays in 1660, which included the instruction to 'peruse all playes that haue been formerly written, and to expunge all Prophanesse and Scurrility from the same before they be represented or acted' (M. Edmond, Rare Sir William Davenant Manchester: 1987, p.144). Davenant's revival of Hamlet, the first production of the play to be staged after the Restoration, opened on 24 August 1661, and was notable for Mary Saunderson and Ann Gibbs's portrayals of Ophelia and Gertrude -- not only two of the earliest appearances of actresses on the English stage, but also the first appearance of identifiable actresses in Shakespearian leading roles on the English stage -- and the depiction of Hamlet by Thomas Betterton, Saunderson's husband-to-be (in the cast list on A2v Gibbs is listed as 'Mrs. Shadwel', following her marriage to the playright and poet Thomas Shadwell in c.1663-4, and Saunderson as 'Mrs. Betterton'). Pepys attended the première and considered it 'done with Scenes very well', reserving particular praise for Betterton, who 'did the Prince's part beyond imagination' (Diary, 24 August 1661). The text used as the basis for Davenant's adaptation was that of John Smethwicke's 1637 quarto edition, with 'extensive cuts ... made with care and sensitivity' (Edmond, p.168): the characters of Valtemand, Cornelius and Reynaldo are removed; Polonius's advice to Laertes and Hamlet's to the players are cut; some speeches are shortened; the soliloquy 'How all occasions do inform against me' is omitted. These excisions are explained thus in the preface 'To the Reader': 'This play being too long to be conveniently acted, such places as might be least prejudicial to the plot or sense, are left out upon the stage: but that we may in no way wrong the incomparable author, are here inserted according to the original copy with this mark'''. Two editions dated 1676 were printed by Clark for Martyn and Herringman, which can be distinguished by the imprint (the present copy has the 4-line imprint, while the other edition bears a 5-line imprint); Bartlett does not assign priority, describing both as 'sixth or seventh edition', but Greg states that 'several small points of typographical evidence agree in placing [the 4-line imprint] edition before [that with the 5-line imprint]', and that the latter 'may be some years later than its ostensible date' (Greg 197(j)). Bartlett Mr William Shakespeare 84; ESTC R17530; Greg 197 (i); Jaggard p.307.
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