The Works - photo 1

The Works

Sold
$ 16 380
Auction dateClassic
02.02.2024 10:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
USA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1129738
Lot 120 | The Works
SHAKESPEARE, William (1564-1616) – James HALLIWELL (1820-1889, editor). The Works. London: for the editor by C. and J. Adlard 1853-1865.

Extra-illustrated limited edition of Shakespeare’s complete works, this being number 48 of 150 sets printed for subscribers only. 38 volumes sumptuously bound in full morocco and augmented with delightful watercolor vignettes from the plays. Edited by James Halliwell, the eminent Shakespearian scholar and collector, this work was considered by Jaggard to be “the most extensive repository of literary, historical, and archaeological information regarding Shakespeare and his writings to be found in any single work, and, typographically, the most sumptuous edition.” Illustrated with 142 plates and numerous in-text woodcuts, the present set is profusely extra-illustrated with watercolor scenes depicting scenic and dramatic elements from the texts, such as Yorick’s skull in Hamlet and a monstrous Caliban in The Tempest. It is accompanied by an autograph letter from the editor, presumably to the original subscriber the Hon. Edward Curzon, shortly before the delivery of the tenth volume, in which he enquires about preferences for the printing of the remaining volumes and laments the “large & unfair pecuniary loss” he has sustained by the endeavor. Jaggard p.529.

16 volumes bound in 38, folio (370 x 245mm). 142 plates, numerous woodcuts in the text, many additional watercolor vignettes mostly in the margins of the play-texts probably executed at the time of binding (minor repair to tear in 50.2 in vol. I, occasional faint spotting). Early 20th-century red morocco, sides and spines elaborately gilt-decorated and with green morocco onlays of flowers and tragic and comic masks, turn-ins similarly gilt, green morocco doublures splendidly inlaid with pink, red, and green morocco rose designs surrounding central Shakespeare family arms, silk endpapers, all edges gilt (extremities faintly rubbed in places). Provenance: The Honourable Edward Cecil Curzon, 1812-1885 (listed as the recipient of set 48 in the numbered subscribers lists).

[Sold with:] autograph letter signed (“J. O. Halliwell”) to [the Hon. Edward Curzon] (“To my Shakespeare Subscribers”), 6 St. Mary’s Place, West Brompton, London, 11 October 1861. Three pages, bifolium, 180 x 112mm.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
26.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
27.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
28.01.2024 13:00 – 17:00
29.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
30.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
31.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

More from Creator

The Second Folio
The Second Folio
$100
The Historie of Henry the Fourth
The Historie of Henry the Fourth
$100
The Fourth Folio
The Fourth Folio
$100
A Collection of Poems
A Collection of Poems
$100
A Collection of Poems
A Collection of Poems
$100
A Collection of Prints from pictures painted for the purpose of illustrating the dramatic works of Shakspeare by the artists of Great Britain
A Collection of Prints from pictures painted for the purpose of illustrating the dramatic works of Shakspeare by the artists of Great Britain
$100
The Plays of William Shakespeare
The Plays of William Shakespeare
$100
CHAGALL, Marc (1887-1985) et William SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616)
CHAGALL, Marc (1887-1985) et William SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616)
€3 000

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.