SHAKESPEARE, William (1564-1616). A Collection of Poems. viz. I. Venus and Adonis. II. The Rape of Lucrece. III. The Passionate Pilgrim. IV. Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Musick. London: for Bernard Lintott, [1709]. [Bound with vol. II of:] – A Collection of Poems, In Two Volumes. London: printed for Bernard Lintott, [1711].

The first complete collection of Shakespeare's poetry and the earliest obtainable edition of the complete sonnets. This copy comprises the first issue of vol. I, with the parts dated 1630, 1632, 1599 and 1599, and the only issue of vol. II, which was published at the same time as the second issue of vol. I. Shakespeare's sonnets were first published in 1609—an edition that is effectively unobtainable, with no copies recorded at auction in over 100 years. The next edition was not until 1640; the 1640 edition, however, was substantially altered by John Benson, who reorganized and edited the text, blithely changing genders and meaning, and padded the volume with poems by other writers. His work has been variously described as “garbled” and “sorry.” The present edition reinstates eight sonnets omitted by Benson and collects for the first time the longer poems “The Rape of Lucrece” and “Venus and Adonis.” Jaggard, p. 434.

Two volumes in one, octavo (159 x 100mm). (Short repaired closed tears in opening leaves, some spotting and browning, dampstain to lower margins with some associated minor repairs, final leaf restored at gutter and upper margin affecting a few words.) Modern panelled calf. Provenance: Croom 13 (inscription on second title).