Folio Society : William Shakespeare Complete Plays : Signed Limited Edition 2023

William Shakespeare The Complete Plays (3 volumes) Signed Limited Edition. 

By William Shakespeare

Introduction by Gregory Doran, and with a foreword by Dame Judi Dench

Illustrated by Neil Packer

Published by The Folio Society, London, 2023. Stunning three-volume set strictly limited to 1,000 hand-numbered sets. This is number 740/1000, each signed by the illustrator. 

This magnificent limited edition is bound in bespoke silk and linen jacquard cloth ~ Hot metal letterpress-printed limitation tip signed by Neil Packer ~ 1,464 pages in total set in Caslon with a version by Neil Packer as display ~ Printed in two colours throughout on Munken Pure paper ~ 40 illustrations in total ~ Gilded on all 3 edges in gunmetal ~ Cloth-covered presentation box lined with printed Woodstock Betulla paper. Books measure 8” × 11½” inches and the slipcase box measures 7” x 8½” x 12.

Echoing the divisions in the First Folio, the plays are divided between three volumes –The Comedies, The Tragedies and The Histories. Uncluttered by notes, and with a generous setting, the 38 plays are beautifully readable and follow The Arden Shakespeare Third Series Complete Works – the most up-to-date and authoritative versions. 

Neil Packer's designs for the elegant, bespoke bindings are inspired by Elizabethan blackwork embroidery –his artwork perfectly replicated in sumptuous silk and linen jacquard cloth woven by Stephen Walters & Sons, the oldest silk-weaving company in Britain. Packer has also contributed 40 illustrations and designs for the presentation box. The text, set in black and red throughout, was printed by Northend in Sheffield. Smith Settle, also in Yorkshire, renowned for exemplary craftsmanship, have bound the books employing traditional techniques, and, finally, Stan Lane, the last of the famous Monotype artisan printers, has printed the limitation tip on his original Heidelberg press at his studio in Gloucestershire. Signed and numbered by Neil Packer, the tip is in the front of The Comedies. 

CONDITION
A fine set. Slipcase excellent. Books immaculate throughout. Overall a fine collectable limited edition.