MANUSCRIPTS

Summary

Catalogue of a Collection intitl'd Shakesperiana; comprehending All the several Editions of the Works of Shakespeare, old & new ; divers rare old Editions of Writers, prose-men & verse-men; with a Variety of other Articles, chiefly such as tend to illustrate him;—made by his last Editor, E. C; and by him deposited in the Library of Trinity College in Cambridge, this eleventh Day of Iune in the Year 1779.

large 4°. (11 × 9).

An alphabetical index to the books in the collection, in Capell's own handwriting. At the end is inserted a leaf containing a list of ‘Quarto's wanted’ to complete the collection of Shakespearian editions. Of this list thirty copies were privately printed by Steevens in 1780, and it was also reprinted in Hartshorne's ‘Book Rarities of Cambridge’ in 1829. The list is not very accurate and there are many omissions. It inserts, moreover, as if in the collection, many editions which it never contained, Capell having intended to make the list of Shakespearian quartos complete by reference to other collections when his own failed. In the inside of the cover is the following inscription: ‘June 26. 1779. Ordered by the Master and Seniors, agreeably to the express Desire of M^r. Capel, that the whole Collection given by him be kept together in the same Class; and that no Manuscript or Book belonging to it be taken out of the Library on any Pretence whatever. J. Peterborough M C.’ There are also three documents inserted relating to articles in the collection. […]