Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-23
A LITERARY DERELICT.
A Supposed First American Edition o
Shakespeare's Poems Found Here.

A Supposed First American Edition of
Shakespeare's Poems Found Here.
On a clumsy hand press. partly of wood.
partly of iron, in some dingy print shop in
Philadelphia, in 1875 and 1706, the first
American edition of the works of Shake
speare was printed. The printers who made
this venture were Bioren & MADAM, whose
imprint appears on several books now very
valuable in Americana. Their Shakespeare
was in eight volumes, duodecimo, on the
old-fashioned handmade laid paper. The
type was a delicate letter in what Is known
as ''old style" The typography was excel
lent, the printer and proofreader Of that day
having apparently great pride in their neat
ness and accuracy.
The title page Of the first American
Shakespeare was as follows: 1.-The Plays
and Poems of William Shakespeare. Cor
rected from the Latest and Best London
Editions, with Notes by Samuel johnson,
LII. d. To which are added Glossary and
the Life of the Author, Embellished with
Striking Likeness from the Collection of
his Grace the Duke of Chandos. First Amer
lean Edition. Philadelphia. Printed by
Bio-en and MADAM, MDCCXCV."
In the eighth volume of this first edition
the plays of Shakespeare appeared without
pagination, the poems Of Shakespeare maxi
ing 12S pages of a book of 432 pages.
A few months ago Mr.. James ONeill Of
Washington found among his books little
ancient-looking book, bearing on its calf
bound back just the word Poems" but on
the title page the announcement that the
book contained the poems of Shakespeare.
printed at Philadelphia By Bioren Mad
an, in 1796. For six months all the biblio-
philes of America have been trying to run
down this literary de-elict and establish it's
precise place and value in the realms Of
Americana.
There are very few sets of the plays of
Shakespeare printed by Bioren & MADAM.
Public Library, the Pennsylvania Historical
Society of Philadelphia, c. F. Gintner. the
Chicago collector, and DR.. Swami NJ. Bur-
nett of Washington each have sets. The
Pennsylvania Historical Society paid $3.50
volume for two volumes to complete its
set. The University of Michigan, at Ann
A-bor. has set presented to the library by
Senator Mcmillan, who bought 1t, with the
E. H. Thomas collection, some years ago.
Several of these libraries would very quick
ly enter the field to buy the first separate
American edition of the Shakespeare poems.
and even the British Museum asked to have
an opportunity to bid on Mr.. ONeill's book
as soon as its status in the book world is
established.
So far as known the first separate Amer
lean edition of Shakespeares poems was
published in Boston in 1907, by Oliver &
Munroe. Copies of this book have been pur-
chased at the leading sales at high prices
on the superstition that it was the absolute
ly first separate publication of the poems In
this country. If the Bioren MADAM
book was the first, it's appearance in the
book world is to book hunters q good deal
like the discovery of a new planet in the
solar system. 1t upsets their scale Of rar.
ity and distu-bs the existing chart OF
values. The man who goes into a book auc.
ton in Boston or New York hereafter must
remember when the 1907 edition of the
poems Is put up that there may be an EARL
er edition.
At one time Mr.. Stowell of the Publish.
| ers Weekly wrote Mr.. ONeill that his lit
| thousands rather than hundreds of dollars
/ as supposed by the book hunters. All the
| Shakespearians in the country and all the
| collectors of Americana were interested
Justin Winsor, who is making a list OF
Shakespearians that reach down to the veal
1919 referred the question of the authentici.
/ ty of the 1876 edition to Mr.. Charles K
Hildebrand of Philadelphia, who is publish
| ing list Of Pennsylvania publications
/ MIR. Hildebrand is as much puzzled as any
one can be about Mr.. O'Neilrs book. HI
would like to know where to place 1t as ar
American publication in his list. Rev. Hor
| ace Howard Furness Professor Relfe Mr.
| Garrett of the British Museum and Mr.
Wilberforce Games of the Lenox librar,
| give 1t up as mystery they cannot solve
The Publishers Weekly has all the summer
and fan called Mr.. O'Neills book "rh'
/ Sphinx
1t now appears, according to a bibliophile
who signs himself Moses Primrose" in tn,
Publishers Weekly, that Mr.. O'Neilr.
/ book must be part of volume viii of tn,
Bicren & MADAM edition Of the plays
bound separately, with title page printed
and set in expressly for it. and in this view
of it Mr.. ONeill is inclined to agree.
| hsaa rq
autograph of a former owner, IF. c. d,
| Kraft. October 4th, 1SU9,'' written in a deli
cate hand at the upper left-hand corner
The character of the handwriting suggest.
that the writer was German. The wore
| printed in the imprint Is misspelled t
| 'pinted," which is In violent contrast I,
the neatness of the text of the poems Tn,
paper used for the title page and fly leaves
is quite unlike that used in the main par
of the book. In one fly leaf may be seer
the offset letters, reversed, ERICA" Thi
is evidently part of the word America, ant
the inference is that the title page and n,
leaves were made In printing office wher
a poster containing a proclamation of SOM
sort containing the word America in larg'
letters had been printed. 1t is reasona bl
to suppose that it was in the original offic
in Philadelphia. 1t is possible that the it'll
page was printed here in Washington ant
the book bound here, for there was Ger
man bookDindery here at the capital in tn
early years of the century of the name o
Kraft. 1t is also to be said that the quail
| ty of the paper in the title page and fl,
leaves is apparently identical with tina
used in printing the National Intelligence
and the various bills, reports and docu
ments used in Congress at that time.
| Since Moses Primrose came out will
his very careful calculations in regard to tn
book, Mr.. O'Neill has not regarded his fint
as of any great value. Yet he prizes it TO
what it seems to be, and for what it ma.
yet be absolutely proven to be.