Julius Caesar
Subtitle: a tragedy : as it is now acted at the Theatre Royal
By: written by William Shakespeare
Contributors: Hills, Henry, -1713, printer; Herringman, Henry, -1704, publisher, bookseller; Bentley, Richard, -1697, publisher, bookseller; Knight, Joseph, active 1684-1691, bookseller; Saunders, Francis, active 1684-1699, bookseller
Publisher: Printed by H.H. Jun. for Hen Herringman and R. Bentley in Russel-street in Covent Garden, and sold by Joseph Knight and Francis Saunders at the Blew Anchor in the Lower Walk of the New-Exchange in the Strand
Published: 1695
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 64
Other titles: Julius C©Œsar
Notes: Four undated editions of Julius Caesar were issued in quarto format sometime during the late 17th or early 18th centuries. The precise date of printing for these four editions has been the subject of much scholarly debate. The particular copy described herein displays the typographical peculiarities that Bartlett & Pollard ascribe to the first of the four quartos, all of which are said to date between 1684 and 1691. John W. Velz, however, argues that the first three of those four undated quartos were actually printed between 1695 and 1700. ESTC, STC (2nd ed.), and Wing also date the three to ca. 1695. Many standard bibliographic resources, including several mentioned above, are inconsistent in their descriptions of the peculiarities typically relied upon to distinguish each of the editions. In order to avoid ambiguity, customary citation to specific entries within such resources has therefore been omitted.

Signatures: A-Hþ́

Numerous errors in pagination. The sequence is, as printed: [2], 1, 4-18, 91, 20-40, 33-48, 57, 50-51, 60-61, 54-55, 64.

The penultimate line of text on F ́reads, "I have no will to wander forth of doors."

Title page vignette comprised of 15 modified fleurs-de-lys.

Bartlett, H.C.  Shakespeare early editions

Bartlett & Pollard.  Shakespeare's quartos (rev. ed.), 452

ESTC

STC (2nd ed.)

Velz, J.C.  Pirate Hills and the quartos of Julius Caesar (PBSA 63 (1969): 177-193

Wing

Boston Public Library (Rare Books Department) copy quarterbound in brown pebbled cloth and papier tourniquet over boards (as described by Wolfe in Marbled paper). All text block edges are sprinkled black. The embossed stamp of the library appears on A ́and A,́ with a bookplate of the same appearing on the front pastedown. A tear through the margin of E ́has been mended with adhesive tape.