Cover2Cover: Charles Knight’s 1838 Pictorial Shakespeare

Charles Knight’s 1838 Pictorial Shakespeare 

 

We recently got in the store a copy of Charles Knight’s Pictorial Edition of the Works of William Shakespeare, published in1838. The set includes eight volumes, all finely bound in full polished leather, with intricate gold tooling along the spine and edges of each volume.

The craftsmanship displayed in the bindings is truly a thing of beauty. The gold leaf, set against the light brown leather, blends together seamlessly to create a subtle golden aura around the books. But what strikes me most is the smooth, clean feel of the polished leather covers, which feel almost new despite being almost 200 years old. It's hard not to feel admiration for the bookbinder when you hold the books. 

Knight was a British publisher in the early 1800s, editing and publishing various magazines and journals sold to the public in England.

But his passion was Shakespeare.

He published several editions of Shakespeare’s works, such as this one, which include extensive commentaries, original historical notes, and copious illustrations. 

Here are the introductory illustrations for Shakespeare's Tragedies, which make up Volumes I and II of this set:

 

From Romeo & Juliet

 

From Hamlet

 

From Cymbeline

 

 

From Othello

 

 

From Timon of Athens

 

 

From King Lear

 

From Macbeth

 

 

From Troilus & Cressida

 

From Coriolanus

 

 

From Julius Caesar

 

 

From Antony & Cleopatra