MANUSCRIPTS.

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^o. (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. One of these runs 'Effigies William Shakespeare Britanni ad fidem tabellæ unicæ manu Richard Burbage depictæ (circa annum, ut videtur, 1609) per R. Barret Londinensem quam exactissimè expressa anno 1759, curantibus David Garrick et Edward Capell. Capell's Collection given to y^e College 1779'. Another is headed 'Extract of a letter to M^r. Capell, that accompany'd a Cast from the face of Shakespear's monument at Stratford, dated Dec^r. 13. 1780.'. The portrait and cast are both in the Library. The third is a list of certain books in Capell's handwriting. There has also been added to the collection a fine medallion head of Capell, engraved by Bartolozzi after a plaster model taken from life by Roubilliac in 1750.

Mr William Shakespeare his Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies, set out by himself in quarto, or by the Players his Fellows in folio, and now faithfully republish'd from those Editions in ten volumes octavo; with an Introduction: Whereunto will be added, in some other Volumes, Notes, criticall and explanatory, and a Body of Various Readings entire.

Lucr. Lib. 3. l. 1056.

London: Printed for &c. 1768.

6 vols. large 4^o. (11³⁄₄ × 9¹⁄₄). MS. 1.

Epistle dedicatory to the Duke of Grafton, signed and dated 'Essex Court in the Temple Nov. 9^th'. 1766, altered to 1767 as in printed edition. At the end of vol. vi is inserted a printed table as in MS. 3. The date at which Capell began and ended each play is entered, but these dates do not run consecutively through the volumes as finally bound up. The earliest date is that to the 'Merry Wives of Windsor', begun Nov. 25, 1749, and ended Jan. 18, 1750; the latest that to the 'Taming of the Shrew', begun July 4, 1766 and ended Aug. 1 of the same year. Whether these dates refer to the actual construction of the text or merely to the present transcript is not clear, but they certainly bear some relation to the latter as may be seen from the handwriting which gradually grows larger, heavier, and less easy to read, though always distinguished by copperplate regularity.

Notes and Various Readings to Shakespeare, ... Volume the First. [Volume the Second.] London: Printed by &c.

Volume the Third. The School of Shakespeare: or, authentic Extracts from divers English Books, that were in Print in that Author's Time; evidently shewing from whence his several Fables were taken, and some Parcel of his Dialogue: Also, further extracts, from the same or like Books, which or contribute to a due Understanding of his Writings, or give Light to the History of his Life, or to the dramatic History of his Time. With a Preface, and an Index of Books extracted. London: Printed by &c.

3 vols. large 4^o. (11⁵⁄₈ × 9³⁄₈). MS. 2.

The first vol. contains an address to the reader signed E. C., and a glossary to Shakespeare, after which come the notes and various readings to the different plays, which fill the remainder of vol. i and the whole of vol. ii. Vol. iii contains Preface signed E. C., 'Index of Books extracted', and Extracts. There follows 'Notitia Dramatica; or, Tables of Ancient Plays, (from their Beginning, to the Restoration of Charles the second) so many as have been printed, with their several Editions: faithfully compiled, and digested in quite new Method, by E. C. With a Preface.'. This is followed by a bibliographical appendix of titles, which was never printed. The 'School of Shakespeare' was begun Feb. 3, 1767 and ended Jan. 16, 1771. Part of the commentary was published in 1774 but was not well received and was recalled. The whole was then put forth in three quarto vols. in 1779-1783, the last of which appeared after Capell's death in 1781.

Paradise Lost a Poem in Twelve Books; written by Iohn Milton. London: Printed for &c.

4^o. (11³⁄₄ × 9³⁄₈). MS. 3.

Epistle dedicatory to the Bishop of Rochester signed, and dated Essex Court in the Temple, Ian. 23, 1767. With List of editions and various readings at the end. The text was begun July 23, 1759 and ended Dec. 18, 1760. After this with separate titlepage 'Hermes, or, A Guide to the Elements; setting forth their just Number, and a Mode of representing with Certainty: For the Benefit of Youth, and of Foreigners. Fronte, exile negotium, Et dignum pueris putes; Aggressis, labor arduus. Ter. Mau. London: Printed for &c.' a treatise on phonetics with a folding leaf of sounds (printed), and a vocabulary to 'Paradise Lost'. Neither of the works in this volume was printed.

["Prolusions, or, select Pieces of ancient Poetry", by E. C. 2. Vol^s. 4^o. small.]

MS. 4.

This entry is in Capell's MS catalogue but the book is not in the collection.

A Collection of Poems, In Two Volumes; Being all the Miscellanies of Mr. William Shakespeare, which were Publish'd by himself in the Year 1609 and now correctly Printed from those Editions. The First Volume contains, I. Venus and Adonis. II. The Rape of Lucrece. III. The Passionate Pilgrim. IV. Some Sonnets set to sundry Notes of Musick. The Second Volume contains One Hundred and Fifty Four Sonnets, all of them in Praise of his Mistress. II. A Lover's Complaint of his Angry Mistress. London: Printed for Bernard Lintott, at the Cross-Keys, between the Two Temple-Gates in Fleet-street.

8^o. 2 vols. in one. (6⁵⁄₈ × 4¹⁄₄). MS. 5.

The second leaf, signed A 2, contains an 'Advertisement', at the end of which on A 2^v is the MS note 'I gave M^r Capell the Information of the opposite Page. R. Farmer'. Then follow two leaves containing a 'Preface' in Capell's handwriting. The next leaf is B 1. The text has been carefully corrected throughout by Capell, who has modernised the spelling. The volume apparently contains Capell's material for an edition of the Poems, which however were not included in his edition of Shakespeare's works. The collection was published in 1709. On the fly-leaf are the lines also in Capell's hand: