The Confessions of William-Henry Ireland, Containing the Particulars of His Fabrication of the Shakespeare Manuscripts; Together with Anecdotes and Opinions (hitherto unpublished) of Many Distinguished Persons in the Literary, Political and Theatrical Wor
London; Dated 1805 But (ca.1870): For Thomas Goddard. Small Octavo. Item #029058
Two frontispiece's (1 folding), 317pp., (17)pp. index, 3 other folding plates, and a 2 page typed letter bound in after page 312 which is basically a minor biographical note about Ireland by J.R. Smith, in which he cites Bibliotheca Cantiana. This copy, like the Huntington's appears to be a deceptive facsimile or forgery of the original 1805 edition. It has a frontispiece facsimile of a forged seal and a facsimile of a forged and genuine signatures of William Shakespeare. The titlepage is a reproduction of the 1805, but lacks the price at the foot. The typesetting has signature mark "B2" with "B" under "to" and "2" under "a" while the 1805 edition has "B2" centered under "a". The inclusion of the extra 3 folded leaves of facsimiles, along with typesetting similarities resemble the 1874 edition published in New York by James W. Buton but lacking the introduction and preface (Pages xxi, (7). The Huntington concludes that this places the date of the artifact after 1874. The plates include frontispiece illustration of the "Quintain seal" a folding facsimile of Shakespeare's autographs, and 3 numbered folded leaves of facsimiles facing pages 75, 80 and 86. The likely reason a forged facsimile would be done was perhaps to satisfy a small collector market for forgeries relating to the issues surrounding William Henry Ireland. Rebound in white cloth, spine lettering black, a few tiny speckles of foxing for fore-edges, spine a bit darkened with finger soiling From the library of Ernest Bryan Gipps with his bookplate.
Price: $275.00