First published in 1807, Tales from Shakespear simplified both the stories and the style of the originals. It was often the first introduction to Shakespeare's plays for children in the nineteenth century. The illustrations consist of twenty plates from drawings by William Mulready engraved by William Blake. Throughout his career as a poet and artist, Blake supported himself as an engraver for other artist's work. These engravings show his mastery of the craft, but not the brilliance of his fantastic imagination.

John Boydell, 1719-1804.
The American edition of Boydell's Illustrations of the dramatic works of Shakespeare, by the most eminent artists of Great Britain. New York: Restored and published with original descriptions of the plates by Shearjashub Spooner, 1852.

This collection of engravings-after-paintings by England's best-known academy painters is an astonishing tour-de-force of the engraver's craft, but has the stilted look of stage settings. As is typical for Victorian academic art, the technical skill overwhelms any emotion or character development.

Shakespearian Tableau. London: P. Jerrard, 1854.

This is a typical Victorian gift book, with short quotes from Shakespeare matched with generic, brightly colored illustrations.

Felix Octavius Carr Darley was the most famous American illustrator of the mid-nineteenth century. He illustrated works by the major authors of the period, including James Fenimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Charles Dickens. The Darley Gallery of Shakespearean Illustrations, a deluxe edition of thirty India ink wash drawings produced as photogravures, was Darley's last major work and the culmination of his career as an illustrator.

Gift of Eileen and Elliott Pollack

William Shakespeare, 1564-1616.
The Comedies, Histories & Tragedies of William Shakespeare. New York: Limited Editions Club, 1939-40.

The complete edition of thirty-seven volumes of Shakespeare's plays was designed by Bruce Rogers. In describing his plans for the folio-size volumes, Rogers wrote in 1938 that he desired a type that "should be bold and vigorous enough to convey to the reader's eye something of the rugged Elizabethan quality of the text." Each volume is illustrated by a different artist. The images in King Lear were done from drawings by Boardman Robinson.

Mary Grabhorn contributed striking colored woodcuts to this edition of King Lear. The Grabhorn Press was begun by Edwin and Robert Grabhorn in San Francisco in 1919. After Robert's death in 1973, the press became Arion Press, run by Andrew Hoyem who had worked with Robert Grabhorn.

William Shakespeare, 1564-1616.
King Lear; with 9 original etchings by Christopher Kent. Guildford, England: Circle Press Publications, 1973.

Circle Press was formed by Ron King in 1967. The name was chosen by King to suggest his vision of a group of like-minded persons working within a shared, supportive framework; a circle which over the period of time has enlarged to include over 100 artists and poets. The press has always been managed in all aspects of its activities by the artists themselves from production to sales and distribution.

William Shakespeare, 1564-1616.
The Tragedie of King Lear; with woodcuts by Claire Van Vliet. Bangor: Theodore Press, 1986 (West Burke, Vt.: Janus Press).

Claire Van Vliet, who founded the Janus Press in 1955, designed, illustrated, type-set, printed on hand-made paper, and bound this edition. Van Vliet, a major figure in the artist book movement, also has created a significant body of watercolors, drawings, etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, and paperworks. In l989, she was awarded a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship Award. Her woodcuts for King Lear are simple but emotionally powerful.