Contes Moraux Amusans & Instructifs, a l'usage de la Jeunesse, tirés des Tragédies de Shakespeare.
London: Law, Robson, Cadell & Elmsly, 1783. Tall 12mo (6 5/8 x 4 inches; 170 x 100 mm). Contemporary tree-calf, spine gilt with lettering-piece. Condition : advert leaf lacking; head of spine slightly chipped, upper joint split. first edition of the first prose adaptation of shakespeare’s plays for children: a rare work . 15 of the plays are here adapted and translated, including Hamlet, Lear, Othello and Macbeth . The author was a teacher of the French language in London who prepared several texts for his pupils. Our volume is dedicated to Lady Charlotte Finch and contains a list of subscribers which include Sarah Fielding and Mrs David Garrick This copy includes an inscription on one of the preliminary blanks: "This Volume was presented to Miss Blackwell June 10th 1791 by Miss Guy, as a reward for her endeavors to excel in French". It has often been suggested that Charles and Mary Lamb's Tales from Shakspear (London 1807) was the first rendering of these plays for children, but clearly this predates their efforts by two dozen years. The 18th Report to the Fellows of The Pierpont Morgan Library 1975-1977 (p367) described their copy as "the only one in America", but OCLC now cites four other locations.
Contes Moraux Amusans & Instructifs, a l'usage de la Jeunesse, tirés des Tragédies de Shakespeare.
London: Law, Robson, Cadell & Elmsly, 1783. Tall 12mo (6 5/8 x 4 inches; 170 x 100 mm). Contemporary tree-calf, spine gilt with lettering-piece. Condition : advert leaf lacking; head of spine slightly chipped, upper joint split. first edition of the first prose adaptation of shakespeare’s plays for children: a rare work . 15 of the plays are here adapted and translated, including Hamlet, Lear, Othello and Macbeth . The author was a teacher of the French language in London who prepared several texts for his pupils. Our volume is dedicated to Lady Charlotte Finch and contains a list of subscribers which include Sarah Fielding and Mrs David Garrick This copy includes an inscription on one of the preliminary blanks: "This Volume was presented to Miss Blackwell June 10th 1791 by Miss Guy, as a reward for her endeavors to excel in French". It has often been suggested that Charles and Mary Lamb's Tales from Shakspear (London 1807) was the first rendering of these plays for children, but clearly this predates their efforts by two dozen years. The 18th Report to the Fellows of The Pierpont Morgan Library 1975-1977 (p367) described their copy as "the only one in America", but OCLC now cites four other locations.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
