“PERHAPS THE ONLY ONE WORTHY TO RANK WITH” SHAKESPEARE: EXCEEDINGLY RARE AND IMPORTANT FOLIO FIRST EDITIONS OF JONSON’S WORKS

JONSON, Ben. The Workes of Benjamin Jonson. WITH: The Workes of Benjamin Jonson. The second Volume Containing These Playes, Viz. I Bartholomew Fayre. 2 The Staple of Newes. 3. The Divell is an Asse. London: Printed by W. Stansby, 1616 / Printed for Richard Meighen, 1640-41. Two volumes, uniformly bound. Folio, late 19th-century full brown speckled calf rebacked with original elaborately gilt-decorated spines neatly laid down, raised bands, red and olive morocco spine labels, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Each volume housed in custom clamshell box.

Exceedingly rare first editions of the first collected Workes of Ben Jonson, two folio volumes, rarely found together, containing the 1616 Works, whose publication was personally supervised by Jonson, and the 1640-41 Works with its initial three plays in the original and mostly unsold sheets from the 1631 edition also supervised by Jonson, both handsomely and uniformly bound, with engraved allegorical title page in Volume I.

Ben Jonson was “dramatist, friend and contemporary of Shakespeare, and perhaps the only one worthy to rank with him” (Hartnoll, 446). In 1616, the year of Shakespeare’s death, James I granted Jonson a pension, essentially identifying him as the first Poet Laureate of England. That same year Jonson published the first folio edition of his Workes, which he began to prepare for publication in 1612. This definitive volume, which “raised the drama to a new level of respectability” (Drabble, 517), contains nine plays: Every Man in his Humor, Every Man out of his Humor, Cynthias Revells, Poëtaster, Seianus, Volpone, Epicoene, The Alchemist and Catiline, together with a collection of his Epigrammes, poetry and masques. Completing this two-volume collection is the impressive first folio edition of Jonson’s 1640-41 Workes, which features three plays he issued in 1631 as the intended “Second Volume” to the 1616 Workes, along with additional masques, poetry, Tale of the Tub and more. In personally supervising the premiere 1616 Workes, Jonson “used the quarto texts wherever available but scrupulously and systematically revised them, cutting out many marginal notes, altering the spelling, typography and punctuation in accordance with a consistent if somewhat pedantic plan and introducing considerable editorial matter. The result is that this folio edition may be regarded as authoritative. Moreover Jonson attended the press while it was being printed and introduced many corrections and alterations at that time” (Pforzheimer 559).

The 1640-41 Workes (Volume II), composed of four sections, opens with a general title page and the 1631 original title pages of Jonson’s Bartholomew Fayre, The Divell is an Asse and The Staple of Newes (largely in the original unsold 1631 sheets; bound out of the order listed on the general title). This first section was “all that Jonson saw through the press of a projected continuation of his 1616 volume. His failure to complete the collection was probably due to the damning by the town of The New Inn which was published 1631, the same year” as the imprint date of these three plays’ separate title pages, included within. “Because of Jonson’s supervision of this part, the text here given may be considered authoritative” (Pforzheimer 560). This volume’s additional three sections were edited by Sir Kenelm Digby, and each contains separate signature sequences, title pages and paginations. Found variously bound, they are presented herein as follows: Pforzheimer’s Part III with The Magnetick Lady; Tale of a Tub, Sad Shepherd, Pforzheimer’s Part IV with Horace His Art of Poetrie, English Grammar, Timber; and Pforzheimer’s Part II with Masques, Under-woods and Mortimer (this part bound without separate title page). These two exceptional folio Workes, rarely found together, affirm Dryden’s conclusion that if “Shakespeare was the Homer or father of dramatic poets, Jonson was the Virgil” (Allibone I:998). First editions, small-paper copies (both also issued in large-paper). Pforzheimer’s preferred small-paper copy of the 1616 Workes with the following: “A” engraved title page; Every Man Out of his Humour title page (G1) with woodcut border, with imprint of “Printed by W. Stansby for I. Smithwicke”; first state of dedication leaf (G2) with “By your true Honorer, Ben Jonson”; Cynthias Revells title page, second (of two) Pforzheimer states, without woodcut border; Poëtaster title page, second (of three) Pforzheimer states, without woodcut border; with all Quire Yy6 (525-40) small-paper points; last two pages of the Golden Age with song headed “Astraea” preceding that headed “Pallas” (Pforzheimer 559). No such priority offered for the small- and large-paper copies of Volume II. Bartholomew Fayre (Vol. II) with title page: “most Blessed Memorie; By the Author, Benjamin Jonson” (Greg II:455). Occasional mispagination, as issued, text complete. Pforzheimer 559-560. STC 14751, 14754. Greg III, 1070-82. Grolier 100, English.

Volume II title page with neat repair to lower corner, not affecting border or text. A few marginal tears, occasional light spotting and soiling, a few very small rust holes. An excellent copy.