The Plays of William Shakespeare
One comedy, one tragedy, one history and the series prospectus from the Limited Editions Club The Plays of William Shakespeare (1939-1940) bound together to approximate the size and heft of a First Folio. Included are TheTaming of the Shrew illustrated by W. A. Dwiggins, Antony and Cleopatra illustrated by Enric C. Ricart, and Henry the Eighth illustrated by Eric Gill.
Bradel binding: goatskin spine with false bands, handsewn silk endbands, marbled flexi endsheets, edges sprinkled in white acrylic. Vellum boards laser etched with the two most recognizable pages from the First Folio: the title page bearing the Martin Droeshout portrait of William Shakespeare and Ben Johnson’s dedication. Blind tooling on spine and as a frame around both boards. Digital images of the First Folio courtesy of the Library of Congress. Laser etching by Insiya Dhatt. Bound 2025.
This austere binding mirrors Johnson’s exhortation to “dwell not upon the physical book but on the words within.”
33 x 23 x 4.5 cm
13 x 9.25 x 2”
This binding was created for Durham University’s Binding the Bard competition. A proposal for binding a facsimile of Durham’s first folio, it returns the iconic pages that were removed after its 1998 theft: the title page bearing the Martin Droeshout portrait of William Shakespeare and the facing page with the dedication by Ben Johnson.
This marriage of traditional materials and contemporary technology honors the past while creating a modern binding for this four-hundred-year-old work.
The binding structure echoes this melding of classical and modern: viewed from the spine the binding appears to be sewn like the original on five raised supports laced into boards. When open the book reveals the contemporary lines of a three-part Bradel binding.
Natural markings visible on the vellum suggest the age of the First Folio and in particular the storied history of Durham University’s copy.
One comedy, one tragedy, one history and the series prospectus from the Limited Editions Club The Plays of William Shakespeare (1939-1940) bound together to approximate the size and heft of a First Folio. Included are TheTaming of the Shrew illustrated by W. A. Dwiggins, Antony and Cleopatra illustrated by Enric C. Ricart, and Henry the Eighth illustrated by Eric Gill.
Bradel binding: goatskin spine with false bands, handsewn silk endbands, marbled flexi endsheets, edges sprinkled in white acrylic. Vellum boards laser etched with the two most recognizable pages from the First Folio: the title page bearing the Martin Droeshout portrait of William Shakespeare and Ben Johnson’s dedication. Blind tooling on spine and as a frame around both boards. Digital images of the First Folio courtesy of the Library of Congress. Laser etching by Insiya Dhatt. Bound 2025.
This austere binding mirrors Johnson’s exhortation to “dwell not upon the physical book but on the words within.”
33 x 23 x 4.5 cm
13 x 9.25 x 2”
This binding was created for Durham University’s Binding the Bard competition. A proposal for binding a facsimile of Durham’s first folio, it returns the iconic pages that were removed after its 1998 theft: the title page bearing the Martin Droeshout portrait of William Shakespeare and the facing page with the dedication by Ben Johnson.
This marriage of traditional materials and contemporary technology honors the past while creating a modern binding for this four-hundred-year-old work.
The binding structure echoes this melding of classical and modern: viewed from the spine the binding appears to be sewn like the original on five raised supports laced into boards. When open the book reveals the contemporary lines of a three-part Bradel binding.
Natural markings visible on the vellum suggest the age of the First Folio and in particular the storied history of Durham University’s copy.
One comedy, one tragedy, one history and the series prospectus from the Limited Editions Club The Plays of William Shakespeare (1939-1940) bound together to approximate the size and heft of a First Folio. Included are TheTaming of the Shrew illustrated by W. A. Dwiggins, Antony and Cleopatra illustrated by Enric C. Ricart, and Henry the Eighth illustrated by Eric Gill.
Bradel binding: goatskin spine with false bands, handsewn silk endbands, marbled flexi endsheets, edges sprinkled in white acrylic. Vellum boards laser etched with the two most recognizable pages from the First Folio: the title page bearing the Martin Droeshout portrait of William Shakespeare and Ben Johnson’s dedication. Blind tooling on spine and as a frame around both boards. Digital images of the First Folio courtesy of the Library of Congress. Laser etching by Insiya Dhatt. Bound 2025.
This austere binding mirrors Johnson’s exhortation to “dwell not upon the physical book but on the words within.”
33 x 23 x 4.5 cm
13 x 9.25 x 2”
This binding was created for Durham University’s Binding the Bard competition. A proposal for binding a facsimile of Durham’s first folio, it returns the iconic pages that were removed after its 1998 theft: the title page bearing the Martin Droeshout portrait of William Shakespeare and the facing page with the dedication by Ben Johnson.
This marriage of traditional materials and contemporary technology honors the past while creating a modern binding for this four-hundred-year-old work.
The binding structure echoes this melding of classical and modern: viewed from the spine the binding appears to be sewn like the original on five raised supports laced into boards. When open the book reveals the contemporary lines of a three-part Bradel binding.
Natural markings visible on the vellum suggest the age of the First Folio and in particular the storied history of Durham University’s copy.
