Capell's Shakespeariana

This catalogue of books donated to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1779 by Edward Capell, Shakespeare's eighteenth-century editor, was prepared in 1903 by the renowned bibliographer W. W. Greg. Capell donated the bulk of his working library, including over fifty quartos, to the College, where it is still kept.

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Edward Capell (1713–1781) published his landmark edition of Shakespeare's works in ten volumes during 1767–8. It was the first edition to be prepared from a completely new transcript from the surviving Folio and Quartos rather than a marked-up copy of the previous edition, and thus he inaugurated a new direction in textual editing of Shakespeare's work. In 1779 Capell gave away the library of books used in the preparation of his edition, and the most valuable part of the collection, comprising 245 volumes including his copies of the quartos, went to Trinity College. Capell insisted his books were kept together, and they are still in the Wren Library at the College. This catalogue was prepared in 1903 by the renowned bibliographer and specialist in early modern drama, W. W. Greg, who became Librarian of Trinity in 1907. It offers a fascinating insight into Capell's sources and methods.