The Aldus Shakespeare Author:William Shakespeare, Henry Norman Hudson, Charles Harold Herford Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: INTRODUCTION By Henry Norman Hudson, A.M. The First Part of King Henry the Fourth was entered in the Stationers' Register to Andrew Wise, February 25, 1598... more »; the entry running thus: "A book intitled the History of Henry IV, with the battle at Shrewsbury against Henry Hotspur of the North, with the conceited Mirth of Sir John Falstaff." The same year it was published in a quarto pamphlet of forty leaves, with a title-page reading as follows: "The History of Henry the Fourth, with the battle at Shrewsbury between the King and Lord Henry Percy, surnamed Henry Hotspur of the North: With the humorous conceits of Sir John Falstaff. At London: Printed by P. S. for Andrew Wise, dwelling in Paul's Church-yard, at the sign of the Angel. 1598." It was issued again in 1599, the title-page being the same, except the addition,—"Newly corrected by W. Shakespeare." And there was a third issue in 1604, with a title-page varying from that of 1599 thus: "Printed by Valentine Simmes for Matthew Law, and are to be sold at his shop in Paul's Churchyard, at the sign of the Fox." It was also published a fourth and a fifth time by Matthew Law, in 1608 and 1613. Thus far it is simply called "The History of Henry the Fourth," and nothing is said of its being "The First Part;" but in the folio of 1623 it is entitled "The First Part of Henry the Fourth, with the Life and Death of Henry surnamed Hot-spur." The play was also mentioned by Meres in his Wit's Treasury, in 1598, and was transferred from Wise to Law at the Stationers', June 27, 1603. No further contemporary mention of it has been discovered. All these editions have been collated by Mr. Collier, who says that "the text is unquestionably found in its purest state in the quarto of 1598." The five later editions appear to have been printed from ...« less