Folio (330 x 222 mm). Comprising two complete plays (pp.75-100) on 13 leaves (E2-E4, F4, G6). Woodcut head- and tail-pieces. (Marginal toning, tissue repair to large closed tear on E2, small chip to E4 margin.) Modern cloth. Provenance: early notation on E2 giving authorship to Walter Calverley.

TWO COMPLETE SPURIOUS PLAYS FROM THE RAREST OF ALL SHAKESPEARE'S FOLIOS.

The 1664 second issue of Shakespeare's Third Folio added seven plays, of which only Pericles, Prince of Tyre is now considered authentic; the other six are regarded as spurious and fall under the category of the Shakespeare Apocrypha. These additional plays were included because, during Shakespeare's lifetime, quartos of these works appeared with his name, initials, or attribution to “W. S.” on their title pages—which has led to centuries of debate around their authorship.