The Dramatic Works Of William Shakspeare Revised By George Steevens. Vol. I. (- IX.)

Vol. I: [12], 86, [2], [4], 86, [4], 106, [6], 108 p., [13] pl. - Vol. II: [8], 72, [4], 98, [6], 103, [1], [4], 84 p., [11] pl. - Vol. III: [8], 100, [4], 105, [1], [4], 104, [4], 112 p., [10] pl. - Vol. IV: [8], 98, [6], 122, [6], 98, [4], 103, [1] p., [11] pl. - Vol. V: [8], 112, [4], 114, [4], 123, [1], [4], 128 p., [8] pl. - Vol. VI: [8], 112, [4], 127, [1], [4], 120, [4], 143, [1] p., [12] pl. - Vol. VII: [10], 124, [2], [4], 144, [4], 102, [4], 146 p., [10] pl. - Vol. VIII: [8], 99, [1], [4], 101, [1], [6], 135, [1], [4], 141, [1] p., [9] pl. - Vol. IX: [6], 135, [1], [4], 122, [6], 152, [4], 134 p., [12] pl.

A publication-date of 1802 is given on all title-pages; but a publication date of June 4 1803 is given in the dedication of Volume I, the eleventh plate of Volume IV, the first and ninth plates of Volume VII and the second plate of Volume VIII. All plates except the first in Volume I carry publication-dates: (Vol. I) 1792 Sep 25; 1793 Dec 24, 25; 1797 Sep 29; 1798 Apr 23, Dec 1; 1800 Jun 4; 1801 Jun 4; (Vol. II) 1791 Mar 1; 1793 Jun 4; 1795 Jun 4; 1796 Sep 29; 1798 Apr 23; 1799 Sep 29; (Vol. III) 1791 Sep 29; 1792 Sep 29; 1794 Jun 4; 1795 Dec 1; 1796 Jun 4; 1797 Sep 1; 1798 Apr 23; (Vol. IV) 1793 Jun 4, Dec 24; 1794 Jun 4; 1795 Jan 1; 1796 Sep 29; 1798 Dec 1; 1799 Aug 1, Sep 29; 1803 Jun 4; (Vol. V) 1794 Jun 4; 1795 Jan 1, Jun 4; 1798 Dec 1; 1800 Jun 4; (Vol. VI) 1791 Mar 1; 1795 Jan 1, Mar 25, Dec 1; 1798 Apr 23; 1799 Mar 25, Sep 29; 1800 Jun 4; 1801 Jun 4; (Vol. VII) 1796 Jun 1, Sep 29; 1801 Jun 4; 1802 Dec 21; 1803 Jun 4; (Vol. VIII) 1792 Dec 25; 1793 Dec 24; 1795 Jan 1, Sep 29; 1796 Jun 4; 1800 Jun 4; 1802 Dec 21; 1803 Jun 4; (Vol. IX) 1792 Jan 2, Feb 1, Feb 2, Oct 6; 1797 Jun 4, Sep 29; 1798 Apr 23; 1800 Jun 4; 1801 Jun 4.

In each volume each play has its own pagination, divisional title page and colophon.

In his Advertisement one of the publishers, George Nicol, writes: '... One Hundred and Sixty-three Historical Pictures, many of them of a large size, have been painted by British Artists, on purpose to adorn this work; but of this part of the undertaking, a more particular account will be given in the Advertisement prefixed to the large Prints ... Splendour and magnificence, united with correctness of text, were the great objects of this Edition ... it was found necessary to establish a printing-house on purpose to print the work; a foundery to cast the types; and even a manufactory to make the ink.' He adds that in preparing the text Steevens was assisted by Dr Farmer and Isaac Reed. The project to publish a magnificent edition of Shakespeare, illustrated with engravings from specially-commissioned paintings, was first advertised in December 1786; and thirty-four commissioned paintings went on show in May 1789. When the first prints came out in 1792 they were not well received; but the letterpress text, composed by William Bulmer from the Roman and Italic types of William Martin (who may at one time have worked for Baskerville), is a most distinguished piece of printing.

All plates are captioned. The first two in Volume I show 'Shakspeare's Monument In The Church At Stratford Upon Avon' (source-artist not named) and 'The Alto Rilievo In The Front Of The Shakspeare Gallery Pall Mall. Represents Shakspeare seated between the Dramatic Muse & the Genius of Painting ...' (after 'I. Banks', i.e. T. Banks). All other plates show scenes from the plays, after various painters:

Vol. I. 'Tempest' by W. Hamilton, R. Smirke; 'Two Gentlemen of Verona' by T. Stothard; 'Merry Wives of Windsor' by R. Smirke, W. Peters; 'Measure for Measure' by R. Smirke;

Vol. II. 'Comedy of Errors' by F.Wheatley; 'Much Ado About Nothing' by W. Peters, F. Wheatley, W. Hamilton, R. Smirke; 'Love's Labour's Lost' by F. Wheatley; 'Midsummer Night's Dream' by H. Fuseli, J. Reynolds;

Vol. III. 'Merchant Of Venice' by R. Westall; 'As You Like It' by W. Hodges, R. Smirke, W. Hamilton; 'The Taming Of The Shrew' by I.I. Ibbetson (i.e. J.C. Ibbetson); 'All's Well That Ends Well' by F. Wheatley;

Vol. IV: 'Twelfth Night' by W. Hamilton; 'Winter's Tale' by W. Hamilton; 'Macbeth' by R. Westall; 'King John' by R. Westall, R.K. Porter;

Vol. V: 'King Richard II' by W. Hamilton; 'Henry IV Parts I, II' by R. Smirke; 'Henry V' by R. Westall;

Vol. VI: 'Henry VI Pt.1' by Josh. Boydell, W. Hamilton, Jas. Northcote; 'Henry VI Pt.2' by W. Hamilton, J. Reynolds; 'Henry VI Pt. 3' by W. Hamilton; 'Richard III' by J. Northcote, R. Westall;

Vol. VII: 'Henry VIII' by T. Stothard, R. Westall; 'Coriolanus' by R.K. Porter; 'Julius Caesar' by R. Westall; 'Antony and Cleopatra' by H. Tresham;

Vol. VIII: 'Timon Of Athens' by H. Howard; 'Titus Andronicus' by S. Woodforde, T. Kirk; 'Troilus and Cressida' by T. Kirk; 'Cymbeline' by R. Westall (the third being signed as by 'Rob. Westall');

Vol. IX: 'King Lear' by R. Smirke; 'Romeo and Juliet' by W. Miller, R. Smirke, I.F. Rigaud, J. Opie, J. Northcote; 'Hamlet' by R. Westall; 'Othello' by R.K. Porter, Josiah Boydell.

In 1803 the Boydells published their Collection of Prints from Pictures painted for the Purpose of Illustrating the Dramatic Works of Shakspeare, a two-volume large-paper edition of one hundred prints without text (almost all these prints are different from those reproduced in the small-papaer edition with text). And in 1805 Josiah Boydell published Boydell's Graphic Illustrations of the Dramatic Works of Shakspeare, which contains the smaller prints without text (this has an engraving by William Blake of Opie's illustration to 'Romeo and Juliet', in addition to that engraved by J.P. Simon).

A manuscript list of the subscribers to the Boydell Shakespeare is preserved in the Boston Public Library.