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- VENUS AND
ADONIS
fj
of the poem in 1780, Malone discovered a copy of the edition of First
15-9^, and he noted down thirty-nine variations on his private Edition,
copy of his reprint of the edition assigned to i6oo^ It was ^^'
not until August, 1805-, that Malone's search for the original
edition of i ^93 was rewarded with success. In that month he
acquired for what he called ' the enormous price of twenty-
five pounds ' from William Ford, a bookseller of Man-
chester, acopy of the edition of i5'9 3. With the Fenus and
Adonis was bound up a copy of Licia^ or poems of Love^ by
Venus and Adonis ? The booksellers have repeatedly advertized for the earliest
copy of it, but have not yet been able to get it.' The Earl replied on May 10,
' I am not possessed of any ancient copy of the Venus and Adonis ' (MSS.
of James, ist Earl of Charlemont, Hist. MSS. Comm. iith Report^ ^PP-
Part X, 1 891, vol. i, 1 7-f ^--S 3, p. 34.7}. The following two letters from W. Ford
of Manchester, the seller of the volume of 15-93 ^^ Malone, are in the Bodleian
Library and are here printed for the first time. They are bound up in a volume
of Malone's letters, numbered SC 18578 (fF. 15'6'e, i<)6P) :—
'Manchester, July zo, 1805.
Sir, On receiving this you will be shown the Vol. of Venus and Adonis
— the lowest price of which will be Twenty-five Pounds — the Licia prefixed
to the Vol, is as great a rarity as the other nor have I been able to discover
any notice of it in Warton, Ames, nor Ritson. Probably you may be more
successful. I have not disclosed to M' BickerstafFthe Price I ask you for it,
tho' he is furnished with another Price to ask for it, in case of your refusal.
Had I not been disposing of my Books, an offer of 30 g* should not have
induced me to have parted with it. 1 am in possession of some other Pieces
of our old English Poets as Spencer, Brown, Sec which are now at Binding,
as great rarities as the above, which if I have the pleasure of writing to you
again I will describe more particularly.I remain very respectfully your
Hble Ser* W. Ford.'
The second letter runs :—
'Sir, Yours I duly rec^ enclosing a Bank Bill Val. z^. 17. o for which
I have given you credit and am much obliged to you.
The Bible shall be sent for your inspection the first opportunity.
I lately purchased a curious coll"^ of Books- among them was an old
quarto Vol. of Plays, containing Green's tu quoque^ Shakspere's Henry ^ and
y*, Ben Jonson's Volpone^ and several others all first editions. I sold it
immediately otherwise sh<' have wrote you about it. I remain
Sir your obliged servantManchester W. Ford.
August 30-
1805
-'
' This copy with Malone's manuscript annotations was kindly lent to
the present editor by Messrs. Pearson & Co., 7 Pall Mall Place, London.
H
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