Throughout the summer, people gather for Shakespeare in the Park, outdoor productions of the bard’s plays. Our summer exhibit is inspired by these free, public theatrical productions, offering a repertoire of rare books from Santa Clara University Library’s Special Collections. Much like Shakespeare in the Park theatrical productions, the books on display reflect the creative variations in different styles and approaches to these cultural works. Each editor, illustrator and printer adapted and reworked their source material for their own times and audiences. There are different types of Shakespeare editions, especially study texts that were historically used for teaching at the university and fine press limited editions. The display also includes a handful of 16th and 17th century English rare books that give a glimpse into print traditions in Shakespeare’s own time. The exhibit has been on display through the summer, and will continue until the first week of September.
Shakespeare at Santa Clara
Of course, Shakespeare productions and classes have been popular at Santa Clara since the college was founded! There are teaching editions and production scripts of Shakespeare from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as scholarly texts for study, like the Shakespearian grammar and the facsimile of the first folio of Antony and Cleopatra that are on display. There are also exquisite editions that have been purchased or donated throughout the years, exemplifying the artistry and craftsmanship that go into creating a fine press book.
Fine Press Shakespeare Editions
One of the most beautiful sets in Santa Clara University’s rare book collections is the Artist’s Bibliophile Edition of the Henley Shakespeare published in 1903. The set has the bookplate from John Gallwey, M.D., who donated it to Santa Clara College in the early 20th century. Only 15 copies of the set were ever printed, and Santa Clara has the first! It consists of twenty volumes, identically bound in green Morocco leather with inlaid paintings on the inside front covers. Each volume contains hand-painted engravings and art nouveau style illuminations throughout. For a deeper dive into the history of the Henley Shakespeare at SCU, see this previous blog post: The Henley Shakespeare: The Sonnets.
There is a long tradition of fine press editions in the San Francisco Bay Area, and books by those local publishers are a major collecting area for Santa Clara University. The Grabhorn Press, a historic local fine press publisher in San Francisco from the 1920s to the mid 1960s, are known for their elegant designs with handset type and contemporary style. Each display case has at least one of the large format, limited edition, Shakespeare plays illustrated by Mary Grabhorn, the daughter of founder Edwin Grabhorn. See our Grabhorn Press Research Guide for more information about the publisher and about our collection.
Tributes to Shakespeare
Over the years, the library has also collected the fine editions of Shakespeare and innumerous works that pay tribute to him, his works, theatrical productions and actors. While there are several on display, Israel Gollancz’s A Book of Homage to Shakespeare, is particularly beautiful. It was published during the middle of World War I for the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death with tributes from authors from around the world in the form of poetry, essays and translations from well known scholars and literary figures. There are contributions in Irish, Hebrew, Urdu, Arabic, Japanese and other languages with bilingual facing pages in English.
Our own tribute to Shakespeare has become a real team effort! Our archives specialist Kevin Leary has been selecting a different page from A Homage to Shakespeare to display each week, showing what Shakespeare’s works meant, and the inspiration that came from the idea of a world cultural figure, at a particularly fraught moment in history. If you would like to participate in a little Shakespeare-centric cultural activity yourself, our digital collections coordinator Taylor Garvey has created coloring pages from a rare book in our collection, Outlines to Shakespeare’s Dramatic Works. You can print it out at home (download file below)–or come pick up a copy in our reading room!
Selected Bibliography*
Gollancz, Israel, ed. A Book of Homage to Shakespeare. Oxford: University Press, H. Milford, 1916. SCU Library Catalog Link.
Retzsch, Moritz. Outlines to Shakespeare’s Dramatic Works. Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1878. SCU Library Catalog Link.
“Santa Clara Presents Shakespearian Play in Spring.” (1929, February 14). The Santa Clara. https://content.scu.edu/digital/collection/broncoseg/id/1082/rec/47
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice. Illustrated by Mary Grabhorn. San Francisco: Grabhorn Press, 1956. SCU Library Catalog Link.
Shakespeare, William. The Works of Shakespeare. Edited by W. E. Henley. [New York?]: Printed at Edinburgh for R. G. Newbegin, New York, by T. and A. Constable, 1903. SCU Library Catalog Link.
* The selected bibliography includes references from this blog post. The complete list of books in the exhibit can be requested from specialcollections@scu.edu