Shakespeare Society Publications

Scope

“The Shakespeare Societies’ publications are of special interest, not only because of their very real contribution to nineteenth century scholarship and criticism, but because of the notoriety which attached itself to John Payne Collier, a prominent figure in and chief contributor to the original Shakespeare Society. Collier, along with G. L. Craik, Alexander Dyce, J. N. Halpin, J. O. Halliwell-Phillips, and others, formed the first Shakespeare Society in 1840….Unfortunately, the Society’s achievements were diminished by the discovery in 1859 that John Payne Collier was a forger and a liar.” (A Catalogue of the Microfiche Collection of the Shakespeare Societies’ Publications.)  The collection contains material concerning the conditions under which Shakespeare and his contemporaries lived and wrote, material concerning the chronology of the plays, and the reprints of the plays themselves. There are 48 numbers listed in the Shakespeare Society Publications, and there are Series I-VIII (Series V was never published)  with 234 numbers published in the New Shakspere Society Publications.