ON ONE HUNDRED BOOKS FAMOUS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE * * * * * BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ON ONE HUNDRED BOOKS FAMOUS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE COMPILED BY HENRY W. KENT [Illustration] THE GROLIER CLUB OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK MCMIII Copyright, 1903, by THE GROLIER CLUB OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK PREFACE After the publication of the volume entitled _One Hundred Books Famous in English Literature with Facsimiles of the Title-pages and an Introduction by George E. Woodberry_, the books themselves were gathered from the collections of members of the Club for an exhibition at the Club-house. All of these volumes belonged to the first published editions, except where copies of the earliest editions were not obtainable, or, for some reason, were not desirable. In two cases, those of "Tottel's Miscellany" and Lyly's _Euphues_, copies of the first editions are unique, and, therefore, practically not obtainable. The second edition of _A Myrrour For Magistrates_ contains the first issue of the poem called an _Induction_ by the Earl of Dorset, and was, therefore, the edition which it was desirable to show. Notwithstanding the oft-repeated statement that copies of the second edition of Bacon's _Essays_ are of greater rarity than those of the first, no copy of the first edition was forthcoming, and one of the later date was necessarily included in the collection. In one or two instances a second issue of a first edition was used where the extremely rare first issue was not owned by a member of the Club. Arranged side by side, each volume open at its title-page, the individuality of these well-known works was brought out strikingly: taken collectively, they illustrated, clearly and interestingly, the development of the Book in England. Members of the Club were thus led to suggest the publication of a second, or supplementary volume, which should give the bibliographical facts connected with each book, and which should indicate, briefly, something of this development. The present volume was undertaken in response to this suggestion.