William Shakespeare – Five Great Comedies (Pocket Books #114, 1941 First Printing)

📖 Overview

A highly collectible early Pocket Books edition featuring five of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies: As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, and The Tempest. This 1941 first printing is part of Pocket Books’ pioneering line of affordable classics, notable for its vivid design and historical significance.

🏷️ Edition Details

• Publisher: Pocket Books, Inc., New York

• Copyright: 1941, first printing (June 1941)

• Editor: William Aldis Wright (Cambridge text)

• Introductions: John Masefield

• Series Number: 114

• Distinctive Features: Red endpapers, pink page edges, Perma-Gloss finish, and the iconic kangaroo logo.

📚 Condition Description

• Covers: Bright and clean with light surface creasing ; gloss intact.

• Spine: Square and tight with minor edge wear; no splits or heavy rubbing.

• Edges: Pink tint remains strong with one small faded spot.

• Interior: Crisp red endpapers, clean unmarked pages, even toning consistent with age.

• Overall Grade: Very Good bordering on Near Fine for a 1940s paperback.