William Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet - 1890

William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
Raphael Tuck and Sons, London, Paris, New York [1890]


This is a late-Victorian deluxe art folio edition of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, published by Raphael Tuck & Sons circa 1888–1892. Known as "Publishers to Their Majesties the King and Queen," the firm specialized in high-quality graphic arts and book production. This specific volume illustrates the tragedy through full-page color artwork by 19th-century painters Ludovico Marchetti, Lucius Rossi, and Oreste Cortazzo, representing a notable example of late-19th-century chromolithography.


This beautiful large art folio was issued in London, Paris, and New York, with the three-city imprint on the final closure page identifying it as an early printing from around 1890. The book is printed on thick, heavy card stock and contains 48 pages total, including the final sign-off leaf. The interior features 12 full-page chromolithograph plates interleaved with text pages that are decorated with 13 monochrome and sepia-toned drawings. This copy features the scarcer split yellow-and-red cloth binding, decorated with gold gilt lettering and black debossed borders rather than the more common blue-and-brown colorway.


The book remains in solid, collectible condition. The original yellow-and-red split cloth binding is structurally firm, though the covers show expected shelf wear, minor edge rubbing, and slightly rounded corners. Surface soiling to the cloth is limited, and the gold stamping on the front board remains distinct. Internally, the underlying structural hinges are secure and the heavy text block is firmly attached, though the paper endpapers show a clean cosmetic split along the inner joints. The interior pages are bright and well-preserved; age-related foxing is restricted entirely to the plain endpapers, leaving the text and all 12 color art plates clean, vibrant, and free of spotting. Gilt edged.