Description of University of Pennsylvania Ms. Codex 2349: Shakespearean textual criticism. University of Pennsylvania 2026-07-30 2026-07-30 These images and the content of Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts Ms. Codex 2349: Shakespearean textual criticism. are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/. Metadata is ©2026 University of Pennsylvania Libraries and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Ms. codex. Title devised by cataloger. 3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6206 University of Pennsylvania Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts Ms. Codex 2349 9979563859003681 http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1573171364 Scholarly notes on the texts of the plays of Shakespeare, drawing on copies of the First Folio and Second Folio (both owned by Monro) and the editions of Lewis Theobald (published in 1733) and William Warburton (published in 1747, first referred to on f. 6r), with additional references to the Shakespearean works of Nicholas Rowe, Alexander Pope, Thomas Hanmer, and Samuel Johnson, as well as the lexicographical work of John Kersey. In the first part of the manuscript, the notes follow the order of the plays in Theobald's edition (f. 1r-119r; Dean Cooke); in the rest of the volume, Monro returns to selected plays, sometimes the same lines within those plays. Many leaves are lightly crossed out. Two printed items (a clipping of a letter by John Kynaston printed in Gentleman's magazine, August 1775, and a page torn from a printed edition of Jean-François Regnard's late 17th-century comedy Le joueur with a note comparing a line of The merry wives of Windsor) and 10 manuscript notes and 2 manuscript bifolia, all related to Shakespearean text, are laid in. Shakespearean textual criticism. Monro, John, 1715-1791

paper

Pro Patria, with countermark of a crown above the initials GR. 185 leaves : 198 x 155 (190 x 143) mm bound to 203 x 160 mm +

Paper, 188; 1¹⁶⁻²(-1, -2) 2-11¹⁶ 12¹⁶⁻²(-15, -16); original foliation in ink, modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto, [i-iii], 1-184 (f. 176v-184v ruled and foliated but blank), [185].

 20-26 long lines; frame-ruled in pale red ink; quarto format. Written in cursive script, largely if not entirely in the hand of John Monro (Dean Cooke). Pen trials, monograms, and informal drawings in ink of a head and a plant (f. i recto); informal drawings in ink (dog and man, f. 124r; head, f. 172r; head of a classical soldier, note laid inside back cover); occasional flourishes in ink used (for example, f. 134r). Drawing of a head and a plant Drawing of a dog and a man Drawing of a head Drawing of a classical soldier

Contemporary (18th-century) blind-ruled parchment stationer's binding (Dean Cooke) with JM monogram in ink on front cover.

Probably mostly written in London, between 1750 and approximately 1775 (latest date in manuscript, 1766, f. 120r; 1775 clipping laid in); early leaves written before 1750 might have been written in Leiden (f. 1r), Oxford, or elsewhere in continental Europe (Dean Cooke).

1744-1775? London A note affixed to the inside of the front cover addressed to the grandchild of John Monro suggests that the manuscript remained in or returned to his family; the initials E. J. L. are written in pencil inside the front cover behind the note. Sold by Dean Cooke Rare Books (Bristol, England), 2024. Shakespeare, William,--1564-1616--Criticism and interpretation--Early works to 1800 Shakespeare, William,--1564-1616--Plays--Criticism, Textual--Early works to 1800 codices (bound manuscripts) collations Commentaries Manuscripts, English--18th century Manuscripts, European