Scholarly Resources / Critical Bibliography

Annotated Census of Spenser Editions, 1569 - present

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SECTION 1: EDITIONS OF SPENSER'S WORKS, 1569-1679

[note: throughout the quasi-facsimiles below, italic face is represented by italic, black-letter by boldface, and rubrication by red face. Occasional reference is made to the following works:

R. B. McKerrow, Printers' and Publishers' Devices in England and Scotland 1485-1640 (London: The Bibliographical Society, 1913).

R. B. McKerrow and F. S. Ferguson, Title-page Borders used in England and Scotland 1485-1640 (London: The Bibliographical Society, 1932).

F. R. Johnson, A Critical Bibliography of the Works of Edmund Spenser Printed Before 1700 (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1933).

These works are cited parenthetically by editor and reference/page (e.g. McKerrow, No. 234). Because Johnson's descriptions and formulations are in many cases so precise and correct, I have seen no reason to change them; in many cases, the first section amounts to a summary or simple elaboration of his work, for which I am respectfully grateful.]

Jan van der Noodt, A Theatre, first published 1569.
[within a rule, within a border of type ornaments, within a rule] A THEATRE | wherein be repre- | sented as wel the miseries & ca- | lamities that follow the vo= | luptuous Worldlings, | As also the greate ioyes and | plesures which the faith= | full do enioy. | An argument both profitable and | delectable, to all that sincerely | loue the word of God. | Deuised by S. Iohn van- | der Noodt. | [floret] Seene and allowed according | to the order appointed. | ¶ Imprinted at London by | Henry Bynneman. | Anno Domini. 1569. | CVM PRIVILEGIO. [octavo]

[Spenser contributed to this volume xx translations of works by Du Bellay and Petrarch, later revised for publication in his own Complaints of 1591. The translations are not attributed to Spenser anywhere within van der Noodt's text; the attribution is based upon their reappearance in Complaints, where they are noted as 'formerly translated.']
Edmund Spenser, The Shepheardes Calender, first published 1579.
1. THE | Shepheardes Calender | Conteyning tvvelue Æglogues proportionable | to the twelue monethes. | Entitled | TO THE NOBLE AND VERTV- | ous Gentleman most worthy of all titles | both of learning and cheualrie M. | Philip Sidney. [triple dot enclosed in parentheses] | [square printer's ornament] | AT LONDON. | Printed by Hugh Singleton, dwelling in| Creede Lane neere vnto Ludgate at the | signe of the gylden Tunne, and | are there to be solde. | 1579. [quarto]
2. [within a border of ornaments] THE | Shepheardes Calender | Conteining twelue Æglogues proportio- | nable to the twelue | Monethes. | Entitled | TO THE NOBLE AND VERTV- | ous Gentleman most worthy of all titles, both | of learning and ceualrie M. | Philip Sidney. | [triple-star constellation enclosed in parentheses] | [printer's ornament] ¶ Imprinted at London for Iohn| Harison the younger, dwelling in Pater | noster Roe, at the signe of the Anker, and | are there to be solde. [quarto]
3. [within a woodcut border with the royal arms at the top: McKerrow and Ferguson, No. 198] THE | Shepheardes Calender, | Conteining twelue Æglogues propor= | tionable to the twelue | Monethes. | Entitled | TO THE NOBLE AND VER- | tuous Gentleman most worthie of | all titles, both of learning and | chiualry, Maister Philip | Sidney. | [device of John Wolfe: McKerrow No. 251] | Imprinted at London by IOHN WOLFE for | Iohn Harrison the yonger, dwelling in Pater| noster Roe, at the signe of the Anker. | 1586. [quarto]
4. [within a woodcut border with the royal arms at the top: McKerrow and Ferguson, No. 198] THE | Shepheards Calender. | Conteining twelue Aeglogues propor= | tionable to the twelue | Monethes. | ENTITVLED. | TO the noble and vertuous Gen- | tleman most worthie of all titles, both | of learning and chiualry, Mai- | ster Philip Sidney. | [printer's ornament, mask with rings: similar to McKerrow No. 379] | LONDON | Printed by Iohn Windet, for Iohn Harrison| the yonger, dwelling in Pater noster Roe, at the | signe of the Anger. 1591. [quarto]
5. THE | SHEPHEARDS | Calender: | CONTEYNING TWELVE | Aeglogues, proportionable to the | twelue Moneths. | ENTITVLDED, | To the Noble and vertuous Gentleman, most wor- | thy of all tytles, both of learning and chiualrie, | Maister Philip Sidney. | [device of Thomas Creede, McKerrow No. 299] | LONDON | Printed by Thomas Creede, for Iohn Harrison the | yonger, dwelling in Pater noster Row, at the | signe of the Anchor. | 1597. [quarto]
6. Bathurst's 1653 Latin translation [octavo] (double title page):
  [within a border of type ornaments] The | Shepherds | Calendar, | Containing | Twelve Æglogues, | Proportionable to the | Twelve Months. | By | Edmund Spencer | Prince of English Poets. | [double rule] | London, | Printed for M. M. T. C. and Gabriell Bedell, | and are to be sold at their Shop at the | Middle-Temple-gate in Fleetstreet, | M. DC. LIII:
  [within a border of type ornaments] Calendarium | Pastorale, | Sive | Æglogæ Duodecim, | Totidem | Anni Mensibus accommodatæ. | Anglicè olim Scriptæ | Ab | Edmundo Spensero | Anglorum Poetarum Principe: | Nunc autem | Eleganti Latino carmine donatæ | A | Theodoro Bathurst, | Aulæ Pembrokianæ apud Cantabri- | gienses aliquando Socio. | [rule] | Londini, | Impensis M. M. T. C. & G. Bedell, ad Por- | tam Medii-Templi in vico vulgò vocato | Fléetstréet Anno Dom. 1653.
  
  [for further editions of The Shepheardes Calender, see under Works]
Edmund Spenser and Gabriel Harvey, Three proper, and wittie, familiar letters, 1580.
1. [within a rule, within a border of type ornaments, within a rule] ¶THREE PROPER, | and wittie, familiar Letters: | lately passed betvvene tvvo V- | niuersitie men: touching the Earth- | quake in Aprill last, and our English | refourmed Versifying. | With the Preface of a wellwiller | to them both. | [device of Henry Bynneman: McKerrow, No. 97] | IMPRINTED AT LON- | don, by H. Bynneman, dvvelling | in Thames streate, neere vnto | Baynardes Castell. | Anno Domini. 1580. | Cum gratia & priuilegio Regi� Maiestatis.[quarto]
2. A second title-page
  [within a rule, within a border of type ornaments, within a rule] ¶TVVO OTHER, | very commendable Let- | ters, of the same mens vvri- | ting: both touching the foresaid | Artificiall Versifying, and cer- | tain other Particulars: | More lately deliuered vnto the | Printer. | [device of Henry Bynneman: McKerrow, No. 97] | IMPRINTED AT LON- | don, by H. Bynneman, dvvelling | in Thames streate. neere vnto | Baynardes Castell. | Anno Domini. 1580. | Cum gratia & priuilegio Regiæ Maiestatis. [quarto]
Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, 1590 (Q), 1596 (Q), 1609 (F).
1. THE FAERIE | QVEENE. | Disposed into twelue books, | Fashioning| XII. Morall vertues. | [device of John Wolfe: McKerrow, No. 242] | LONDON | Printed for William Ponsonbie. | 1590. [quarto]
2. 1596 I-III
  THE FAERIE | QVEENE. | Disposed into twelue bookes, | Fashioning| XII. Morall vertues. | [device of Richard Field: McKerrow, No. 222] | LONDON | Printed for VVilliam Ponsonbie. | 1596. [quarto]
3. 1596 IV-VI
  THE SECOND | PART OF THE | FAERIE QVEENE. | Containing | THE FOVRTH, | FIFTH, AND | SIXTH BOOKES. | By Ed. Spenser.| [device of Richard Field: McKerrow, No. 222] | Imprinted at London for VVilliam | Ponsonby. 1596. [quarto]
4. THE | FAERIE | QVEENE, | DISPOSED INTO | XII. BOOKES, | Fashioning twelue Morall Vertues. | [device of Humphrey Lownes: McKerrow, No. 335] | AT LONDON. | ¶ Printed by H. L. for MATHEW LOWNES. | 1609. [folio]
Edmund Spenser, Complaints, 1591.
[within a woodcut border: McKerrow and Ferguson, No. 117] Complaints. | Containing sundrie | small Poemes of the | Worlds Va- | nitie. | VVhereof the next Page | maketh menti- | on. | By ED. SP. | [ornament of four hands pointing inward] | LONDON. | Imprinted for VVilliam | Ponsonbie, dwelling in Paules | Churchyard at the signe of | the Bishops head. | 1591. [date set in panel in lower border] [quarto]
Edmund Spenser, Daphnaïda, first published 1591.
Daphnaïda. | An Elegie vpon the | death of the noble and vertuous | Douglas Howard, Daughter and | heire of Henry Lord Howard, Vis- | count Byndon, and wife of Ar- | thure Gorges Esquier. | Dedicated to the Right honorable the Lady | Helena, Marquesse of Northampton. | By Ed. Sp. | [device of Thomas Orwin: McKerrow, No. 273a] | AT LONDON | Printed for VVilliam Ponsonby, dwelling in | Paules Churchyard at the signe of the | Bishops head 1591. [quarto]

[A second edition of Daphnaïda was published in 1596, at the back of the first edition of Fowre Hymns]
Edmund Spenser, Colin Clouts Come Home Againe, 1595.
[within a border of type ornaments] COLIN CLOVTS | Come home againe. | By Ed. Spencer. | [printer's device of Thomas Creede: McKerrow, No. 299] | LONDON | Printed for VVilliam Ponsonbie. | 1595. [quarto]
Edmund Spenser, Amoretti and Epithalamion, 1595.
AMORETTI | AND | Epithalamion. | Written not long since | by Edmunde | Spenser. | [device of Peter Short: McKerrow, No. 278] | Printed for William | Ponsonby. 1595. [octavo]
Edmund Spenser, Fowre Hymns, 1596.
[ornament] Fowre Hymnes, | MADE BY | EDM. SPENSER. | [device of Richard Field: McKerrow, No. 222] | LONDON, | Printed for VVilliam Ponsonby. | 1596. [quarto]
Edmund Spenser, Prothalamion, 1596.
Prothalamion | Or | A Spousall Verse made by | Edm. Spenser. | IN HONOVR OF THE DOV | ble mariage of the two Honorable & vertuous | Ladies, the Ladie Elizabeth and the Ladie Katherine | Somerset, Daughters to the Right Honourable the | Earle of Worcester and espoused to the two worthie | Gentlemen M. Henry Gilford, and | M. William Peter Esquyers. | [diamond-shaped printer's ornament] | AT LONDON. | Printed for VVilliam Ponsonby. | 1596. [quarto]
Collected works, 1611, 1617.
[within a woodcut border, originally cut for the 1593 edition of Sidney's Arcadia; see McKerrow and Ferguson, Title Page Borders, No. 212] The | Faerie Queen: | The | Shepheards Calendar: | Together | With The Other | Works of England's Arch-Poët, | Edm. Spenser: | ¶Collected into one Volume, and | carefully corrected. | Printed by H. L. for Mathew Lownes. | Anno Dom. 1611. [folio]

[it was customary to identify another edition of the Works in 1617 until the findings of F. R. Johnson (1933) showed that independent elements of the composite volume were reset and reprinted on demand, as constituent stocks failed; for information on the printing of the seven separate elements (title page and dedication; Books I to III of The Faerie Queene; Books IV to VI of The Faerie Queene with the Cantos of Mutabilitie; the letter to Ralegh, with commendatory and dedicatory poems; The Shepheardes Calender; Prosopopoeia or Mother Hubberds Tale; and the rest of the shorter poems), see Johnson (1933), pp. 33-48).
Edmund Spenser, A view of the present state of Ireland, 1633.
A View | Of the State | Of | Ireland, | Written dialogue-wise betweene | Eudoxus and Irenæus, | By Edmund Spenser Esq. | in the yeare 1596. | [ornament: a cherub's head] | Dublin, | Printed by the Society of Stationers. | M. DC. XXXIII. [folio]
Edmund Spenser, Works, 1679.
[title enclosed within a double rule] THE | WORKS | Of that | Famous English | POET, | Mr. Edmond Spenser. | Viz. [curved bracket taking in three lines] The FAERY QUEEN, | The SHEPHERDS CALENDAR, | The HISTORY of IRELAND, &c. | [horizontal rule] | Whereunto is added, | An ACCOUNT of his LIFE; | With other new ADDITIONS | Never before in PRINT. | [within a horizontal rule] Licensed, October 24th 1678. Roger L'Estrange. | LONDON: | Printed by Henry Hills for Jonathan Edwin, at the | Three Roses in Ludgate-street. 1679. [folio]

SECTION 2: EDITIONS OF SPENSER'S WORKS, 1715-1932

[This section does not attempt a complete catalogue of editions of Spenser's works even in this period. Instead it presents an account of the major editions of Spenser's complete works, noticing those distinguished by particular editorial care, scholarly annotation, or lavish publication/wide circulation.]

Ed. John Hughes, 1715.
THE | WORKS | OF | Mr. Edmund Spenser. | IN | SIX VOLUMES. | WITH | A GLOSSARY Explaining the Old and | Obscure Words. | [within a horizontal rule] Publish'd by Mr. HUGHES. | [within a horizontal rule] VOLUME the FIRST. | LONDON; | Printed for JACOB TONSON at Shakespear's Head, | over against Catherine-street in the Strand. | M.DCC.XV.

[This edition was reprinted in a revised edition in 1750.]
Ed. T. Birch, 1751.
The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser, with an exact Collation of the two Original Editions [by Thomas D. D. Birch], published by himself at London in quarto, the former containing the first three books printed in 1590, and the latter the six books in 1596; to which are now added a new life of the author and also a glossary adorn'd with thirty-two copper plates from the original drawings of the late W. Kent. (London: Printed for J. Brindley in New Bond-Street and S. Wright, Clerk of his Majesty's works, at Hampton-Court, 1751). [3 volumes]
Ed. John Upton, 1758.
SPENSER'S | FAERIE QUEENE. | A NEW EDITION | WITH A | GLOSSARY, | And NOTES explanatory and critical | BY | JOHN UPTON | Prebendary of Rochester and Rector of Great Rissington | in Glocestershire. | IN TWO VOLUMES. | VOLUME the FIRST. | LONDON: | Printed for J. and R. TONSON in the Strand. | [under a horizontal rule] MDCCLVIII.
Ed. Ralph Church, 1758.
The Faerie Queene of Edmund Spenser. 4 vols. London, 1758.
Ed. H. J. Todd, 1805.
THE | WORKS | OF| EDMUND SPENSER. | IN EIGHT VOLUMES. | WITH THE | PRINCIPAL ILLUSTRATIONS | OF | VARIOUS COMMENTATORS. | TO WHICH ARE ADDED, | NOTES, SOME ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE OF SPENSER, | AND | A GLOSSARIAL AND OTHER INDEXES. | BY THE | REV. HENRY JOHN TODD, M.A. F.A.S. | RECTOR OF ALLHALLOWS, LOMBARD-STREET, LONDON, &C. | [Epigraphs from Milton and Dryden] | VOLUME THE FIRST. | LONDON: | PRINTED FOR F. C. AND J. RIVINGTON, T. PAYNE, | CADELL AND DAVIES, AND R. H. EVANS. | 1805. [8 vols.]
Ed. F. J. Child, 1855.
The Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser. The text carefully revised, and illustrated with notes, original and selected, by F. J. Child. 5 vols. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1855.
Ed. George Gilfillan, 1859.
The Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser. With memoir and critical dissertations, by the Rev. G. Gilfillan. 5 vols. Edinburgh: J. Nichol, 1859.
Ed. John Payne Collier, 1862.
The Works of Edmund Spenser, ed. John Payne Collier. 5 vols. London: Bell and Daldy, 1862.
Ed. Morris and Hales, 1869.
The Globe edition. Complete Works of Edmund Spenser edited from the original editions and manuscripts by R. Morris...With a memoir by J. W. Hales. London: Macmillan and Co., 1869.
Ed. A. B. Grosart, 1882-4.
The Complete Works in Verse and Prose of Edmund Spenser, ed. A. B. Grosart. 9 vols. London (privately printed), 1882-4.
Ed. Kate M. Warren, 1897-1900.
The Faerie Queene...Edited from the original editions of 1590 and 1596, with introduction and glossary, by K. M. Warren. 6 vols. London: Constable & Co., 1897-1900.
Ed. R. E. N. Dodge, 1908.
The Complete Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser. [Edited by R. E. Neil Dodge.] Boston: The Cambridge Edition of the Poets, 1908.
Ed. J. C. Smith, 1909.
The Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene, ed. J. C. Smith. 2 vols. London, 1909.
Ed. by J. C. Smith and Ernest de S�lincourt, 1912.
The Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser, ed. by J. C. Smith and Ernest de Sélincourt. 3 vols. London: Oxford University Press, 1912.
Ed W. L. Renwick, 1930-32.
The Works of Edmund Spenser, ed. W. L. Renwick. 8 vols. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1930-32.
Variorum Edition of the Works of Edmund Spenser, 1932-1949.
The Works of Edmund Spenser, A Variorum Edition, edited by Edwin Greenlaw, Charles Grosvenor Osgood, and Frederick Morgan Padelford, et al., 11 vols (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1932-49).

SECTION 3: EDITIONS OF SPENSER'S WORKS, 1932-PRESENT

[Note: this section is especially selective. Only those editions with particularly sound texts or especially helpful annotations/appendices have been included.]

The Faerie Queene

Ed. by A. C. Hamilton (London: Longman, 1977). [A reprinting of J. C. Smith's 1909 text, buttressed by copious same-page New Critical annotation.]
Ed. by Thomas P. Roche, Jr., with the assistance of C. Patrick O'Donnell, Jr. (London: Penguin Books, 1978). [An unmodernised text based on the early quartos, carefully annotated, with useful but not exhaustive textual notes.]
Ed. by A. C. Hamilton et al. (London: Longman, 2001). [A revised, unmodernised text based on the early quartos, and 1609 folio, of the poem, framed by the same elaborate annotation as the first edition.]

The Shepheardes Calender , etc.

The Yale Edition of the Shorter Poems of Edmund Spenser, ed. by William A. Oram, Einar Bjorvand, Ronald Bond, Thomas H. Cain, Alexander Dunlop, and Richard Schell (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989). [An unmodernised text of Spenser's complete shorter poems, based on the original editions; carefully and faithfully laid out, and well annotated.]
Edmund Spenser, Selected Shorter Poems, ed. by Douglas Brooks-Davies (London: Longman, 1995). [A modernised text based on the original editions; excellent annotations with a particular emphasis on Spenser's Platonism]
Edmund Spenser, The Shorter Poems, ed. by Richard McCabe (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1999). [An unmodernised text of Spenser's complete shorters poems, built from a comparison of de Sélincourt's 1910 Oxford edition with the early quartos of individual works; scrupulously edited and copiously annotated. Apart from the pulp-paperback format, this is now the best affordable edition of Spenser's shorter poems.]

A view of the present state of Ireland

A View of the State of Ireland, From the first printed edition (1633), ed. by Andrew Hadfield and Willy Maley (Oxford: Blackwell, 1997). [A faithful edition of Ware's 1633 text, with helpful prefatory material and appendices, including an annotated guide to further reading.]