Hall (Edward) The Union of the two noble and illustre famelies of Lancastre and Yorke, beyng long in continuall discension for the croune of this noble realme with al the actes done in both the tymes of the princes, black letter, large woodcut armorial initials, smaller woodcut historiated and decorative initials, occasional early ink marginalia, lacking title and Z5 (both supplied in facsimile), 5 sectional blanks (s4, L4, ff8, kkk8 and iii4) and the final blank (Z6), wormholes to first and last few ff., some marginal repairs, some spotting or mostly light staining, lightly browned, antique style dark brown calf, spine in compartments and titled in gilt, upper cover rubbed, g.e., [STC 12723], small folio, [by Richard Grafton], [1550]. sold not subject to return.

⁂ Hall's Chronicle is an important source for Shakespeare's History Plays . He was a staunch supporter of Henry VIII, and so the work was banned during the reign of Catholic Mary I, which no doubt helps to account for the scarcity of early editions. As ESTC ruefully observes, 'this is an exceptionally difficult work to grasp'. Grafton carried out a complicated sequence of re-issues and reprints, with tables added after the first sections of the text had been printed, and copies vary considerably in their components. Accordingly we sell our copy not subject to return.