One hundred copies of the Vale Press edition of the Plays of Shakespeare were set aside for the American market. They were sold by John Lane from his New York office at 251 Fifth Avenue.
Each Play will be issued in a single demy 8vo volume, bound in cloth and stamped in blind from a design by Mr. Ricketts.
Two special lists were set in Vale Type by the Ballantyne Press in London and printed on Vale Press paper. They were shipped to America and distributed by John Lane. (These are now exceedingly rare. If you have a copy, please let me know.)
But that was not all. He also had them photographed and published in the American counterpart to The Studio, which he published. The International Studio contained articles published by The Studio a month before (usually adding some American news). The March 1900 issue, for example, opened with the article that had appeared in London in February. Advertisements were included at the front and back of the issues.
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| The International Studio, March 1900 (cover) |
The sections containing advertisements were entirely focused on the American market, with promotional material from, for example, The New York School of Art, Ida J. Burgess from Chicago, The London Art Publishers from Philadelphia, Foster Bothers in Boston, The National Correspondence School of Indianapolis and the Art Academy of Cincinnati. There were some London art adverts as well.
Four of the sixteen advertising pages in the March 1900 issue were used by John Lane to advertise the Vale Press and Vale Shakespeare.
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| The International Studio, March 1900 (page Ad VIII) |
The first page—at the front of the issue—focused on the Shakespeare publication.
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| The International Studio, March 1900 (page Ad XIV: detail) |
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| The International Studio, March 1900 (page Ad XVI: detail) |
The fourth and last page of the original list was omitted here. It mentioned prices of the Pre-Vale editions and contained a list of editions that were sold out in both London and New York, but of which copies occasionally became available.
In this (for him) inexpensive way, John Lane effectively spread the message about the Vale Shakespeare throughout America.
