Plays (As You Like It / Coriolanus / Cymbeline / Hamlet / Julius Caesar / King Henry IV. Part 1 / King Henry IV. Part 2 / King Henry V / King Henry VI. Part 1 / King Henry VI. Part 2 / King Henry VI. Part 3 / King Henry VIII / King John / King Lear / King Richard II / King Richard III / Macbeth / Measure for Measure / Merchant of Venice / Othello / Romeo and Juliet / Twelfth Night)

This 1845 collection of William Shakespeare's plays was published by J.H. Schubothes Boghandlung in Copenhagen. During the mid-19th century, there was a robust appetite across Europe for standardized, high-quality editions of the Shakespearean canon, as the Romantic movement solidified his status as the preeminent figure in global literature. This specific edition served the growing Danish and Scandinavian market, which increasingly looked to English literary traditions to influence and expand their own national theatrical and academic landscapes.

The publication reflects the meticulous editorial standards of the mid-Victorian era, which focused on providing clean, readable texts for both performance and scholarly study. While the specific illustrator or designer is often not credited in individual volumes of this international series, the typography and binding style align with the period's preference for durability and classical elegance. It was received as a functional and respected addition to the libraries of contemporary continental readers, facilitating a wider dissemination of the Bard's work during a period of burgeoning Shakespearean scholarship in Northern Europe.