Twenty of the Plays of Shakespeare (Hamlet / King Henry IV. Part 1 / King Henry IV. Part 2 / King Henry V / King Henry VI. Part 2 / King Henry VI. Part 3 / King John / King Lear / King Richard II / King Richard III / Love's Labour's Lost / Lover's Complaint / Merchant of Venice / Merry Wives of Windsor / Midsummer Night's Dream / Much Ado About Nothing / Othello / Romeo and Juliet / Sonnets / Taming of the Shrew / Titus Andronicus / Troilus and Cressida)

This collection represents a significant milestone in eighteenth-century literary scholarship, being a direct reprint of the plays as they appeared in the 1765 edition edited by Samuel Johnson. Published in 1766 by J. and R. Tonson in partnership with T. Payne and W. Richardson, these volumes were instrumental in codifying Shakespeare's status as a central figure in English literature. By gathering twenty specific works, the collection aimed to provide readers with a comprehensive yet accessible library of the playwright's most celebrated dramas and poems during a period of burgeoning interest in textual criticism.

The editorial effort behind these texts reflects the transition toward rigorous academic study of Shakespearean manuscripts, with Johnson’s famous preface providing a foundational argument for Shakespeare’s enduring relevance. The design and production standards of the Tonson editions were highly regarded at the time, utilizing clean typography and formal bindings suitable for the private libraries of the British elite. While these volumes have since been surpassed by modern critical editions, they remain highly valued by bibliophiles as artifacts of the era that first solidified Shakespeare's works as the canon of English drama.