The complete works

Its grim outside so I'm continuing my book theme for a while longer. This is the "Complete Works of William Shakespeare" as published by William Collins & Sons in 1899. Its bound in leather and the inside front and back covers have some rather splendid marbled paper. The edges of each page are coloured red and gold alternately. Opened up like this it appears, to me at least, like slices of parma ham piled one upon another. I picked up this particular volume for 25p in a second-hand book shop many years ago in Durham. Inside it has a rather nice plate handwritten with a calligraphy pen saying that it was presented to the Rev. E. Sykes by the children of St Paul's, West Hartlepool on Easter Day 1901. The volume is illustrated with 65 'photo-engravings' of what are described as 'eminent histrionic artists' like Sir Henry Irving, Ellen Terry and Sarah Bernhardt. I'm guessing that the word 'histrionic' has changed its meaning in the intervening years, or maybe not.