Henry Bohn was a publisher, best known for his series Bohn’s Libraries, which were editions of standard works on science, archaeology, history, classics and theology, intended for the mass market. He began the series in 1846 and by the time he sold the series to Bell and Daldy in 1864 (as his own sons had no desire to follow him into the publishing business) it comprised more than 600 titles. This work on the biography and bibliography of Shakespeare, published in 1863, was done as his contribution to the Philobiblon Society. They were a society of bibliophiles, founded in 1853, who met every few weeks for breakfast (later lunch) to show each other their treasures and discuss topics of interest, such as the permissibility of collecting modern authors.