Great good fortune about the Shakespeare set, Bruce! For my sweet sixteen, my dad bought me a 12-volume set printed some time in the late 1800's - which I still have. It was missing one volume - we got 11 - so the price for the WHOLE SET was $20. The leather bindings are cracked and broken now, for the most part. But there are the lovliest litho-type illustrations. And of course, the sentimental value of the gift... I was a young actor who loved the classics, and instead of a pearl necklace or a watch, my dad - who loved the English language in an uncommon way - gave me something far more valuable.
Happy Birthday to all of us, for the immortal Will.