The Shakespeare First Folio, by Anthony James West:The History of the Book, An Account of the First Folio Based on its Sales and Prices, 1623-2000
Anthony James West traces the Folio's sales and prices from one pound in the 17th century to over half a million pounds today
To begin on a personal note. The origins of this study were in my father's
letterpress printing works in south London, where the choice of typeface and
design of a page (my father's forte) and the quality of the ink-impression
on paper (my uncle's) were themes of my childhood. Then, when I left home
for university in the USA, my father gave me an illuminated book of hours
dating from the 1520's. He had had it bound by Zaensdorf. After studying
Shakespeare with Harry Levin, and Spenser and the Metaphysicals with Douglas
Bush, and trying my hand at teaching English, I began to examine the horae.
Thwarted by bibliographical ignorance, I later sought, and was blessed with
being granted, a semester's tutorial with William Jackson in the Houghton.
Combining the values and priorities of the Houghton Library and the Harvard
Business School (where I was studying at the time) set the agenda of a life-long
quest – to practice both sets of values and pursue both sets of priorities.
Thirty years later, after an international business career, the two came
together in a new way when I decided to respond to Paul Werstine's call for
a new census of the First Folio (The Library, March 1989). I was blessed
again when I sought a PhD to have Henry Woudhuysen at University College
London to supervise my dissertation. What started as a hunt for copies
developed, and is further developing, into a multifaceted study, stretching
from pure bibliography to broad history. It now calls for a projected four volume
series. Volume I is in the press and Volume II is nearly completed. Volume III is
planned out and Volume IV is conceived.
Volume I: History This tells part of the story of the 'greatest book'
in the English language. The First Folio is the first collection of
Shakespeare's drama (1623), and the only source for half the plays. This
volume traces the Folio's sales and prices from one pound in the 17th century to over
half a million pounds today, and places this history in the context both of
Shakespeare's standing in each period and of the contemporary world of
antiquarian book sales. As social history, it tells, for example, who has
owned, bought, and sold the Folio — from a country parson in Worcestershire
to the President of Standard Oil in New York City. In addition, it covers:
- The number and distribution of known copies at the beginning and end of
the twentieth century
- A survey of the nineteen facsimile editions of the Folio since 1807
- Listings of the Folio since 1824, including an assessment of Sidney
Lee's 1902 Census
and provides an immense body of statistical and other data for reference and
research purposes.
Volume II: The Hunt, Detective Work, Doubtful Identifications, and the
Census. For a hundred years there has not been an up-to-date, complete
census of the First Folio, that is, since Sidney Lee's Census in 1902. The
main hunt for copies took five years, culminating in a 'Provisional New
Census' published in The Library in March 1995. Chapter 1 describes the
search methods used and the trails followed; one of its aims is to convey
the intrinsic pleasure that accompanies the activity of seeking, and
occasionally finding, treasure trove. Detective work was involved in chasing
elusive copies. For example, the fire-burned copy formerly owned by the
actor Edwin Forrest had disappeared; with the help in particular of the Free
Library of Philadelphia, its charred remains were found, encased in glass,
at the University of Pennsylvania. Chapter 2 deals with doubtful
identifications. For example both the Walters Art Gallery and Brandeis
University copies were thought not to be in the Lee Census, but pursuit and
matching of copy-specific details identified them respectively as Lee 122
and Lee 120.
Because Folios survive in such a wide variety of condition, the tests for
defining what to count as a copy are described in Chapter 3, then
demonstrated with three unnumbered, unrecognized copies at the Folger
Shakespeare Library. Chapter 4 offers a guide to the Census. The Census
itself records 228 copies, seventy more than in Lee. It is intended to be a
permanent quick-reference work, giving concise descriptions of each copy.
The entries briefly cover condition (including the number of original
leaves), features of special interest, provenance, and binding. Details of
missing copies are given to increase the likelihood of their rediscovery,
and a concordance of Lee and West numbers is included to help trace copies.
The projected third and fourth volumes will then provide full bibliographical
descriptions of all the copies of the First Folio and the cultural history of the First Folio,
respectively.
Anthony James West
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