The Shakespeare Folio Handbook And Census

This book is the first-ever reference to the four seventeenth-century editions of William Shakespeare's collected plays known as the folios. Along with the quartos, these works are highly valued as the earliest surviving texts of the plays and are frequently cited and discussed in textual studies and general criticism. As an introductory study of these editions, this book focuses on how the folios have traveled over time, where they can be found today, and how they have been valued monetarily. It is the first census of Shakespeare folios conducted in the last fifty years, and it is the first handbook to these important texts ever compiled. The book provides a wealth of information about the folios in a format that can be quickly and easily accessed. It describes the four editions, explains their significance, and traces their market value over time. In addition, a census shows which libraries in the United States hold folios, the chronological movement of the copies to the U.S., and some specific details on each copy. Also included are a biographical dictionary, which offers information on publishers, editors, collectors, and major scholars important to the folios, descriptions of famous copies, a list of donors, discussions of folio lore and bindings, and a bibliography. An essential reference for all Shakespeare collections, this book will be an valuable resource for courses in Shakespearian history and the history of books and printing. It will also be an important addition to both academic and public libraries.

This major reference book for Shakespeare scholars and bibliographers is in the second part of the story of "the greatest book" in the English language. Listing 228 copies of the First Folio, the Census gives concise descriptions of each, covering condition, special features, provenance, and binding. It traces the search for copies, deals with doubtful identifications, describes the tests for inclusion, and presents details of missing copies.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This book is a supplement to the census of copies of the Shakespeare First Folio compiled by Sidney Lee. It includes new additions and updated information, as well as a bibliography of sources related to the First Folio. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from Notes Additions to the Census of Copies of the Shakespeare First Folio Three and a quarter years ago - in December, 1902 - I published, by way of supplement to the Oxford facsimile of the Shakespeare First Folio, a 'Census' in which were enumerated all extant copies of the First Folio that were then known to me. Long before my work was published, I had circulated appeals for co-operation wherever there seemed any likelihood that information would be forthcoming. The generous assistance, which was given me both in this country and abroad, enabled my record to reach the large total of one hundred and fifty-eight copies. Whatever the defeats of the research, I may fairly claim to have achieved a greater measure of completeness than had characterized earlier explorations in the same field. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Notes Additions to the Census of Copies of the Shakespeare First Folio Supplementary efforts to describe copies that had found their way to America did not prove more exhaustive. Mr. Justin Winsor in 1875 gave very careful descriptions of eighteen copies in the United States of America, and in 1888 Mr. W. H. Fleming wrote very fully of thirteen copies in the city of New York. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This catalogue of the Shakespeare First Folio (1623) is the result of two decades of research during which 232 surviving copies of this immeasurably important book were located a remarkable 72 more than were recorded in the previous census over a century ago and examined in situ, creating an essential reference work.