The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://archive.org/details/cu31924029648981 Cornell University Library Z8813 D63 Four folios of ...Sh9KS3SB.'5Slffi',a..BS l Jfifiiiiii an 3 1924 029 648 981 The Four Folios of Shakespeare's Plays AN ACCOUNT OF THE FOUR COLLECTED EDITIONS TOGETHER WITH A CENSUS OF THE KNOWN PERFECT COPIES OF THE FIRST FOLIO A DESCRIPTION OF AN EXCEPTIONALLY DESIRABLE SET NOW OFFERED FOR SALE BY Dodd, Mead & Company New York Shakespeare 's Four Folios WE take pride in offering for sale an exceptionally fine set of the Four Folio Editions of Shakespeare's Plays. The First Folio (the most valuable of all printed books) is one of the finest known copies ; the Second Folio has the very rare Aspley imprint ; and the Third Folio is a fine copy with the earliest form of title-page dated 1663. The First Folio Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. Published according to the True Originall Copies. London. Printed by Isaac Jaggard, and Ed. Blount. 1623. Lord Dormer's superb copy (No. XIII of Sidney Lee's Census), the copy which brought ^£ 1,7 20 at Sotheby's in 1 90 1, then the record price, and one of the finest copies extant. Unusually large, measuring 12 9-16 x 8j£ inches, it is, first of all Perfect, every leaf is genuine and not a word or letter is in facsimile. The title-page, especially, is in most unusual condition, with a superb impression of the portrait. The two lower corners of the leaf of Verses have Shakespeare s Four Folios been restored and a corresponding piece has been supplied for the outer lower corner of the last leaf, but these are the only imperfections worthy of mention. The slight mend- ing of the lower corner of the four or five leaves at end, preceding the last leaf, is scarcely noticeable. The volume is bound in red morocco super-extra by Bedford, rough gilt edges, and is enclosed in a morocco case. The Second Folio Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. Published according to the true Originall Copies. The second Impression. London, Printed by Tho. Cotes, for William Aspley, 1632. With the very rare Aspley imprint. A good, sound and perfect copy, in yellow morocco, gilt edges, in morocco case. Some blank margins have been mended. The Third Folio Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. Published according to the true Original Copies. The Third Impression. London, Printed for Philip Chetwinde, 1663. A very fine copy, formerly Gregory Lewis Way's with the earliest issue of the title-page, dated 1663 (with blank space left for the portrait), and also having the second title with imprint " London, Printed for P. C. 1664.," with portrait and verses on separate leaf, and containing the seven added plays at end. Perfect, sound, and genuine throughout bound in calf and enclosed in a red morocco case. Shakespeare 's Four Folios The Fourth Folio Mr. William Shakespear's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. Published according to the true Original Copies The Fourth Edition. London, Printed for H. Herringman, E. Brewster, and R. Bentley, 1685. A good and generally sound copy in old calf, joints re- paired. The lower inside corners of a number of leaves have been discoloured by oil. Price of the four volumes as described Thirty-two thousand dollars DODD, MEAD & COMPANY November, 1907. Note : — It is a remarkable fact and worthy of mention here that of the fifteen perfect copies of the First Folio now belonging to private owners in America, no less than six (including the present copy) have been sold (or offered for sale) by Dodd, Mead & Co. The First Folio Its History and Bibiography IT is probable that to William Jaggard is primarily due the credit of gathering together and printing, seven years after Shakespeare's death, this collection of his Plays. From James Roberts in 1613, Jaggard had acquired by purchase the right to print several of the quartos, as well as the perhaps more valuable sole right of printing the players' bills or programmes. Even though Jaggard's establishment was an important one, he seems to have pre- ferred to have the risk of the publication shared by others and the colophon of the volume reads "Printed at the Charges of W. Jaggard, Ed. Blount, I. Smithweeke, and W. Aspley, 1623." Probably with the assistance of the Managers, John Heminge and Henry Condell, they pro- cured from various sources — printed quartos, prompt copies made for the actors and surreptitious or private manuscript copies — the text of all of Shakespeare's Plays (save only Pericles). The type used was probably of Dutch manu- facture and the larger part of the printing was probably done at Jaggard's printing office near St. Dunstan's Church though it is almost certain that other printers were called upon to do portions of the work. There is positive evid- ence, in the careless proof-reading and curious errors in the make-up, that great haste was used in its production. Even after printing was under way new portions of manuscript were procured, necessitating the printing and insertion of extra leaves. This is the case particularly with "Troilus and Cressida" which seems to have been inserted bodily 6 Shakespeare 's Four Folios almost at the last moment. Corrections were made in some sheets while they were passing through the press. On Nov. 8, 1623, the volume was probably nearly ready for publication as on that day application was made to the Stationers' Company for license to print the sixteen plays which had not been previously entered to others in the Register. This application was made by Isaac Jaggard (son of William) and Edward Blount, and their names only ap- pear upon the title-page of the book. As a specimen of typography the volume is no credit to its printers. Errors of pagination and signature marks are numerous and inexcusable. The headlines of the last two pages of " Two Gentlemen of Verona " are wrongly "The Merry Wives of Windsor", which is the following play. Even the initial letter of the first word of text in the volume (B in Bote-Swaine) was printed upside down, though the mistake was corrected in the larger part of the edition. The textual misprints in the words of Mr. Lee "illustrate every phase of typographical carelessness." The occasional substitution of actual actors' names for those of the characters is evidence of bad editing and shows that play-house transcripts were the manuscripts followed. The statement in the Preface that "we have scarce re- ceived from him a blot in his papers," is of the same class with that on the title-page "Printed according to the True Originall Copies." If by these statements it was meant that Shakespeare's own manuscripts were used as "copy" they are certainly false. They are probably of a class with and as harmless as much of the extravagant advertising of today. The volume contains 454 leaves including the nine preliminary leaves, which were printed last. The book it- 7 Shakespeare s Four Folios self was made up of quires or signatures of six leaves each but two only of the preliminary leaves bear signature marks and their arrangement is uncertain. The dedication to William, Earl of Pembroke, and Philip, Earl of Mont- gomery, and the Preface " To the great Variety of Readers," both signed by John Heminge and Henry Condell, are marked A 2 and A 3 respectively. The title was undoubtly A, and the " Catalogue " we may presume to be A 6. The dedication A 2 had as "follower" the leaf containing verses by Hugh Holland, making it almost certain that this leaf was A 5. In the same way the Preface had as "follower" the long poem by Ben Jonson, which was thus probably A 4. The leaf preceding the title-page, called by Sydney Lee, the "fly-leaf" but more generally known as the leaf of Verses, was probably printed separately and pasted on. The lines by Digges and the leaf of Actors' names was probably printed later and laid in the center of Sig. A. or bound in following it. The portrait on the title-page, printed from a copper- plate engraved by Martin Droeshout is to modern eyes scarcely deserving of the praise bestowed upon it by Ben Jonson. The engraver was only about twenty-two years of age when it was done and it may be called the work of an apprentice. The copper wore away rapidly and during its sixty years of use, it was several times retouched. Of the earliest state two impressions only are known, one being in the Malone collection in the Bodleian library, the other belonging to Mr. Perry. This earliest state is distinguished by the absence of a well defined shadow cast by the hair upon the collar. The second state may be distinguished by the ab- sence of the little white line extending towards the right from the center of each eye-ball, which was added in the third state. 8 Shakespeare 's Four Folios Probably six hundred copies of the First Folio were printed — a large edition for those days — and the pub- lishers' price was probably one pound. As this edition was sold out, and the demand continued, the folios of 1632, 1663 and 1685 were published. By an agreement with Sir Thomas Bodley, made about 1 6 10, the London Stationers' Company bound itself to present to the Bodleian library one copy of each book printed by any of its members. In accordance with this agreement a copy of the First Folio Shakespeare, in sheets, unbound, was delivered to the library, probably late in 1623. On February 17, 1624, these sheets were sent with other books to the Oxford binder, William Wildgoose, by whom it was duly returned. It was placed on a lower shelf, chained, but free to be consulted by any user of the library. When, in due course, a copy of the Third Folio came to the library from the Stationers' Company the thrifty librarian recognizing the value of the new and en- larged edition put his copy of the old edition among his duplicates to be sold, and it went with other ''super- fluous Library Books sold by order of the Curators" some- time during the year, to the bookseller, Richard Davis. The identical volume was next recognized when it was shown Bodleian's librarian in January, 1905, by Mr. G. M. R. Turbutt, who wished advice as to what ought to be done with his old book. It was later acquired by the library for ^3000. One pound, the published price of the book, remained the market price for a long time. In a sale catalogue of 1748 a copy was offered and described as "a fine copy, very scarce," but no priced copy of the Catalogue seems to have survived. In 1756 (the earliest priced record of a sale) a 9 Shakespeare s Four Folios copy brought three guineas. About 1770 Beloe said that the standard value of a fine copy was five guineas and that he refused "at nine guineas a superb copy" which realized thirteen at Dr. Monro's sale in 1792. At the John Watson Reed sale the Duke of Roxburghe paid ^35 14s. for a copy. This was a great advance but in 1 8 1 2 when the Duke's books were sold the identical copy brought ,£100. At the Midgeley sale in 181 8, Thomas Grenville paid ,£121 1 6s. for a copy and that poor prophet, the biblio- grapher Dibdin, wrote that this was "the highest price ever given or likely to be given for the volume." Meanwhile many copies changed hands at much lower prices. In 1850, ^124, in 1851,^141 10s. and in 1854, £163 16s. were paid, raising the record successively. At the 1854 sale James Lenox carried off" the prize, being the first instance of serious American competition for the book in the London auction room. The next great advance was at the Daniel sale, when a woman, Miss (afterwards Baroness) Burdett-Coutts paid the then unheard of sum of £ji6 2s. for George Daniel's fine copy, perhaps in all respects still the most desirable existing copy. An American collector, Almon W. Griswold, was the under- bidden In 1867 another prophet, James S. B. Bohn, put himself on record with the statement: "The difficulty of procuring a perfect copy .... is now so great, and the com- petition whenever one occurs so strong, that probably what our ancestors deemed dear at ^100 will be regarded as cheap at ^1,000 by our successors." The price of 682 guineas paid by Miss Burdett-Coutts for the Daniel copy remained the record price at auction until 1891, when Dodd, Mead & Company paid $4,200 at Brayton Ives' sale for a copy which had belonged success- 10 Shakespeare 's Four Folios ively to Sir William Tite, Eugene N. Robinson and Joseph J. Cooke. This copy, though small, is one of the soundest and most perfect copies known. No new record was made until July, 1899 when the fine Belleroche copy (now Mr. Perry's) was bought at Christie's by Mr. MacGeorge of Glasgow for ^1,700. Nevertheless the next good copy to come upon the market, Lord Dormer's copy, sold by his daughter, brought £1,720 in 1901. This is the copy now offered for sale by Dodd, Mead & Company. In 1905 the same firm sold the fine Rowfant copy privately for $ 13,500 and, shortly after, Mr. Perry again "lifted" the price by buying from Mr. MacGeorge his four folios for _£ 10,000. In an effort to divide this sum and affix a separate estimate on the First Folio, Mr. Sidney Lee decided upon "some gigantic sum not less than ^6,000." In March, 1907, the Rowfant copy again came upon the market, being sold at Sotheby's by Mr. Van Antwerp with his other books. It brought ,£3,600 and is now owned by Mr. Widener of Philadelphia. As two booksellers were concerned as agents in making the pur- chase, we may presume that it has cost him not less than $20,000. The general impression that the First Folio is an ex- cessively rare book is wrong. Indeed, it is one of the com- monest of books of its period, no less than one hundred and seventy-two copies, good, bad and indifferent (mostly, it is true, of the two latter classes) having been located by Mr. Lee. In the succeeding pages we give a list of all per- fect copies which can be traced. "Perfect" is here used as it was used by Lee in his Census and implies only that no leaves are lacking. Many, indeed most, of these perfect copies have suffered from the ravages of time, the leaf of 11 Shakespeare s Four Folios verses preceding title, the title itself and the last leaf being most likely to be injured. Absolutely perfect copies are almost, if not quite, unknown. Perhaps a score of copies in all are in existence which have the printed text complete (without any facsimiles) and of these some small portions of blank margins are usually lacking or have been supplied by the modern renovator. To a collector considering the purchase of a First Fo- lio, the instructions of Thomas Pennant Barton the veteran Shakespearean collector to Thomas Rodd, his London agent are, except in limit of price, still applicable. In 1845 Barton wrote to Rodd, referring to Bright's copy, about to be sold : " If the copy be perfect and does not sell exorbitantly, you must make a violent effort to secure it. It is a danger- ous book to meddle with ; but if arch-perfect, and in fine condition, I have no objection to your giving a hundred guineas, or even a little more. But above all things, be well satisfied on these points before you buy." What of the future ? Does the steady rise in value of the book during the last century and a half warrant any prediction as to the future ? If so, and there is no reason to believe that the interest in this great book will diminish, by the end of the present century, collectors and book- sellers of that day may expect to see a fine First Folio bring at auction a hundred thousand dollars. 12 Perfect Copies in Private Hands in America i. The present copy, described more fully on a pre- ceding page. Lee's No. XIII. 2. E. Dwight Church, Brooklyn. No. XXXII of Lee's list but it should probably have been included in his first division, as if it had been cut down one-quarter inch the evidence that some of the preliminary leaves were from a smaller example would have been removed. Although Lee gives the height as 13% inches, this is an error. The measurements are 13^ by 8 3-16 inches. The substituted leaves noted by Lee measure 12 15-16 inches in height. This is the copy offered in Quaritch's Catalogue of June, 1888, and there described as follows : "The First Folio, quite perfect, with title, portrait, verses, and all preliminary leaves in splendid original con- dition, untouched by the hand of any modern renovator. A genuine, sound, fine and very large copy (13^ inches in height), bound in red morocco, super extra, in the Veneti- English style of Queen Elizabeth's time, by Bedford. "This copy, equal in size and in every other respect to the famous Daniel copy, is the only first rate First Folio which has been seen since the Daniel Sale twenty-four years ago. There are perhaps not four such copies in existence ; and there is therefore no possibility of measuring their value by a reference to even the highest prices paid for ordinarily good copies." 3. Marsden J. Perry, Providence, R. I. This is Sidney Lee's X, which at that time belonged to Bernard 13 Shakespeare s Four Folios Buchanan MacGeorge of Glasgow, but which was acquired (with the other three folios) in 1905 by the present owner for £10,000. Size 11% by Z% inches. It was long in the French family of Belleroche, which settled for a time in England after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Subsequently owned by a member of the family residing near Brussels and sold by him at Christie's Sale-rooms in July, 1899, to Francis Harvey, a bookseller, for £1,700. The volume is in old calf (possibly the original binding) and is in fine condition throughout. The only imperfec- tions noted by Lee are "a few corners of margin torn off"" but when sold at auction in 1899 the description said : "A portion of the outer margin of the title cut off, but the por- trait not touched, a small portion of the text from the cor- ners or 4 pages torn off." But on account of its good un- restored condition (never having been in the hands of a modern binder) this copy is one of the most desirable ex- tant. 4. J. Pierpont Morgan, New York. Lee's No. XXXVII. A very large copy 13^ by 8^ inches. The leaf of Verses has been repaired and two other leaves have been supplied from a smaller original. This copy has an interesting history. The earliest owner so far traced was Sir John Sebright, whose collection was dispersed in 1807. It later belonged to Professor Robert Willis by whom it was sold at Hodgson's in 1872 bringing £10, 10s. It then lacked the title-page which was supplied after its purchase by Leonard Laurie Hartley who also took the liberty of in- serting the book into old covers, bearing the arms of Robert Sidney, the second Earl of Leicester. At the Hartley sale it was acquired by James Toovey, the bookseller and was H Shakespeare s Four Folios purchased from him, with his private library, by Mr. Morgan in 1899. 5. Mrs. Levi Z. Leiter, Washington. Lee's No. LIII, wrongly included in his Class II, under the supposi- tion that it lacked a leaf which is simply misplaced. It is actually one of the finest copies known, measuring 13% by 8 1 1 -1 6 inches and in an old calf binding, probably the original. The last leaf is repaired, a portion of the Colo- phon being in facsimile. It was priced by Quaritch in August, 1888 (Catalogue No. 91), at ^420 and was described in part, as follows : "This is a copy of extraordinary value, such as I can never hope to see again ; that is entirely perfect and unso- phisticated, in its original condition. It has an infinite superiority over the very best of the fine and perfect copies hitherto known, all of which were in modern bindings and had no doubt undergone the usual course of mixture of leaves and supplying of imperfections, which destroy the confortable assurance of genuineness that we desiderate in all old books of more than ordinary value." 6. Robert Hoe, New York. Lee's XXXV. Very large copy, measuring 13% by 8J^ inches. Very clean throughout, never having been washed, in a red morocco binding by Roger Payne. The leaf of Verses and title are both inlaid, some letters in the first, second and last line of title having been supplied in facsimile. The lower margin of the last leaf has also been slightly restored. This was the Syston Park copy and when that library was sold in 1884 by the founder's grandson, Mr. Hoe acquired the volume for £590. 15 Shakespeare 's Four Folios 7. P. A. B. Widener, Philadelphia. Lee XXIV, then in the Locker-Lampson library at Rowfant. When pur- chased by Mr. Locker about 1870, it lacked the leaf of Verses. The story of his efforts to secure this leaf is told by him in " My Confidences " (pp. 203-216). The sub- stituted leaf, which was found in an old scrap book was small and somewhat injured, so that it was necessary to supply the lower and inner margins. At the dispersal of the Rowfant library by Dodd, Mead & Company, the folio was acquired by Mr. W. C. Van Antwerp, the price paid being $13,500. At the sale of his collection at Sotheby's in March last, .£3,600 was paid for the book by Quaritch. It is a large copy, the leaf measuring 13 by 8 ^ inches. 8. Charles C. Kalbfleisch, New York. Lee's No. XXXVI. Avery tall copy (measuring 13 3-16 by 8 1-16 inches) in an old binding ascribed to Roger Payne. The Verses and title are inlaid and the last leaf rebacked. It was purchased at the Tait sale in 1878 by the late Charles H. Kalbfleisch for ^480. 9. William A. White, Brooklyn. Lee's No. XIV. The Tite-Robinson-Cooke-Ives copy. At the Ives sale in 1891 it was purchased by Dodd, Mead & Company for $4,200, then, and until 1899 the record price at auction. The copy is fine and sound throughout, but small, measur- ing only 12 3-16 by 7 15-16 inches. 10. William A. Read, New York. Lee's No. XXXIX. A clean unwashed copy in a binding by Charles Lewis. Size 12 y % by 8 3-16 inches. Leaf of Verses inlaid and lower corner of title mended, part of the imprint bring in facsimile. It formerly belonged to Marshall C. LefFerts. 16 Shakespeare s Four Folios ii. James W. Ellsworth, New York. Lee's No. XXXIII. In morocco by Bedford. Verses inlaid, title and last leaf partly remargined. Belonged formerly to Augustin Daly (who had purchased it with the other three folios from Dodd, Mead & Company in 1888) and purchased by Mr. Ellsworth at the Daly sale in March, 1900 for $5,400. Size 12% by 8^ inches. 12. Miss Mary Edgecombe Blatchford, Cam- bridge. Lee's No. XXXI, and No. 2 of Winsor's list. Size \iyi by 8 inches. Portrait inlaid in title, corner and inner margin of last leaf supplied and a few other margins re- paired. Formerly belonged to William Gray who had inherited it from his uncle, by whom it had been imported about 1836. 13. H. C. Folger, New York. Lee's No. CLI. Size 12 ^ by % x / % inches, the major part of the blank por- tion of the leaf of Verses very skillfully worked over and extended. Formerly belonged to Mrs. Norton Quincy Pope of Brooklyn and offered, with the other three folios in Dodd, Mead & Company's catalogue No. 40 (March, 1896) for $10,000. 14. J. Pierpont Morgan, New York. A second copy. Lee's No. XXXVIII and Winsor's No. 10. It was described by Rodd in 1 845 as " cut to the quick and otherwise objectionable." At the sale of the library of the Duke of Sussex in that year it brought £56, and was ac- quired by Robert Lenox Kennedy of New York. At the sale of some of his books in 1889, it brought $1,400 and was acquired by Theodore Irwin of Oswego, and came to Mr. Morgan with Irwin's library in 1901. 17 Shakespeare } s Four Folios 15. Mrs. George L. Harrison, Philadelphia. Lee's No. XXXIV. Size 13% by 8 3-16 inches. The leaf of Verses is inlaid and the "title mounted with inlaid portrait" and preliminary leaves and first two leaves of " Tempest " inlaid. Perfect Copies in Public Libraries in America Boston Public Library, Lee's No. XI. The Thomas P. Barton copy bequeathed to the library in 1879. John Carter Brown Library, Providence. Lee's No. XII. The Turner copy, acquired by Mrs. John Carter Brown in 1885. Library of Congress, Washington. Lee's No. XXVII. Purchased at Sotheby's in December, 1889. New York Public Library. Lee's No. XXVIII. Winsor's No. 9. Acquired by Mr. Lenox about i860. New York Public Library. Lee's No. XXIX. Winsor's No. 8. The copy described by Lowndes, having the date mutilated so as to resemble 1622. Acquired by Mr. Lenox about i860. Columbia University Library, New York. Lee's No. XXX. Winsor's No. 12. The S. Whitney Phoenix copy, bequeathed to the library in 1882. 18 Perfect Copies in Private Hands in England The Estate of the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, London. Lee's No. V. The famous Daniel copy for which £716, 5s. was paid. This was long the record price. The Earl of Carysfort, Elton Hall, Peterborough. Lee's No. VI. The Ouvry copy which brought ^420 in 1882. The Earl of Crawford, Haigh Hall, Lancashire. Lee's No. VII. The Earl of Charlemont's copy which sold in his sale in 1855 for £455. George Lindsay Holford, London. Lee's No. VIII. Perhaps James Boaden's copy. Alfred Henry Huth, Andover. Lee's No. IX. The Hibbert-Wilks-Dunn Gardner copy, acquired by the late Henry Huth at the sale of John Dunn Gardner's books in 1854 for ^250. Mark Beaufoy, London. Lee's No. XVIII. This copy is in an authentic binding by Roger Payne and is especially interesting as it contains his itemized bill for the work. The Estate of the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, London. A second copy. Lee's No. XX. The Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth. Lee's No. XXI. The Duke of Roxburghe's copy, which brought j£ioo in 1812. Earl Howe, Gopsall, • Leicestershire. Lee's No. XXII. This copy has been at Gopsall since 1773. A poor copy; announced as to be sold by Sotheby. 19 Shakespeare s Four Folios Alfred Law, Honresfield, near Manchester. Lee's No. XXIII. The Frederic Perkins copy, purchased at his sale in 1889 for £41 5. William Phelps, Chestal, Gloucestershire. Lee's No. XXV. Has been in the Phelps family since 1820. R. J. Walker, St. Paul's School, London. Lee's No. XXVI. The Henry Perkins copy, at the sale of whose library in 1873 it brought £585. Lady Wantage, Lockinge House, Berkshire. No. I of Lee's supplementary list as published in The Library. The Verses (lacking the initials) at end are cut around and mounted and the letter-press of the title-page has been repaired. Duke of Norfolk. No. II. of Lee's supplementary list. Verses cut out and inlaid on a new leaf, and the last two figures of the dates on the title-page in facsimile. Bernard Quaritch, London. Lee's No. XIX, then belonging to Abel Buckley, but sold by him at Sotheby's on June 1, 1907, for £2,400. The leaf of Verses is re- margined, though text is intact, and the margins of two leaves of text have been repaired. Henry Sotheran & Co., London. No. III. of Lee's supplementary list, then belonging to Dr. John Gott of Trenython. Offered in a Catalogue of this firm in the spring of 1907. It is described as having the Verses guarded, corners of title and a few other leaves mended, and last leaf edged, four letters being in facsimile. 20 Perfect Copies in Public Libraries in England British Museum. Lee's No. I. Thomas Grenville's copy bequeathed to the Museum in 1846. The Grenville Catalogue says : "Supposed to be the most beautiful copy known." Nevertheless the last leaf is in whole or part re- margined if we read aright a description given by Winsor. London Institution. Lee's No. II. Lord Lans- downe's copy, purchased at the sale of his library in 1806. Trinity College, Cambridge. Lee's No. III. Ed- ward Capell's copy, bequeathed to the College with his library in 1779. Trinity College, Cambridge. Lee's No. IV. Rev. William Gryll's copy, bequeathed to the College in 1863. Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington. Lee's No. XV. Alexander Dyce's copy, bequeathed to the Museum in 1869. The Sir John Soane Museum, London. Lee's No. XVI. Sir John's copy. Inlaid throughout, perhaps Isaac Reed's copy. Shakespeare's Birth-place Museum, Stratford-on- Avon. Lee's No. XVII. The Ashburnham copy, acquired by the Museum at the Ashburnham sale in 1897. Note : — The basis of the above lists is of course the " Census " prepared by Sidney Lee to accompany the facsimile reprint of the First Folio, published at Oxford in 1902. 21 The Second Folio ISAAC JAGGARD seems to have died some time pre- vious to June 19, 1627, as on that day (as determined by Professor Arber) his widow, Dorothy Jaggard, assigned over to Thomas Cotes and Richard Cotes "All the estate right title and Interest which Isaacke Jaggard her late husband had " in a certain list of books among which appears "her parte in Shackspheere playes." Edward Blount, the other printer of the First Folio, seems to have died between June 16 and November 16, 1630. The following entry occurs in the Stationers' Reg- ister, as of the latter date : "Master Allot. Memorandum master Blount assigned over unto him all his estate and right in the Copies hereafter mencioned as appeareth by a note under master Blountes hand, Dated the 16 of June 1630 in the time of master Warden Purfoote, his [whose] hand is subscribed thereunto." Then follows a list of the same plays entered to Jaggard and Blount on November 8, 1623. Thus, in 1632, when the six hundred copies (or there- abouts) of the First Folio were exhausted and the demand still continuing, these two firms the Cotes Brothers and Robert Allot controlled the copyright and alone could produce a new edition. They seem, however, to have given a small share in the undertaking to the other two booksellers, John Smethwick and William Aspley of the syndicate who published the First Folio, and to have also taken in two other bookselling partners, Richard Hawkins and Richard Meighen. The colophon reads alike in all 22 Shakespeare s Four Folios copies : "Printed at London by Thomas Cotes, for John Smethwick, William Aspley, Richard Hawkins, Richard Meighen, and Robert Allot, 1632." Each bookseller, however, seems to have had a separate title printed for his quota, and the imprints at the bottom of the title-pages differ. Allot's share, as one of the principal backers of the enterprise was, as might be supposed, by far the larger, and of five copies which come upon the market perhaps four bear his name in the imprint. His copies were probably the first printed. Two varieties are known, the first being best distinguished by the misprint " Coppies" for "Copies" in the sixth line, though there are other differences showing that the type on the title-page was twice set. In making up the page the type-matter was first printed and the por- trait from Droeshout's old copper-plate, was printed in the space left for it. As first arranged this space was too small and copies of the earliest issue have the word London of the imprint covered by the portrait. This fault was cor- rected in the later issue. The imprint of this first issue reads : " London, | Printed by Tho. Cotes, for Robert Allot and are to be sold at his shop at the signe j of the blacke Beare in Pauls Church-yard. 1632." This was slightly altered when the page was reset. The words " at his shop" are omitted and " blacke " begins with a capital letter. The companion leaf, or " follower" of the title, A5 "Upon the Effigies," was also reprinted. The earliest issue may be distinguished by having the name " Shakes- peare" in the second heading printed in italic letters instead of small caps. 23 Shakespeare s Four Folios The imprints of the copies made for other booksellers are as follows : " London, f Printed by Tho. Cotes, for John Smethwick, and are to be sold at this shop | in Saint Dunstans Church-yard. 1632." A copy with this imprint brought j£6qo at Sotheby's in March, 1902, and was acquired by Mr. Perry. " London, | Printed by Tho. Cotes, for Richard Hawkins, and are to be sold at his shop | in Chancery Lane, nerre Serjeants Inne. 1632." A copy of this issue brought ^850 at Sotheby's in May, 1903. " London, | Printed by Tho. Cotes, for William Aspley, and are to be sold at the signe | of the Parrat in Pauls Church-yard. 1632." " London, | Printed by Tho. Cotes, for Richard Meighen, and are to be sold at the middle | Temple Gate in Fleetstreet. 1632." The Second Folio was reprinted from the First, and the text is generally page for page with it. There are so many variations that it seems probable that an effort was made at editing the text. In the opinion of the Cambridge editors, however, these emendations "deserve no more res- pect than those of other guessers, except such as is due to their author's familiar acquaintance with the language and customs of Shakespeare's day, and possible knowledge of the acted plays. " Two new preliminary leaves were added to the Second Folio, one containing " Upon the Effiges " and "An Epitaph'' (the verso of this leaf is blank) and the other "On 24 Shakespeare 's Four Folios Worthy Master Shakespeare and his Poems" (recto and verso). On the other hand the " Catalogue " is printed on the verso of the leaf containing the lines by Hugh Holland. Thus there are ten preliminary leaves instead of nine. The numbering of the text-pages is less erratic and in two cases (at the end of Troylus and Cressida and at the end of Timon of Athens) pages blank in the First Folio have been used. There is thus one leaf less of text and the total number of leaves in the volume remains 454, the same as the first edition. No definite effort seems to have been made to trace the number of existing copies. They are numerous and the number originally printed was probably not less than one thousand. The market value is however, constantly on the increase. George Daniel's fine copy in the original binding, with the Allot imprint (earliest issue with "Coppies") which brought ^148 in his sale in 1864, resold in 1895 for ^540. 25 The Third Folio THE Third Folio, issued in 1663 was "Printed for Philip Chetwinde," but the printer's name does not occur in the volume. It was reprinted from the Second Folio and the text shows some corrections, though the printer did, however, make some new errors, The text of the first issue is page for page (with three or four exceptions) with the Second Folio, but the pages are continuously numbered while in the First and Second Folios the paging runs in three series, the Comedies, His- tories and Tragedies being numbered separately. The preliminary matter is the same but is differently arranged and printed in larger type. Like the First and Second Folios, the first issue of the Third Folio has a letter-press title-page, the portrait, printed from the old copperplate engraved by Droeshout, being printed in the space left for it. The letter-press of the title was printed first as in the majority of copies the space is blank. The imprint reads " London, Printed for Philip Chetwinde, 1663." In this issue Ben Jonson's Verses upon the portrait are printed in large type on the verso of a leaf preceding title and the text ends, liks the two preceding folios, with " Cymbeline." Very shortly after the volume was published it seems to have been discovered that additional plays credited to Shakespeare were in existence, and the advisability of adding them to the volume was no doubt at once apparent to Chetwind, the publisher. These plays, seven in number, were put in type uniform with the body of the book and bound in at the end. Together they fill sixty additional 26 Shakespeare s Four Folios leaves. Only the first of the seven, "Pericles," is admitted by modern authors to be Shakespeare's own, though all had been printed separately in quarto as by Shakespeare, even before his death. The publisher seems not to have procured them all at one time. "Pericles" was printed as two signa- tures, a, 6 leaves and b, 4 leaves, and paged 1 to 20. "The London Prodigal " and " Thomas, Lord Cromwell " were printed together, signatures *, **, *** and ****, each 4 leaves. With " Sir John Oldcastle " begins a new series ofsignatures. ][A, ^B, each 6 leaves; ^C, f D, f E, f F, each 4 leaves and ^f G, 6 leaves. The printer, however, seems to have had the preceding sheets before him, for, while the first leaf is marked \ A and the second leaf T[Aa, the third is marked ***** 3. The last six plays are paged continuously from 1 to 100. Having these additional plays at the end of the volume, the publisher printed a new title. In this re- printed title the second line is altered to " Shakespear's " from " Shakespeares " but otherwise the first four lines seem to be from the types of the first issue. Line 5 " The third Impression " is reset in a larger type, and below it (in the space formerly left for the portrait) is printed : "And unto this Impression is added seven Playes, never before Printed in Folio, viz." followed by a list of the titles of the seven plays. Then comes an ornament and the imprint, reset, in larger type and in a single line, with the initials only of the publisher and with an altered date "London, Printed for P. C. 1664." The portrait, crowded out of the title-page was printed on a separate leaf with Ben Jonson's verses, reset in smaller type below it. This faces the title. 27 Shakespeare s Four Folios Copies of the Third Folio vary in their preliminary leaves. Copies with the Verses separate in large type and without the portrait should not contain the additional plays. Instead of tearing out the early title and its compan- ion Verses when inserting the reprinted ones, the binder seems to have left them in some copies, and these copies with both titles are the more desirable. A copy of the book in old calf, with the 1663 title (containing the portrait), with the earliest form of the Verses (in large type and having inserted at the end the seven plays preceded by the 1664 title (but apparently without its accompanying portrait and Verses) brought ,£1,550 at Sotheby's on June 1st last. The statement commonly made in sale-catalogues that the larger part of this third edition was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 is probably not true. The book is rare, especially in collector's condition, but not suf- ficiently so to warrant the belief that any considerable portion of the edition met with destruction. As it seems to have been printed at the expense of Chetwind alone, we may presume that the number printed was smaller than that of the other folios, all of which were brought out by syndicates of booksellers. No definite effort seems to have been made to enumerate existing copies. The earliest date of sale of a copy at auction which Mr. Winsor was able to trace is 1678 when a copy of the 1663 issue brought £1 8s. In 1 848, at the Stowe sale, Rodd the bookseller acting for Barton went to £34 10s for a fine tall copy. Then, as he afterwards said, "My heart failed me and I let it go at £35, of which I have repented ever since." Compare this with the £1,550 paid last June ! 28 The Fourth Folio IN something like twenty years the works of Shakespeare were again "out of print", and early in 1685 the Fourth Folio was published. This edition seems to have been undertaken at the expense of Henry Herring- man, the friend of Dryden, and who, according to Pro- fessor Arber " seem to have been the first London Wholesale Publisher in the modern sense of these words." It was reprinted from the Third Folio without editorial change, but the types, size of page, etc. are different. The preliminary leaves are six in number. Droeshout's portrait, printed from the old copper-plate (but much touched up and altered) with Jonson's verses below, as in the 1664 issue of the Third Folio, faces the title-page. The Dedi- cation forms one leaf printed on both sides as in the Third Folio, but Preface and commendatory verses which in the Third Folio fills seven leaves are here crowded into three by being set in smaller type and partly in double columns. The text is in three parts, with separate signatures and pagination, and an examination of the types show that a copy of the Third Folio was, apparently broken into three sections and sent to three different printers. The first printer received the Comedies, pp. 1 to 303 (page 304 being blank); the second pp. 305-664 and the third pp. 667 to the end. The break was not at the end of the Histories, but between " Romeo and Juliet " and " Timon of Athens.'* The types used in printing the text of the three parts seem to be different but as the founts in some cases seem to have been mixed this is less easy of detection than the differences in headings, etc. 29 Shakespeare 's Four Folios The printer of the first part had a set of large initial letters, about one and one-fourth inches high, the prominent decoration being a sunflower. One of these initials is used at the beginning of each play from "The Tempest" to "The Winter's Tale." The printer of the second part started out by using a smaller ornamental initial N for King John, much like that used in the Third Folio, but in the case of all the other Plays he used only a plain block letter and not always uniform in size. The printer of the third part also used only plain block letters of different sizes for his in- dented initials. The printers of the second and third por- tions used much larger and blacker types for the headings of the plays than did the printers of the first section. As these types were not always uniform it is not easy to de- scribe them. The Act and Scene headings at the beginning of each play are constantly printed throughout in each portion in a distinct type. These headings throughout the first portion are printed in a plain italic, the capitals measuring about 5- 32 of an inch in height. In the second section a somewhat similar, but larger type, the capitals measuring a full 3-16 inch in height, was used. In the third section a still larger type was used, the capitals having prominent kerns, what the printers call "swash" letters. The first printer finished his portion with page 272 but as he had another leaf of his signature remaining he printed the "Names of the Actors" in large type at the top of page (273,) though there was ample room for the list on page 272. One leaf, L 1, pages 123-124 is printed in a much smaller type and much more crowded, showing apparently that something had been omitted and in resetting, a smaller type was made necessary. The second section is paged from 1 to 328, the 30 Shakespeare s Four Folios last signature having eight leaves instead of six. The paging of the third section is from I to 303. The title-page follows that of the Third Folio so closely as to reprint, above the list of additional plays the words " Never before Printed in Folio." There were two distinct settings of the types of the title-page, and one of these shows two variations in the im- print. There are thus three different title-pages. What seems to be the earlier form has the first line : "Mr William Shakespear's " (no period after " Mr.") The vignette is a small square ornament, not symmetrical, and apparently one of four pieces which placed together would have made a symmetrical decoration consisting of nine diamond shaped figures. This fragment shows one perfect figure, the half of two others and the quarter of a fourth. This form has the imprint : " London Printed for H. Herringman, and are to be sold by Joseph Knight | and Francis Saunders, at the Anchor in the Lower Walk | of the New Ex- change, 1685." The first line in the reprinted title-page is " Mr. William Shakespear's " (with a period after " Mr."). The vignette in this is a perfect and symmetrical ornament, a fleur-de-lis in a border. The line "The Fourth Edition" is in a smaller and thinner type. | The imprint in some copies of this title reads : "London, | Printed for H, Herringman, E. Brewster, R. Chiswell, and R. Bentley, at the Anchor | in the New Exchange ; and at the Crane, and Rose and Crown in St. Pauls | Church- Yard, and in Russell- Street, Covent-Garden, 1685." 31 Shakespeare s Four Folios In others, and this is by far the commoner form, the name of Chiswell is omitted. Most copies read : "London, | Printed for H. Herringman, E. Brewster, and R. Bentley, at the Anchor in the | New Ex- change, the Crane in St. Pauls Church- Yard, and in | Russell-Street Covent-Garden. 1685." Our reason for giving priority to the Knight and Saunders title lies in the fact that this was the one which is recorded in the Term Catalogue, "A Catalogue of Books . . Printed and Published at London in Easter Term, 1685." This number was published in May, 1685, and the entry, among books "Reprinted" is : "4. Mr. William Shakespear's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. Published according to the true original Copies. The Fourth Edition. Folio. Printed for H. Herringham ; and sold by J. Knight and F. Saunders at the Blew Anchor in the Lower Walk of the New Exchange." Herringman's shop had long been at this address but, according to Prof. Arber he "turned over his retail business at the Blue Anchor in the New Exchange, Strand, to Fran- cis Saunders and Joseph Knight, and devoted himself to the production of large English Works." This was probably earlier than February, 1684 as in that month four books were advertised as "Printed for H. Herringman : and sold by J. Knight and F. Saunders" etc. This is the first appearance of these book-sellers' names in the Term Catalogue. Did Herringman find it advisable after the book was published to place copies for sale, with other booksellers, and is this the explanation of the printed title ? If so why did he not put the name of Knight and Saunders in the im- print as well as the address of his old shop ? 32