First Folio

“ The Fifth Quarto (1615) followed the fourth, and seems to have become the basis of the First Folio text, supplemented and corrected by a purer version, which Pollard conjectures to have been a copy of the First Quarto annotated for use in the theater. The First Folio text, while full of inferior readings, supplies the division into acts and scenes, fuller stage directions, and a superior text of the abdication scene. From the Folio, however, are omitted about fifty lines printed in all the Quartos; the longer omissions seem to be in the nature of cuts to shorten the time of performance. ”

“ The accompanying "Table of Quarto Editions" gives the names of all the Shakespearean plays issued in this form before the publication of the collected edition in 1623, known as the First Folio. In the cases of Romeo and Juliet, 1 Henry IV, Love's Labour's Lost, Merchant of Venice, Much Ado, A Midsummer-Night's Dream, and Richard II, a Quarto, usually the most recent, provided the text from which the version in the Folio was printed. ”

“ Folio. A fine and desirable copy, printed UPON VELLUM. It is tolerably fair: measuring fifteen inches, by ten inches and three quarters.
I have little hesitation in estimating these five copies of the earlier editions of the Psalter, to be worth, at least, one thousand pounds.
BIBLIA LATINA. (Supposed to have been printed in 1455.) Folio. This is the famous edition called the MAZARINE BIBLE, from the first known copy of it having been discovered in the library of that Cardinal, in the college founded by himself. Bibliography has nearly exhausted itself in disquisitions upon it. ”

“ In years to come the original binding will be the chief of all desiderata. Third, the folio must be of adequate size, about thirteen by eight and a quarter inches. A quarter of an inch one way or another can spell tragedy to the fanatical collector. If you are lucky enough to find a first folio having all three of these qualities, the gods are with you. I have been fortunate to procure such an one, the celebrated copy from Sir George Holford’s library. It is perfect in every detail. It is exceptional in having the blank leaves, known in no other copy ”

“ In the spelling of the name of ‘Solinus’ we have followed the first Folio. In the subsequent Folios it was altered, most probably by an accident in F2 to ‘Salinus.’ The name occurs only once in the copies, and that in the first line of the text. The name which we have given as ‘Antipholus’ is spelt indifferently thus, and ‘Antipholis’ in the Folios. It will hardly be doubted that the lines in the rhyming passage, III. 2. 2, 4, where the Folios read ‘Antipholus,’ are correctly amended by Capell, and prove that ‘Antipholus’ is the spelling of Shakespeare. ”

“ It is probable that no one copy exactly corresponds with any other copy. We have indicated these variations, wherever they were known to us, in a note either at the foot of the page or at the end of each play.
A reprint of the first Folio, not free from inaccuracies, was published in 1807. A second reprint is now in course of publication by Mr Lionel Booth. The first part, containing the Comedies, has already appeared. It is probably the most correct reprint ever issued.
The second Folio (F2) is a reprint of the first, preserving the same pagination. ”

“ Folio. Another treasure from the same richly-fraught collection. It is quite a perfect copy; but some of the silver ornaments of the sides have been taken off. Let me now place before you a few more testimonies of the splendour of that library, which was originally the chief ornament of the Chateau d'Anet,85 and not of the Louvre.
HERODOTUS. Gr. Printed by Aldus, 1502. Folio. I had long supposed Lord Spencer's copy--like this, upon LARGE PAPER--to be the finest first Aldine Herodotus in existence: but the first glimpse only of the present served to dissipate that belief. ”

“ The second collected edition appeared in 1679 in folio (14-3/8 ins. x 8-1/4 ins.) ; a reprint of the title-page is given on p. lix of the present volume. This collection, referred to henceforth as the Second Folio, contained (i) all the plays included in the First Folio, (ii) The Wild-Goose Chase, which had been published in folio in 1652, (iii) all the other then known plays of the authors which had been published previously to 1679. ”

“ Folio. 2 vols. Perhaps one of the finest and largest copies in existence; measuring, sixteen inches five eighths by eleven. It is bound (if I remember rightly) in blue morocco.
BIBLIA HEBRAICA. Printed at Soncino. 1488. Folio. FIRST EDITION OF THE HEBREW BIBLE. Of all earliest impressions of the sacred text, this is doubtless the MOST RARE. I am not sure that there are two copies of it in England or in France. In our own country, the Bodleian library alone possesses it. This is a beautiful, clean copy, but cropt a little too much in the binding. ”

“ But when in his last days he erected an additional room (the Arts End) his choice fell on the newer idea that a wide space should be left in the middle of the room, and the books be all placed against the walls (1613) . The lower books (folios) were still chained, and could only be used at the desks attached; such was the case, for instance, with the First Folio of Shakespeare, marked S. 2.17 Art. (see p. 46) . The Gallery books were quartos and octavos, not chained, and given out to readers below by one of the officers of the Library. ”

“ Any transcription of a 1910 edition of a Jacobean text will run into some minor problems, and “Bartholomew Fair” poses its own special set of challenges. The goal of the Everyman’s Library edition was to create a readable text, but editorial standards have changed since it was first published. Certain words from the Folio were censored. For example, “t—” is substituted for “turd”. The Everyman’s Library edition frequently spells out words that are contractions in the Folio, for example, substituting in for i’ and have for ha’. ”

“ Folio. EDITIO PRINCEPS. This celebrated volume is a recent acquisition. It was formerly the copy of Girardot de Préfond, and latterly that of Count M'Carthy; at whose sale it was bought for 12,000 francs. It is cruelly cropt, especially at the side margins; and is of too sombre and sallow a tint. Measurement--fourteen inches, by nine and a half. It is doubtless an absolutely necessary volume in a collection like the present. Only SEVEN known copies in the world.
PSALTERIUM, Latinè. Printed by the same. 1459: Folio. Editio Secunda. The first six leaves have been evidently much thumbed ”

“ The binding of this exquisite book is as gaudy as it is vulgar.
TEWERDANCKHS. Printed in 1517. Folio. First Edition. This is doubtless a fine copy--upon thick, but soft and white, VELLUM. Fortunately the plates are uncoloured, and the copy is quite complete in the table. It measures fifteen inches in length, by nine inches three quarters in width.
Such appeared to me, on a tolerably careful examination of the titles of the volumes, to be among the chief treasures in the early and more curious department of books belonging to the STE. GENEVIÈVE LIBRARY. Without doubt, many more may be added ”

“ Nor am I possessed of information that “he did not preserve his manuscript.” How can we know that? He may have kept his first draft, he may have made a fair copy for himself, as well as for the players, or may have had one made. He may have worked on a copy possessed by the players; and the publisher of the quartos of 1605, 1612, 1622, may not have been allowed to use, or may not have asked for the latest manuscript revised copy. The Richard III of the Folio contains, with much new matter, the printer’s errors of the quarto of 1622. ”

“ Fat— Composition which has many broken lines and open spaces; matter with many quads and leads, which can be set profitably by piece-work. Sometimes spelled phat in printers’ literature. Fat-face— A style of type face with very much thickened heavy lines; sometimes full-face. First Proof— The proof taken for correcting compositor’s errors, in distinction from revise, author’s proof, or subsequent proofs. Floor Pi— Type dropped on the floor and allowed to remain until swept up. Folio— A page number. Also, a sheet folded once, a size of paper, a sheet containing a certain number of words. ”

“ FOLIO (properly the ablative case of the Lat. folium, leaf, but also frequently an adaptation of the Ital. foglio) , a term in bibliography and printing, with reference either to the size of paper employed, or of the book, or to the pagination. In the phrase “in folio” it means a sheet of paper folded once, and thus a book bound up in sheets thus folded is a book of the largest size and is known as a “folio” (see Bibliography) . Similarly, “folio” is one of the sizes of paper adapted to be thus folded (see Paper) . ”

“ Folio. One of the loveliest books ever opened, and printed UPON VELLUM. Every thing is here perfect. The page is finely proportioned, the vellum is exceedingly beautiful, and the illuminations have a brilliance and delicacy of finish not usually seen in volumes of this kind. The borders are decorated by the pencil, and the second may be considered quite perfect of its kind. This book is bound by Bradel l'Ainé.
MILLES ET AMYS. Printed by Verard. Without Date. Folio. A copy UPON VELLUM. From the same library as the copy of the Roman de la Rose, just described; and in the same style of binding. ”

“ The Folio abbreviation 'Y' are' is likewise replaced instead of the varying 'you 're,' 'ye 're,' or 'you are' of modern editions.
3. The frequent elisions, characteristic of the Folio text and often necessary for scansion of the lines, have generally been retained; e.g., th' expulsion, th' accusation, is 't, we'll, o' (for of or on) , 's (for is, his, or us) , etc.
4. The following changes of text have been introduced, nearly always in accordance with Folio authority. ”

“ Folio. How you would start back with surprise--peradventure mingled with indignation--to be told that, for this very meagre little folio, somewhat cropt, consisting but of eleven leaves cruelly scribbled upon ... not fewer than three thousand three hundred livres were given--at the sale of Cardinal Lomenie's library, about thirty years ago! It is even so. And wherefore? Because only one other copy of it is known:--and that "other" is luckily reposing upon the mahogany shelves in St. James's Place. The present copy measures ten inches seven eighths, by eight inches. ”

“ Evans of Pall-Mall. The curious should purchase the anterior edition (of 1677) for the sake of better impressions of the plates; which, however, in any condition, are neither tasteful nor well engraved. What is called 'a good Hollar' would weigh down the whole set of them!——Strype's Ecclesiastical Memorials; 1721, Folio, 3 vols.——Annals of the Reformation; 1725, Folio, 4 vols. Happy the collector who can regale himself by viewing large paper copies of these inestimable works! In any shape or condition, they are now rare. ”

“ Folio. Editio Princeps. Of equal, if not greater, rarity than even the Ausonius. This is a sound and very desirable copy--displaying the ancient ms. signatures. The edges of the leaves are rather of a foxy tint. After the Catullus, a blank leaf. This copy measures eleven inches one eighth, by very nearly seven inches five eighths.
HOMERI OPERA. Gr. 1488. Folio. Editio Princeps. When you are informed that this copy is ... UNCUT ... you will necessarily figure to yourself a volume of magnificent, as well as pristine, dimensions. ”

“ There are, however, in the Quarto some lines which do not occur in the Folio, though they are considerably less in number than the additions of the later text. In the second scene of the fourth act, for example, there is a passage, found only in the Quarto, which is dramatically essential. All such lines and passages belonging exclusively to the Quarto have been included within square brackets. Difficulties resulting from obvious errors of the press in the Folio text have been mentioned in the notes. ”

“ It occupies no less than thirty-eight treble-columned folio pages, and contains the titles of more than three thousand works. To attempt to convey to the reader an idea of this curious and sumptuous library, without transcribing a large proportion of its catalogue, I am afraid will be a futile labor; but as that would occupy too much space, and to many of my readers be, after all, dry and uninteresting, I shall merely give the names of some of the most conspicuous. Years indeed it must have required to have amassed a collection so brilliant and superb in those days of book scarcity. ”

“ Every year the sale-rooms witness these monstrosities. Biographies issued in a single volume are 'extended' ('rended asunder' would be a better term) to fifteen or twenty volumes by the insertion of hundreds of engravings depicting every place mentioned in the text and every man or woman that the subject of the biography ever met. I have seen an octavo volume multiplied into twenty-five folio ones in this fashion, the leaves being inlaid to suit the size of the huge portraits and views stuffed into the disjointed sections of the wretched book. ”

“ The file contained no letters for January of any significance whatever.
The thought that had half formed in my brain immediately became nonsense. I replaced the letters in their compartment, and took the file back to its shelf again. For some minutes I paced the library irresolutely; then I decided I would work no more that night. When I gathered together my papers I was careful to place that with the half-finished sentence on the top, so that with the first resting of my eyes upon it on the morrow my memory might haply be refreshed. ”

“ In consequence, exclusively of all the Dugdales and Montfaucons, upon large paper, and in the finest bindings, he possesses the Grand Folio Classics, the Benedictine Editions of the Fathers, the County Histories, and all works, of a recent date, upon History and the Belles Lettres. In short, nothing can be more magnificent than the interior of his library; as nothing but giants, arrayed in the most splendid attire, are seen to keep guard from one extremity of the room to the other. ”