NEW YORK (AP) — To commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio, rare originals are on display and publishers are offering collector’s editions of Shakespeare’s plays, including one that sells for $1,500.
Scholars believe that between 200 and 300 copies of Mr. Martin, published in late 1623, still exist. The comedies, history, and tragedies of William Shakespeare. ” Presided over by two of his friends and former colleagues of Shakespeare, who died in 1616, this folio ensures the existence of enduring texts on “Macbeth,” “Twelfth Night,” and other cornerstones of Western literature. did. During Shakespeare’s lifetime, many of his works were either unpublished or available only in inexpensive paperback editions.
“Without the First Folio, we would be without a world of language,” writes Gregory Doran, honorary artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, in the foreword to his new book, The Complete Works of Shakespeare.
The first folio has been exhibited everywhere from the British Museum to the New York Public Library, and at least two major book projects are scheduled to mark the anniversary.
The British Museum has teamed up with New York’s Rizzoli Books to produce Shakespeare’s First Folio: 400th Anniversary Facsimile Edition, housed in a slipcase cover. His 928-page book, priced at $150, includes an introductory booklet co-written with Adrian Edwards, chief curator of the British Library’s Printed Heritage Collection.
The most ambitious and exclusive project is Folio Society’s limited edition ‘The Complete Plays’. The Folio Society is an employee-owned company in London that publishes customized books ranging from “Beowulf” to George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice.” Fire” series. The Society printed just 1,000 copies of his three-volume box set, with a list price of $1,500. In addition to Dolan’s introduction, the Folio Society release includes a foreword by Dame Judi Dench. Each set is hand numbered by illustrator Neil Packer.
The publisher says more than three-quarters of The Complete Plays have already been sold.
“In an age when everything seems disposable, we feel like there’s a good market for premium editions of classic books,” says Tom Walker, publishing director at the Folio Society.
According to Shakespeare scholar Chris Lautalis, at a time when such publications were “limited to academic treatises, thick genealogical documents, books of religious or historical significance, and even the works of monarchs,” The First Folio was said to be bold, even daring. Before Shakespeare, the only playwright known to have received such an honor was his contemporary Ben Jonson, who in 1616 directed “The Works of Benjamin Jonson”, which he directed in his own praised the honor of Although the British Museum version is relatively affordable, the Folio Society’s production is closer to what was intended. Original release market.
Mr. Lautalis, an associate professor at the Shakespeare Institute in the playwright’s hometown of Stratford-on-Avon and author of “Shakespeare’s Books: Intertwined Lives” “Only people with enough space could afford such gorgeous pieces.” Behind the Fist Folio” was published this year. “When the First Folio was released, it cost more to produce than any collection of plays in history.”
The folios were sufficiently successful that the latest edition, the Second Folio, was published in 1632, the Third Folio in 1663, and the Fourth Folio in 1685. By the 19th century, the original folio had become, in part, a valuable piece of history. A symbol of the efforts of collectors Henry and Emily Folger and the power of the British Empire. Sir George Grey, the colonial governor, established libraries around the world containing copies of the First Folio.
“For Gray, the First Folio represented the pinnacle of culture, especially British culture,” says Lautalis. “He cultivated nothing less than a desire to destroy the indigenous languages and cultures of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and replace them with the English language and its literary works.”
More than half of all extant editions of the First Folio are in the United States, followed by Britain and Japan, with smaller editions in Germany, France, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. For antiquarians, the First Folio is the ultimate prize, and in 2020 he sold for $9.9 million. For scholars and countless fans, the folio is second only to the play itself.
“Shakespeare’s status over the past 400 years reflects far more the staying power of his plays on the stage than his survival in the corpus,” says Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. James Shapiro, author of “Shakespeare.” Several books about Shakespeare.
“Ben Jonson’s bifold wallets can be bought for thousands of dollars. Shakespeare’s folios can cost millions. The reason is simple: theaters around the world are playing the astonishing aftermath of his comedies, histories, and tragedies. Because it was painted.”
