The title page of the First Folio with the famous engraved portrait of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout

Mr. Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it Martin Droeshout was an English Engraver of Flemish descent whose fame rests almost entirely on the fact that he made the title portrait for William Shakespeare William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories. & Tragedies. is the first published collection of William Shakespeare's plays. William Shakespeare ( baptised Modern scholars commonly refer to it as the First Folio. ^[1]

Printed in folio format and containing 36 plays (see list of Shakespeare's plays), it was prepared by Shakespeare's colleagues John Heminges and Henry Condell in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. William Shakespeare's plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and in Western literature. John Heminges (sometimes spelled Hemminge or Hemings) (c 1566 - 1630 was an English Renaissance Actor. Henry Condell (d December 1627 was an actor in the King's Men, the playing company for which William Shakespeare wrote Although eighteen of Shakespeare's plays had been published in quarto prior to 1623, the First Folio is the only reliable text for about twenty of the plays, and a valuable source text even for many of those previously published. The size of a specific Book is measured from the head to tail of the spine and from edge to edge across the covers The Folio includes all of the plays generally accepted to be Shakespeare's, with the exception of Pericles, Prince of Tyre and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and the two 'Lost Plays', Cardenio and Love's Labour's Won. Pericles Prince of Tyre is a play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions The Two Noble Kinsmen is a Jacobean Comedy, first published in 1634 and attributed to John Fletcher and William Shakespeare The History of Cardenio is a lost play, known to have been performed by the King's Men, a London theatre company in 1613 Love's Labour's Won, alternatively written Love's labour's wonne, is the name of a play written by William Shakespeare before 1598 It also omits his poems.

Printing the Book

The contents of the First Folio were compiled by Heminges and Condell; the members of the Stationers Company who published the book were the booksellers Edward Blount and the father/son team of William and Isaac Jaggard. The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (better known as the Stationers' Company) is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London Edward Blount (or Blunt) (1565 &ndash 1632 was a London publisher of the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline eras noted for his William Jaggard (c 1568 &ndash November 1623 was an Elizabethan and Jacobean printer and publisher best known for his connection with the texts of William The Jaggards were printers as well as booksellers, an unusual but not unprecedented combination. William Jaggard has seemed an odd choice by the King's Men, since he had published the questionable collection The Passionate Pilgrim as Shakespeare's, and in 1619 had printed new editions of ten Shakespearean quartos to which he did not have clear rights, some with false dates and title pages. The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare (1564&ndash1616 belonged through most of his career The Passionate Pilgrim is an Anthology of poems published in 1599, which according to the title-page were "By W It is thought that the typesetting and printing of the First Folio was such a large job that the King's Men simply needed the capacities of the Jaggards' shop. Typesetting involves the presentation of textual material in graphic form on Paper or some other medium. (At any rate, William Jaggard was old, infirm, and blind by 1623, and died a month before the book went on sale; most of the work in the project must have been done by his son Isaac. )

The First Folio's publishing syndicate also included two stationers who owned the rights to some of the individual plays that had been previously printed: William Aspley (Much Ado About Nothing and Henry IV, Part 2) and John Smethwick (Love's Labor's Lost, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet). William Aspley (died 1640 was a London publisher of the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline eras Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare. First published in 1600 it is likely to have been first performed in the autumn or winter Henry IV Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599 John Smethwick (died 1641 was a London publisher of the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline eras Love's Labour's Lost is one of William Shakespeare 's early comedies believed to have been written in the mid-1590s and first published in 1598 Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the Hamlet is a Tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601 Smethwick had been a business partner of another Jaggard, William's brother John.

The actual printing of the Folio was likely done between April and October 1621, and then, after a break for other work, from the autumn of 1622 to autumn in the following year. The book was on sale by the end of 1623; the Bodleian Library, in Oxford, received its copy in early 1624 (which it subsequently sold for £24 as a superseded edition when the Third Folio became available in 1664). The Bodleian Library ( the main Research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in England The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the ^[2]

The Contents

The thirty-six plays of the First Folio occur in the order given below; plays that had never been published before 1623 are marked with a ✓. Each play is followed by the type of source used, as determined by bibliographical research. ^[3]

[Some definitions are needed. The term "foul papers" refers to Shakespeare's working drafts of a play; when completed, a transcript or "fair copy" of the foul papers would be prepared, by the author or by a scribe. Foul papers is a term that refers to an author's working drafts most often applied in the study of the plays of Shakespeare and other dramatists of English Renaissance Such a manuscript would have to be heavily annotated with accurate and detailed stage directions and all the other data needed for performance, and then could serve as a "prompt-book," to be used by the prompter to guide a performance of the play. Any of these manuscripts, in any combination, could be used as a source for a printed text. On rare occasions a printed text might be annotated for use as a prompt-book; this may have been the case with A Midsummer Night's Dream. ]

Table of Contents from the First Folio

Comedies

• 1 The Tempest ✓ — the play was set into type from a manuscript prepared by Ralph Crane, a professional scrivener employed by the King's Men. The Tempest is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. It is generally dated to 1610-11 and accepted as the last play written solely by him although Ralph Crane ( fl 1615 &ndash 1630 was a professional Scrivener or Scribe in early seventeenth-century London A scrivener (or scribe) was traditionally a person who could read and write. Crane produced a high-quality result, with formal act/scene divisions, frequent use of parentheses and hyphenated forms, and other identifiable features.
• 2 The Two Gentlemen of Verona ✓ — another transcript by Ralph Crane. See also Two Gentlemen of Verona (musical The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a Comedy by William Shakespeare from early in his
• 3 The Merry Wives of Windsor — another transcript by Ralph Crane. The Merry Wives of Windsor is a Comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597
• 4 Measure for Measure ✓ — probably another Ralph Crane transcript. Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604
• 5 The Comedy of Errors ✓ — probably typeset from Shakespeare's "foul papers," lightly annotated. The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare 's earliest plays believed to have been written between 1589 and 1594
• 6 Much Ado About Nothing — typeset from a copy of the quarto, lightly annotated. Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare. First published in 1600 it is likely to have been first performed in the autumn or winter
• 7 Love's Labour's Lost — typeset from a corrected copy of Q1. Love's Labour's Lost is one of William Shakespeare 's early comedies believed to have been written in the mid-1590s and first published in 1598
• 8 A Midsummer Night's Dream — typeset from a copy of Q2, well-annotated, possibly used as a prompt-book. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, suggested by " The Knight's Tale " from
• 9 The Merchant of Venice — typeset from a lightly edited and corrected copy of Q1. The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598
• 10 As You Like It ✓ — from a quality manuscript, lightly annotated by a prompter. As You Like It is a Pastoral Comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published
• 11 The Taming of the Shrew ✓ — typeset from Shakespeare's "foul papers," somewhat annotated, perhaps as preparation for use as a prompt-book. The Taming of the Shrew is an early comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594
• 12 All's Well That Ends Well ✓ — probably from Shakespeare's "foul papers" or a manuscript of them. All's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare, originally classified as a Comedy, though now often counted as one of his problem plays
• 13 Twelfth Night ✓ — typeset either from a prompt-book or a transcript of one. Twelfth Night Or What You Will is a Comedy by William Shakespeare, based on the Short story "Of Apolonius and Silla" by
• 14 The Winter's Tale ✓ — another transcript by Ralph Crane. The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, first published in the First Folio in 1623

Histories

• 15 King John ✓ — uncertain: a prompt-book, or "foul papers. The Life and Death of King John, a history play by William Shakespeare, dramatizes the reign of King John of England (ruled 1199&ndash1216 "
• 16 Richard II — typeset from Q3 and Q5, corrected against a prompt-book. King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595
• 17 Henry IV, Part 1 — typeset from an edited copy of Q5. Henry IV Part 1 is a History play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597
• 18 Henry IV, Part 2 — uncertain: some combination of manuscript and quarto text. Henry IV Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599
• 19 Henry V — typeset from Shakespeare's "foul papers. "
• 20 Henry VI, Part 1 ✓ — likely from an annotated transcript of the author's manuscript. The First Part of King Henry the Sixth is history play by William Shakespeare, believed written in approximately 1588–1590
• 21 Henry VI, Part 2 — probably a Shakespearean manuscript used as a prompt-book. The Second Part of King Henry the Sixth, or Henry VI Part 2, is a history play by William Shakespeare believed written in approximately 1590-91
• 22 Henry VI, Part 3 — like 2H6, probably a Shakespearean prompt-book. Henry the Sixth Part 3, is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written in approximately 1590 and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England
• 23 Richard III — a difficult case: probably typeset partially from Q3, and partially from Q6 corrected against a manuscript (maybe "foul papers"). Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591
• 24 Henry VIII ✓ — typeset from a fair copy of the authors' manuscript. The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth is a history play by William Shakespeare, based on the life of Henry VIII of England.

Tragedies

• 25 Troilus and Cressida — probably typeset from the quarto, corrected with Shakespeare's "foul papers. Troilus and Cressida is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1602 "
• 26 Coriolanus ✓ — set from a high-quality authorial transcript. Coriolanus is a Tragedy by William Shakespeare, based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gaius Martius Coriolanus.
• 27 Titus Andronicus — typeset from a copy of Q3 that might have served as a prompt-book. Titus Andronicus may be Shakespeare's earliest Tragedy; it is believed to have been written sometime between 1584 and the early 1590s
• 28 Romeo and Juliet — in essence a reprint of Q3. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the
• 29 Timon of Athens ✓— set from Shakespeare's foul papers or a transcript of them. The Life of Timon of Athens is a play by William Shakespeare about the legendary Athenian misanthrope Timon (and probably influenced
• 30 Julius Caesar ✓ — set from a prompt-book, or a transcript of a prompt-book. Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599
• 31 Macbeth ✓ — probably set from a prompt-book. Macbeth is among the best-known of William Shakespeare 's plays, and is his shortest tragedy, believed to have been written some time between
• 32 Hamlet — one of the most difficult problems in the First Folio: probably typeset from some combination of Q2 and manuscript sources. Hamlet is a Tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601
• 33 King Lear — a difficult problem: probably set mainly from Q1 but with reference to Q2, and corrected against a prompt-book. King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606 and is considered one of his greatest works
• 34 Othello — another difficult problem: probably typeset from Q1, corrected with a quality manuscript.
• 35 Anthony and Cleopatra ✓ — possibly "foul papers" or a transcript of them. Antony and Cleopatra is a Tragedy by William Shakespeare. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623
• 36 Cymbeline ✓ — possibly another Ralph Crane transcript, or else the official prompt-book. This article is about Shakespeare's play For the mythical British king see Cunobelinus.

Troilus and Cressida was originally intended to follow Romeo and Juliet, but the typesetting was stopped, probably due to a conflict over the rights to the play; it was later inserted as the first of the Tragedies, when the rights question was resolved. It does not appear in the table of contents.

Compositors

As far as modern scholarship has been able to determine,^[4] the First Folio texts were set into type by five compositors, with different spelling habits, peculiarities, and levels of competence. Researchers have labelled them A through E, A being the most accurate, and E an apprentice who had significant difficulties in dealing with manuscript copy. Their shares in typesetting the Folio break down like this:

Compositor "E" was most likely one John Leason, whose apprenticeship contract dated only from November 4, 1622. Events 1333 - Flood of the Arno River, causing massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani One of the other four might have been a John Shakespeare, of Warwickshire, who apprenticed with Jaggard in 1610-17. Geography Warwickshire is bounded to the northwest by the West Midlands Metropolitan county and Staffordshire, by Leicestershire to ("Shakespeare" was a common name in Warwickshire in that era; John was no known relation to the playwright. )

The First Folio and Variants

W. W. Greg has argued that Edward Knight, the "book-keeper" or "book-holder" (prompter) of the King's Men, did the actual proofreading of the manuscript sources for the First Folio. Sir Walter Wilson Greg ( 9 July 1875 &ndash 4 March 1959) was one of the leading bibliographers and Shakespeare scholars of the 20th The prompter in an Opera house gives the singers the opening words of each phrase a few seconds early The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare (1564&ndash1616 belonged through most of his career Knight is known to have been responsible for maintaining and annotating the company's scripts, and making sure that the cuts and changes ordered by the Master of the Revels were complied with. The Master of the Revels was a position within the British royal household heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels" that originally

Some pages of the First Folio — 134 out of the total of 900 — were proofread and corrected while the job of printing the book was ongoing. As a result, the Folio differs from modern books in that individual copies vary considerably in their typographical errors. There were about 500 corrections made to the Folio in this way. ^[5] These corrections by the typesetters, however, consisted only of simple typos, clear mistakes in their own work; the evidence suggests that they almost never referred back to their manuscript sources, let alone tried to resolve any problems in those sources. The well-known cruxes in the First Folio texts were beyond the typesetters' capacity to correct. Crux ( Latin for "cross" "gallow" or "t-shape" is a term applied by palaeographers, textual critics, bibliographers

The Folio was typeset and bound in "sixes" — 3 sheets of paper, taken together, were folded into a booklet-like quire or gathering of 6 leaves, 12 pages. Once printed, the "sixes" were assembled and bound together to make the book. The sheets were printed in 2-page forms, meaning that pages 1 and 12 of the first quire were printed simultaneously on one side of one sheet of paper (which became the "outer" side); then pages 2 and 11 were printed on the other side of the same sheet (the "inner" side). The same was done with pages 3 and 10, and 4 and 9, on the second sheet, and pages 5 and 8, and 6 and 7, on the third. Then the first quire could be assembled with its pages in the correct order. The next quire was printed by the same method: pages 13 and 24 on one side of one sheet, etc. This meant that the text being printed had to be "cast off" — the compositors had to plan before-hand how much text would fit onto each page. If the compositors were setting type from manuscripts (perhaps messy, revised and corrected manuscripts), their calculations would frequently be off by greater or lesser amounts, resulting in the need to expand or compress. A line of verse could be printed as two; or verse could be printed as prose to save space, or lines and passages could even be omitted (a disturbing prospect for those who prize Shakespeare's works). ^[6]

Performing Shakespeare Using the First Folio

Some Shakespeare directors, and theatre companies producing Shakespeare, believe that modern editions of Shakespeare's plays, which are heavily edited and changed to be more readable, remove possible actor cues in the Folio, such as capitalization, different punctuation and even the changing or removal of whole words. Among the theater companies that have based their production approach upon use of the First Folio was the Riverside Shakespeare Company, which, in the early 1980s, began a studied approach to their stage productions relying upon the First Folio as their textual guide. The Riverside Shakespeare Company of New York City was founded in 1977 as a professional (AEA theatre company on the Upper West Side of New York City by W This technique was first revealed to Riverside's actors and directors by Patrick Tucker, formerly of the Royal Shakespeare Company, who based his approach to Shakespeare production entirely upon the First Folio. It has been documented that Tucker's workshops for actors, director and teachers in New York in the early 1980's, which were hosted for the first time in New York by the Riverside Shakespeare Company at The Shakespeare Center on Manhattan's Upper Westside, led to a sustained interest in the First Folio, soon thereafter leading to the reissue of Shakespeare's First Folio in a popular, paper back format more accessible to the general public. The Shakespeare Center was the home of the Riverside Shakespeare Company, an Equity professional theatre company in New York City beginning in 1982 when the then six-year-old ^[7]

Today, many if not most theatre companies and festival producing the works of Shakespeare use the First Folio as the basis for their theatrical productions and training programs, including London's Original Shakespeare Company (founded and lead by Patrick Tucker) - a theatre company which works exclusively from cue scripts drawn from the First Folio. ^[8]

However, the First Folio does not contain every word of the plays. For instance, small passages of Hamlet are omitted — among them Horatio's line "A mote it is to trouble the mind's eye", and his subsequent speech beginning with "In the most high and palmy state of Rome, / A little ere the mightiest Julius fell. . . " Also missing is Hamlet's encounter with the Danish captain in Act IV, Scene IV, along with perhaps the most important cut, the soliloquy "How all occasions do inform against me".

Today, the First Folio — despite its variant forms and occasional inconsistencies — has widely become known as the "actor's Bible" when it comes to the works of Shakespeare, the most produced playwright of our age.

Modern sales

The First Folio's original price was 1 pound, the equivalent of about £95-£110 or US$190 to $220 today. The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been ^[9]

It is believed that around 1,000 copies of the First Folio were printed. The most recent census (1995-2000) records 228 still in existence, including five copies held by the British Library. The British Library ( BL) is the National library of the United Kingdom. The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D. The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research Library on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. C. holds the world's largest collection with 79 copies.

It is one of the most valuable printed books: a copy sold at Christie's in New York in October 2001 made $6. Christie's is a leading art business and a fine arts Auction house 16m hammer price (then £3. 73m). ^[10]

Oriel College, Oxford raised a conjectured £3. Oriel College, located in Oriel Square, Oxford, is the fifth oldest of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England 5 million from the sale of its First Folio to Sir Paul Getty in 2003. Sir John Paul Getty, KBE ( September 7, 1932 &ndash April 17, 2003) was a wealthy American-born British

On 13 July 2006, a complete copy of the First Folio owned by Dr Williams's Library was auctioned at Sotheby's auction house. Events 1174 - William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Dr Williams's Library is a small research Library located in Gordon Square in Bloomsbury, London. "Auctioneer" redirects here For the DC Comics supervillain see Auctioneer (comics. Sotheby's ( is the world's second oldest Auction house in continuous operation (the oldest being Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674 The book, which was in its original 17th century binding, sold for £2. 5 million hammer price, less than Sotheby's top estimate of £3. 5 million. ^[11] This copy is one of only about 40 remaining complete copies (most of the existing copies are incomplete); only one other copy of the book remains in private ownership.

See also

Notes

1. ^ More generally, the term "first folio" is employed in other appropriate contexts, as in connection with the first folio collection of Ben Jonson's works (1616), or the first folio collection of the plays in the Beaumont and Fletcher canon (1647). Benjamin Jonson ( c 11 June 1572 &ndash 6 August 1637) was an English Renaissance Dramatist Beaumont and Fletcher were the English Dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, who collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I
2. ^ Robert M. Smith (July 1939). "Why a First Folio Shakespeare Remained in England". The Review of English Studies 15: 257-264.  
3. ^ G. Blakemore Evans, textual editor, The Riverside Shakespeare, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1974.
4. ^ F. E. Halliday, A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964, Baltimore, Penguin, 1964; p. Frank Ernest Halliday (February 10 1903 &ndash March 26 1982 was a twentieth-century English academic and author 113.
5. ^ Halliday, p. 390.
6. ^ Halliday, p. 319.
7. ^ The First Folio of Shakespeare, Introduction by Doug Mostin, Applause Books, 1995, p. vii.
8. ^ Patrick Tucker, Secrets of Acting Shakespeare: The Original Approach, (Routledge, 2002).
9. ^ Bard's first folio fetches £2.8m. BBC (2006-07-13). Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1174 - William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Retrieved on 2007-02-11. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.
10. ^ WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S FIRST FOLIO SELLS FOR $6,166,000 AT CHRISTIE’S NEW YORK, ESTABLISHING A WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR ANY 17TH CENTURY BOOK. christies (2001-10-08). Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Events 314 - Roman Emperor Licinius is defeated by his colleague Constantine I at the Battle of Cibalae, and loses Retrieved on 2008-04-01. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne
11. ^ Antiques Trade Gazette, 22 July 2006.

References

• Greg, W. W. The Shakespeare First Folio: Its Bibliographical and Textual History. Sir Walter Wilson Greg ( 9 July 1875 &ndash 4 March 1959) was one of the leading bibliographers and Shakespeare scholars of the 20th London, Oxford University Press, 1955.
• Hinman, Charlton. The Printing and Proof-Reading of the First Folio. Oxford, the Clarendon Press, 1963.
• Pollard, Alfred W. The Foundations of Shakespeare's Text. Alfred William Pollard (1859 &ndash March 8, 1944) was an English bibliographer, widely credited for bringing a higher level of scholarly rigor to the London, Oxford University Press, 1923.
• Walker, Alice. Textual Problems of the First Folio. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1953.
• Willoughby, Edwin Eliott. The Printing of the First Folio of Shakespeare. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1932.

External links

• First Folio - plain vanilla text from Project Gutenberg
• Landmarks in Printing: Shakespeare's First Folio - British Library
• The Internet Shakespeare Editions maintains a collection of full colour facsimilies of the folios and quartos. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Full text transcriptions are also available.
• Jonathan Bates: The Case for the Folio