William Shakespeare died in April 1616 on or around his fifty-second birthday.He was mourned by a small group of devoted family members, friends, and theatrical colleagues. His most productive years and major creative accomplishments were long behind him...Whatever ended Shakespeare's life, he died within one hundred yards of the place where he was born.
Description:
Maybe you are not very familiar with William Shakespeare, his influence on drama and literature, his era, and his lasting popularity. Maybe you are not clear that, without the publication of Shakespeare's First Folio which was the first collection of all his plays, we would not even know of Hamlet, Lear, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth. And maybe you don't know about the obsession of one man, Henry Folger, who tried to collect every existing copy of the first folios to preserve them and relish in his possession of them.
Fear not. Andrea Mays clearly answers all questions Shakespeare- and Folger-related in her wonderful, fact-packed narrative of The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folger's Obsessive Hunt for Shakespeare's First Folio. First we get an introductory, but solid detailing of Shakespeare's life, his work as an actor and playwright, and his power to astonish audiences from commoners to royalty. Then there is a short retelling of how the collected plays came to be published, and finally how they became the rarities sought by collectors, especially Folger, in the twentieth century.
It was soon after that and the death of Shakespeare in 1616 that John Heminges and Henry Condell, actors and share-holders in Shakespeare' company, set out to preserve all eighteen plays and publish them together in one folio (book). But plays at that time were not written down mainly to protect against other companies performing the plays without authorization. To the public, plays were to be watched, not read, so there was little call for printed version of drama. Also, many actors were illiterate so did not need complete copies of the play, relying instead on the directions of the playwright and director and their own memories.
Using their recollections of company members, pirated versions copied by rival companies, and other sources now unknown, Heminges and Condell painstakingly created the First Folio which was printed over two years in a small run of 750 copies with 900 pages in each book. Details of the printing of such a massive volume were fascinating.
Enter Henry Clay Folger, a brilliant accountant with the new Standard Oil Company. Folger, as he rose in the ranks in responsibility and salary, began to collect Shakespearean rarities, including First Folios. At that time, the folios were not in high demand (indeed, some libraries and museums discarded First Folios and replaced them with Second, Third, and Fourth Folios, versions that superseded the First, but were actually full of errors, revisions, and plays not written by Shakespeare). Folger initially could only buy battered copies fairly cheaply. Soon, though, the better, more complete (and expensive) copies lured him and his wife and the passion to purchase grew to an obsession.
Folger became a Shakespeare expert, acquiring all things Shakespeare. Author Mays tells the gripping tales of discovery of rarities, bidding, and acquiring (or losing out on) these items. One First Folio took four years to negotiate at a cost of $50,000, more than the much rarer Gutenberg Bible. One copy was nearly discarded as trash after being found in a barn loft in Sweden. He lost out on several very rare copies due to his cheapness and lack of urgency, but he did not repeat those failings often. What he wanted, he got, keeping his identity a mystery so sellers would not know of his passion and raise prices. Eventually, Folger acquired 82 copies of First Folios, about a third of all known existing copies.
But what to do with the collection? Folger in his later years designed and build the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. to preserve his works under one roof. The trials from 1921-1930 of acquiring land and worrying every detail of the building (install the new invention of air conditioning?) kept him occupied to his death in 1930. When the Folger Library opened in 1932 the collection included:
Whether you are interested or not in Shakespeare, Folger, or First Folios, The Millionaire and the Bard is a rip-roaring tale of history, rare books, riches, and passion that will engross any reader. Highly recommended for any history-lover, Shakespeare-lover, or just lovers of a gripping tale.
Fear not. Andrea Mays clearly answers all questions Shakespeare- and Folger-related in her wonderful, fact-packed narrative of The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folger's Obsessive Hunt for Shakespeare's First Folio. First we get an introductory, but solid detailing of Shakespeare's life, his work as an actor and playwright, and his power to astonish audiences from commoners to royalty. Then there is a short retelling of how the collected plays came to be published, and finally how they became the rarities sought by collectors, especially Folger, in the twentieth century.
It was soon after that and the death of Shakespeare in 1616 that John Heminges and Henry Condell, actors and share-holders in Shakespeare' company, set out to preserve all eighteen plays and publish them together in one folio (book). But plays at that time were not written down mainly to protect against other companies performing the plays without authorization. To the public, plays were to be watched, not read, so there was little call for printed version of drama. Also, many actors were illiterate so did not need complete copies of the play, relying instead on the directions of the playwright and director and their own memories.
Using their recollections of company members, pirated versions copied by rival companies, and other sources now unknown, Heminges and Condell painstakingly created the First Folio which was printed over two years in a small run of 750 copies with 900 pages in each book. Details of the printing of such a massive volume were fascinating.
If they had waited any longer, it might never have been printed. Within a generation, a Puritan dark age of antitheatrical mania, an attempt to "appease and avert the wrath of God," would create an eighteen-year gap in theater history. There would be no stage performances to keep the plays alive, no passing of Shakespeare's torch from one generation of actors to the next. By 1660, and the renaissance of English theater under the patronage of Charles II, it would have been too late; the age of Shakespeare's King's Men would have long passed, and with it all hope of recovering what, a generation earlier, Heminges and Condell had saved.At that time the First Folio was in little demand, taking nine years to sell out. This First Folio, created by two men who knew and worked with Shakespeare, became the only authentic version of Shakespeare's plays as they were performed to Renaissance audiences. Other folios came later, but none matched the accuracy or completeness of the First Folio. Less than 200 copies survive today with only about 35 complete with all pages, title page, and woodcut of Shakespeare.
Enter Henry Clay Folger, a brilliant accountant with the new Standard Oil Company. Folger, as he rose in the ranks in responsibility and salary, began to collect Shakespearean rarities, including First Folios. At that time, the folios were not in high demand (indeed, some libraries and museums discarded First Folios and replaced them with Second, Third, and Fourth Folios, versions that superseded the First, but were actually full of errors, revisions, and plays not written by Shakespeare). Folger initially could only buy battered copies fairly cheaply. Soon, though, the better, more complete (and expensive) copies lured him and his wife and the passion to purchase grew to an obsession.
Folger became a Shakespeare expert, acquiring all things Shakespeare. Author Mays tells the gripping tales of discovery of rarities, bidding, and acquiring (or losing out on) these items. One First Folio took four years to negotiate at a cost of $50,000, more than the much rarer Gutenberg Bible. One copy was nearly discarded as trash after being found in a barn loft in Sweden. He lost out on several very rare copies due to his cheapness and lack of urgency, but he did not repeat those failings often. What he wanted, he got, keeping his identity a mystery so sellers would not know of his passion and raise prices. Eventually, Folger acquired 82 copies of First Folios, about a third of all known existing copies.
But what to do with the collection? Folger in his later years designed and build the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. to preserve his works under one roof. The trials from 1921-1930 of acquiring land and worrying every detail of the building (install the new invention of air conditioning?) kept him occupied to his death in 1930. When the Folger Library opened in 1932 the collection included:
Two hundred fifty-six thousand books; 60,000 manuscripts; 200 oil paintings; 50,000 watercolors, prints, and photographs; dozens of sculptures; half a million playbills; plus theater programs, musical instruments, costumes, and more. Each book, artwork, and artifact spoke to the others in a magical resonance that recreated the spirit of Shakespeare's age.Author Mays is a storyteller with few equals. Her thorough research provides fascinating details about the life and times of Shakespeare, the passion of Folger, and the world of rare book dealers, The Millionaire and the Bard never wavers in its goal to provide a great story full of interesting facts to its readers. There is genuine tension as Folger seeks out long-lost first folios, bidding anonymously, wondering whether the article is genuine, and whether he overpaid/underbid in his one opportunity to acquire a treasure. He is a strong, determined man on a quest and Mays lets you into his brain and his world in all its richness and dogged pursuit of Shakespeare's rarities.
Whether you are interested or not in Shakespeare, Folger, or First Folios, The Millionaire and the Bard is a rip-roaring tale of history, rare books, riches, and passion that will engross any reader. Highly recommended for any history-lover, Shakespeare-lover, or just lovers of a gripping tale.
When a lonely little old man hoards thousands of pounds of stacked newspapers and trash, we call him compulsive and crazy. When a multimillionaire industrialist squirrels away tons of rare books, manuscripts, artworks, and memorabilia, we call him a great collector and a man of exquisite taste.
(P.S. Here's a look at the First Folios and also the Folger Shakespeare Library).
Happy reading.
Happy reading.
Fred
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Asimov, Isaac. Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare: A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying the Works of Shakespeare
If you want to attend a Shakespearean play and not only understand the plot but realize the background behind the action, nod your head at the historic element of the characters, and chortle at the jokes, then this book is the best, most readable way to that end. Asimov tackles all the plays, providing explanations of important lines and bring the plot and characters into a new light. (previously reviewed here)
