Overview

The Shakespeare First Folio is arguably the greatest book ever written in the English language, and it is the only source for half the plays (including Macbeth and The Tempest). Vast amounts have been written on it up to its publication - for example on its printing and proofreading - but very little since it left the press in 1623. And yet its story is a highly significant contribution to the history of the book worldwide, and crucial to the study of Shakespeare's 'afterlives'. The present volume breaks new ground in its account of the price and sales history of the books - from one pound in the seventeenth century to over half a million pounds today - placing this in the context both of Shakespeare's standing and of the contemporary world of antiquarian book sales. It charts the number and distribution of copies at the beginning and end of the twentieth century, surveys the nineteen facsimile editions since 1807, and assesses earlier listings of the work since 1824, including Sidney Lee's Census (1902). It also indicates the history of the volumes' ownership - ranging from counry parson to President of Standard Oil.

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9780198187691

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The first volume is a mine of information filled with tables, charts, appendices, and just about all a student could want for getting into the history of the First Folio's afterlife. Review, 25 I believe West's study of the First Folio will become, when completed, a model of how one does post-publication book history. I look forward with anticipation to the next three volumes. Review, 25 The first volume of 'The First Folio Series' provides much information, but it also whets our appetite for the next volumes. If West means to go on as he has started then these four volumes will become the most comprehensive study of any single edition of a secular author ever produced. Shakespearians and book history scholars should immediately get it on their shelves. Notes and Queries An amazing piece of scholarship ... West's study is the first comprehensive study of the book as book and as cultural object. One wonders why we had to wait nearly four centuries for such a study. Notes and Queries In addition to providing a thorough and well-documented study exploring condition, pedigree, annotation, and prices of the first folio, West also provides extensive information for research and reference... And he includes anecdotes--for example,...Fulford Adams's remark when Henry Folger approached him about buying a folio edition: 'It is something to have one.' This...sentiment could apply to West's book... Choice In addition to its economical and readable narrative, First Folio is chockablock with citations, entries, tables, appendices, and colourful anecdotes that fully flesh the market career of the book which is the single most influential document in the history of Western literature. There is also a delightful preface by Professor Stanley Wells, our greatest living Shakespearean scholar ... First Folio sets a lofty standard of patient, painstaking scholarship. Social History Society Bulletin Impeccably researched and thoughtfully written ... This book is stuffed with charming titbits. Social History Society Bulletin Genuinely monumental ... Through a combination of careful archival research and tireless legwork, West has located 228 copies - a remarkable 70 more than were listed in Sidney Lee's 1902 Census ... This is an essential reference work for Shakespeareans, librarians, book-collectors, and antiquarian book dealers ... a monumental achievement. Eric Rasmussen, Shakespeare Survey An exceptionally engaging study... West's account is so admirably concise that it's quite impossible to reduce it here; at the same time, it's full of fascinating and pointed observation... It would be hard to imagine a better opening to the enterprise West has undertaken. Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 The contribution West's book makes to our knowledge of this freak of bibliographic, literary and economic history is enormous. London Review of Books

The first volume is a mine of information filled with tables, charts, appendices, and just about all a student could want for getting into the history of the First Folio's afterlife. Review, 25 I believe West's study of the First Folio will become, when completed, a model of how one does post-publication book history. I look forward with anticipation to the next three volumes. Review, 25 The first volume of 'The First Folio Series' provides much information, but it also whets our appetite for the next volumes. If West means to go on as he has started then these four volumes will become the most comprehensive study of any single edition of a secular author ever produced. Shakespearians and book history scholars should immediately get it on their shelves. Notes and Queries An amazing piece of scholarship ... West's study is the first comprehensive study of the book as book and as cultural object. One wonders why we had to wait nearly four centuries for such a study. Notes and Queries In addition to providing a thorough and well-documented study exploring condition, pedigree, annotation, and prices of the first folio, West also provides extensive information for research and reference... And he includes anecdotes-for example,...Fulford Adams's remark when Henry Folger approached him about buying a folio edition: 'It is something to have one.' This...sentiment could apply to West's book... Choice In addition to its economical and readable narrative, First Folio is chockablock with citations, entries, tables, appendices, and colourful anecdotes that fully flesh the market career of the book which is the single most influential document in the history of Western literature. There is also a delightful preface by Professor Stanley Wells, our greatest living Shakespearean scholar ... First Folio sets a lofty standard of patient, painstaking scholarship. Social History Society Bulletin Impeccably researched and thoughtfully written ... This book is stuffed with charming titbits. Social History Society Bulletin Genuinely monumental ... Through a combination of careful archival research and tireless legwork, West has located 228 copies - a remarkable 70 more than were listed in Sidney Lee's 1902 Census ... This is an essential reference work for Shakespeareans, librarians, book-collectors, and antiquarian book dealers ... a monumental achievement. Eric Rasmussen, Shakespeare Survey An exceptionally engaging study... West's account is so admirably concise that it's quite impossible to reduce it here; at the same time, it's full of fascinating and pointed observation... It would be hard to imagine a better opening to the enterprise West has undertaken. Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 The contribution West's book makes to our knowledge of this freak of bibliographic, literary and economic history is enormous. London Review of Books

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