Folio Archives 464: The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare 1969
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1wcarter
The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare 1969
Since its foundation in 1947 the Folio Society has produced numerous sets of Shakespeare’s works.
1950-76 Rainbow Shakespeare series.
So named because every volume was a different colour, these books covered all of Shakespeare’s plays in separate small volumes, but it took the FS 26 years to complete the series. The early works until 1959 were covered with a dust-jacket rather than housed in a slipcase, but as these earlier editions had reprints, slipcases replaced the dust-jackets.
Each volume was introduced by a different scholar. These books were illustrated in colour with stage costume designs by Anthony Powell, with eight pictures per volume. They were bound in buckram with a feather pattern in gold and black on the front. The page tops were stained the same colour as the binding. The spine titling ran from bottom to top. The slipcase was a mottled grey and the endpapers plain white.
A sample volume from this series, The Comedy of Errors, is reviewed in detail below.
1976 Folio Press Complete Works
Until 2013, the Folio Society only sold books to its members. Between 1968 and 1992 the spin-off publisher, Folio Press, sold Folio Society style books to the general public. Folio Press books are now considered to be part of the Folio Society oeuvre.
In 1976 the FS released the Folio Press Complete Works of Shakespeare. They were bound in vegetable parchment with a cover design blocked in gold and one other colour. They were housed in six brown slipcases, each with a vegetable parchment label on the fore-edge. These were effectively a new edition of the earlier Rainbow Series books.
1988 Six-volume maroon set
This set contained all 38 plays and poetry spread over six volumes in two dark blue slipcases. The set was edited and introduced by Stanley Wells and featured a wood-engraved frontispiece for each play by different artists. All volumes were quarter-bound in dark red buckram with paper covers, different colour for each volume, printed with a gold pattern.
This set was at one stage also sold in a single dark blue six volume slipcase.
A very small number of this edition were bound in red 'oasis' morocco in oak slipcase and with different title-leaf verso as a limited edition.
1997 Eight-volume dark green set
Also known as the Jubilee edition, the complete 38 plays were included in eight volumes housed in two four-volume slipcases. Introduced by Jonathan Bate they were quarter dark green buckram with pale grey paper boards printed with a design by Richard Shirley Smith. The eight volumes were titled "Tragedies", "Tragicomedies", Comedies", "Early Comedies", Classical Plays", Histories I", Histories II" and "Romances".
2007-14 Letterpress Limited Edition set
The Folio Society Letterpress Shakespeare program produced magnificent solander cased books (a few early editions were available in a slipcase instead of a solander box) that were limited to between 3750 (earlier editions) and 1000 copies.
They were individually numbered on a special limitation page, and were half-bound in goatskin leather, blocked in gold with hand-marbled paper sides, gilded top edge and ribbon marker. Set in 16pt 'Monotype' Baskerville, printed by letterpress on mould-made paper.
They were accompanied by an Oxford University Press text with extensive explanatory notes, edited by Anthony B. Dawson & Paul Yachnin under the General Editor Stanley Wells.
The series of 39 volumes started in 2007 and was completed in 2014. They were priced at £295, except for the Sonnets and Poems, which was £345 (prices are representative only and have varied from time to time).
They were the brainchild of Joe Whitlock-Blundell and have been described as the finest set of Shakespeare's works ever produced.
This series is reviewed in Folio Archives here.
2023 Complete Plays of William Shakespeare Limited Edition
Introduced by Gregory Doran and with a foreword by Dame Judi Dench, this was a three-volume set of all Shakespeare’s plays. There were 40 black and red illustrations by Neil Packer and the volumes were bound in off-white silk and linen jacquard cloth printed in black with a wrap-around pattern. They were printed in two colours throughout on Munken Pure paper and all page edges were stained in gunmetal silver. They were housed in a black cloth-covered slipcase lined with image printed Woodstock Betulla paper. 1000 copies were printed at £1000 a set.
2024 Complete Plays of William Shakespeare
This was a reprint of the 2023 limited edition as a standard edition. The contents were identical, but the binding and slipcase differed. They were bound in off-white cloth printed and blocked with images in black and red, gilt spine title. The paper slipcase was printed in black and red with a wrap-around picture.
PICTORIAL REVIEW OF THE 1969 COMEDY OF ERRORS FROM THE RAINBOW SHAKESPEARE SERIES
A Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare’s earlier and less frequently performed, and most confusing, plays. A brief summary does not do justice to the complexities and inuendoes of the play but to put it simply as possible, a husband (Antipholus) and his wife (Emelia) are separated from each other and their twins in a shipwreck, with one twin surviving with each parent. Antipholus and his slave Dromio, who is also a twin, go to Ephesus to find them. The two sets of twins end up in Ephesus, and the new arrivals cause a series of incidents of mistaken identity. At the end, both sets of twins find each other and their parents and resolve all of the problems caused earlier.
Sun fading of the spine was a common problem with this series.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
Since its foundation in 1947 the Folio Society has produced numerous sets of Shakespeare’s works.
1950-76 Rainbow Shakespeare series.
So named because every volume was a different colour, these books covered all of Shakespeare’s plays in separate small volumes, but it took the FS 26 years to complete the series. The early works until 1959 were covered with a dust-jacket rather than housed in a slipcase, but as these earlier editions had reprints, slipcases replaced the dust-jackets.
Each volume was introduced by a different scholar. These books were illustrated in colour with stage costume designs by Anthony Powell, with eight pictures per volume. They were bound in buckram with a feather pattern in gold and black on the front. The page tops were stained the same colour as the binding. The spine titling ran from bottom to top. The slipcase was a mottled grey and the endpapers plain white.
A sample volume from this series, The Comedy of Errors, is reviewed in detail below.
1976 Folio Press Complete Works
Until 2013, the Folio Society only sold books to its members. Between 1968 and 1992 the spin-off publisher, Folio Press, sold Folio Society style books to the general public. Folio Press books are now considered to be part of the Folio Society oeuvre.
In 1976 the FS released the Folio Press Complete Works of Shakespeare. They were bound in vegetable parchment with a cover design blocked in gold and one other colour. They were housed in six brown slipcases, each with a vegetable parchment label on the fore-edge. These were effectively a new edition of the earlier Rainbow Series books.
1988 Six-volume maroon set
This set contained all 38 plays and poetry spread over six volumes in two dark blue slipcases. The set was edited and introduced by Stanley Wells and featured a wood-engraved frontispiece for each play by different artists. All volumes were quarter-bound in dark red buckram with paper covers, different colour for each volume, printed with a gold pattern.
This set was at one stage also sold in a single dark blue six volume slipcase.
A very small number of this edition were bound in red 'oasis' morocco in oak slipcase and with different title-leaf verso as a limited edition.
1997 Eight-volume dark green set
Also known as the Jubilee edition, the complete 38 plays were included in eight volumes housed in two four-volume slipcases. Introduced by Jonathan Bate they were quarter dark green buckram with pale grey paper boards printed with a design by Richard Shirley Smith. The eight volumes were titled "Tragedies", "Tragicomedies", Comedies", "Early Comedies", Classical Plays", Histories I", Histories II" and "Romances".
2007-14 Letterpress Limited Edition set
The Folio Society Letterpress Shakespeare program produced magnificent solander cased books (a few early editions were available in a slipcase instead of a solander box) that were limited to between 3750 (earlier editions) and 1000 copies.
They were individually numbered on a special limitation page, and were half-bound in goatskin leather, blocked in gold with hand-marbled paper sides, gilded top edge and ribbon marker. Set in 16pt 'Monotype' Baskerville, printed by letterpress on mould-made paper.
They were accompanied by an Oxford University Press text with extensive explanatory notes, edited by Anthony B. Dawson & Paul Yachnin under the General Editor Stanley Wells.
The series of 39 volumes started in 2007 and was completed in 2014. They were priced at £295, except for the Sonnets and Poems, which was £345 (prices are representative only and have varied from time to time).
They were the brainchild of Joe Whitlock-Blundell and have been described as the finest set of Shakespeare's works ever produced.
This series is reviewed in Folio Archives here.
2023 Complete Plays of William Shakespeare Limited Edition
Introduced by Gregory Doran and with a foreword by Dame Judi Dench, this was a three-volume set of all Shakespeare’s plays. There were 40 black and red illustrations by Neil Packer and the volumes were bound in off-white silk and linen jacquard cloth printed in black with a wrap-around pattern. They were printed in two colours throughout on Munken Pure paper and all page edges were stained in gunmetal silver. They were housed in a black cloth-covered slipcase lined with image printed Woodstock Betulla paper. 1000 copies were printed at £1000 a set.
2024 Complete Plays of William Shakespeare
This was a reprint of the 2023 limited edition as a standard edition. The contents were identical, but the binding and slipcase differed. They were bound in off-white cloth printed and blocked with images in black and red, gilt spine title. The paper slipcase was printed in black and red with a wrap-around picture.
PICTORIAL REVIEW OF THE 1969 COMEDY OF ERRORS FROM THE RAINBOW SHAKESPEARE SERIES
A Comedy of Errors is one of Shakespeare’s earlier and less frequently performed, and most confusing, plays. A brief summary does not do justice to the complexities and inuendoes of the play but to put it simply as possible, a husband (Antipholus) and his wife (Emelia) are separated from each other and their twins in a shipwreck, with one twin surviving with each parent. Antipholus and his slave Dromio, who is also a twin, go to Ephesus to find them. The two sets of twins end up in Ephesus, and the new arrivals cause a series of incidents of mistaken identity. At the end, both sets of twins find each other and their parents and resolve all of the problems caused earlier.
Sun fading of the spine was a common problem with this series.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
2EasternWapiti
>1 wcarter: The 1988 six-volume set also came in a single six-volume blue slipcase. I ordered my set as soon as the brochure announcing it arrived in the United States, so I believe my single-slipcase edition is the first printing.
However, I cannot be as precise as usual, because I was so awe-struck by the binding and the paper that I neglected to follow my usual practice of writing the accession date in the first volume.
This is the way to do Shakespeare. Bust up the old Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies format, arrange the plays in presumed chronological order, publish them in six volumes, and list the play titles on the spines.
However, I cannot be as precise as usual, because I was so awe-struck by the binding and the paper that I neglected to follow my usual practice of writing the accession date in the first volume.
This is the way to do Shakespeare. Bust up the old Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies format, arrange the plays in presumed chronological order, publish them in six volumes, and list the play titles on the spines.
3housefulofpaper
>2 EasternWapiti:
I have the 1988 set in two blue slipcases as pictured in >1 wcarter:. Each volume is noted on its copyright page as the second impression (1990).
I have the 1988 set in two blue slipcases as pictured in >1 wcarter:. Each volume is noted on its copyright page as the second impression (1990).
4wcarter
>2 EasternWapiti:
Thanks. Will change OP. Keeping up with the multiple FS editions of Shakespeare is challenging!
Thanks. Will change OP. Keeping up with the multiple FS editions of Shakespeare is challenging!
5boldface
>1 wcarter:
My favourite among all these, including the Letterpress Shakespeare (I have six of them, seven if you include the Balbusso-illustrated Twelfth Night) and the recent LE, are the volumes of the Rainbow/Folio Press edition. These are also printed letterpress (fairly standard at that time) and printed in two colours throughout. Almost all of them are introduced and illustrated by people associated with a recent production, and so the illustrations, mainly of costumes, but occasionally including set designs, are of very different styles. Anthony Powell, by the way, is just one of the illustrators (A Comedy of Errors).
I have the Folio Press version in the white elephanthide and the six slipcases. Apart from the spines which have FP (Folio Press) at the bottom, the books themselves have The Folio Society imprint and details on title and copyright pages, as the edition was derived from remainder text blocks from the recently completed Rainbow series.
My favourite among all these, including the Letterpress Shakespeare (I have six of them, seven if you include the Balbusso-illustrated Twelfth Night) and the recent LE, are the volumes of the Rainbow/Folio Press edition. These are also printed letterpress (fairly standard at that time) and printed in two colours throughout. Almost all of them are introduced and illustrated by people associated with a recent production, and so the illustrations, mainly of costumes, but occasionally including set designs, are of very different styles. Anthony Powell, by the way, is just one of the illustrators (A Comedy of Errors).
I have the Folio Press version in the white elephanthide and the six slipcases. Apart from the spines which have FP (Folio Press) at the bottom, the books themselves have The Folio Society imprint and details on title and copyright pages, as the edition was derived from remainder text blocks from the recently completed Rainbow series.
6drasvola
>1 wcarter: I have the complete Rainbow set. In this case, as a very exceptional occasion, I threw away the slipcases. I found them ugly, and they took up valuable shelf space.
7EasternWapiti
>1 wcarter: This thread has reminded me that the Folio Society marked the completion of the Rainbow set by collecting all the introductions from that set in a single letterpress volume, Introductions to Shakespeare, which was published in 1977 with a foreword by Charles Ede.
So it is possible to own the editorial matter from the first set (with twelve selected illustrations) and read it in conjunction with one of the later FS sets.
So it is possible to own the editorial matter from the first set (with twelve selected illustrations) and read it in conjunction with one of the later FS sets.
8wcarter
>7 EasternWapiti: Yes, I own a copy.
Thanks for mentioning this interesting book.
I'll do a review one day.
Thanks for mentioning this interesting book.
I'll do a review one day.
9zorg2099
>1 wcarter: Thanks for posting, your reviews are always helpful!
I was also wondering if you knew whether the 2024 SE was printed on the same paper as the preceding LE?
I was also wondering if you knew whether the 2024 SE was printed on the same paper as the preceding LE?
11HonorWulf
>10 affle: The LE is Munken Pure as well. As an aside, the current SE is one of my all-time favorite Folio's. It doubles as a fascinating art piece that can always be depended upon as a conversation starter -- the characters on the spines just seem to jump out at you when in person!
12zorg2099
>10 affle:
>11 HonorWulf:
Thank you both, it's nice that the SE is using the same paper as well. I would like to pick up the SE later this year, but right now funds are being diverted towards a start on Letterpress Shakespeare.
Also agreed with HonorWulf's comment, I love the external design of the SE. Perhaps more so than the LE.
>11 HonorWulf:
Thank you both, it's nice that the SE is using the same paper as well. I would like to pick up the SE later this year, but right now funds are being diverted towards a start on Letterpress Shakespeare.
Also agreed with HonorWulf's comment, I love the external design of the SE. Perhaps more so than the LE.
