Letterpress Shakespeare

Since it is the holiday season I decided to go on a Shakespeare buying binge (Merry Christmas to me).

I just ordered the letterpress:

Hamlet, Othello, Midsummers night dream, The Tempest, and Romeo & Juliet.

I am also considering the First Folio and I was wondering if anyone had it and what they thought of it.

First Folio: you mean the facsimile of Shakespeare's works or the Folio book of introductory texts?

Sorry, the First Folio Shakespeare.

I have a rather negative opinion on the First Folio Shakespeare. For me, it is too hard to decipher. Sometimes hardly legible on the facsimile... But I know other members in this group have a quite opposite opinion.

I found back the
Darwin Collection? thread where we discussed it a while ago.

Wow how much did you end up selling your second kidney for? :)

Wow! I'll say you'll have a Merry Christmas, SirFolio16. I have the First Folio Shakespeare and I think it's a lovely book but, as mentioned on the Darwin thread, more for historical interest than actual reading pleasure. My sister was fairly impressed with it on a "Wow, this is impressively expensive" level. I bought it when my nephew was still in the grubby stage and when my sister saw the book she immediately warned him that he was never to touch it (not that he would, he hates all things Shakespeare).

If anyone else is considering a purchase of the First Folio but would like to do more research on its contents beyond the photos on the FS page, these links may be of interest.

Folger Library scans of the First Folio:
http://www.folger.edu/Content/Discover-Shakespeare/Shakespeares-Works/The-First-...

British Library scans of the quartos of the plays, upon which some of the First Folio was based:
http://special-1.bl.uk/treasures/SiqDiscovery/ui/search.aspx

Decided to make it a happy new year as well... just added The Merchant of Venice.

Thank you for the links beatlemoon.

Does anyone know of another First Folio of Shakespeare that is nice but perhaps a bit cheaper... I would like to get a cheaper version to check it out before I buy the Folio Version.

>8 SirFolio16:
The Norton Facsimile of the First Folio Edition Edition of Shakespeare is available from Amazon.com for $95 US as a new book, and there are several used available from $76 US and up.

Four new volumes in the Letterpress Shakespeare series have recently been posted on the Folio Society website, being:

- The Winter's Tale
- Troilus and Cressida
- Measure For Measure
- All's Well That Ends Well

They will be released over the next four months starting with The Winter's Tale, and have a limitation of 1000, just like the other batches of four new plays that were released last year.

If I'm right, this puts the total number of Letterpress Shakespeare works in publication at 25, including the Sonnets.

SirFolio (#8),

I am not sure which edition of the First Folio you are thinking of buying. The original FS Limited Edition, at $500 US, is quite nice. It is not really a facsimile, but a reprint of the 2nd Norton edition. They did a non-limited reprint later, bound in quarter-red-leather, with pictorial cloth sides, at around $200, and there are two of those available on abebooks from sellers in the UK, at $167 and $190. They appear to be smaller than the LE, which is a true folio size.

You should be able to find used copies of the original Norton edition cheaper than those listed on Amazon. It was published by someone else in the UK. Those are, I believe, bound in plain cloth.

Paul Hamlyn published a Norton facsimile edition in 1968 - there's an example at

http://www.hcbooksonline.com/browse-all/first-folio-of-shakespeare-norton-facsim...

Price £80.00, free UK delivery

11: Friso you are correct:

1) Hamlet 3750
2) King Lear 3750
3) Macbeth 3750
4) Othello 3750

5) Julius Caesar 3750
6) Anthony and Cleopatra 3750
7) Coriolanus 3750
8) Titus Andronicus 3750

9) The Tempest 3750
10) Midsummer Night's Dream 3750
11) Twelfth Night 3750
12) As You Like it 3750

13) Romeo and Juliet 1000
14) Merchant of Venice 1000
15) Much Ado about Nothing 1000
16) Taming of the Shrew 1000

17) Henry IV Part 1 1000
18) Henry IV Part 2 1000
19) Henry V 1000
20) Richard III 1000

21) Sonnets and Poems 1980

22) All's Well That Ends Well 1000
23) Measure for Measure 1000
24) Troilus and Cressida 1000
25) The Winter's Tale 1000

Thanks for the overview Texaco!

I just heard four new plays are in the work and will be announced soon. Timon of Athens, and three more historical plays. I've already forgotten but I think some more Henry's (VIII or VI?) and one of the others.

Maybe Richard II? That would complete the Henriad.

I've always thought Richard II was an underrated play.

> 18

I have just finished reading Richard II. I agree that it has been underrated. I enjoyed it and found the plight of Richard quite moving towards the end.