Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-11
r A R E FIRST FOLIOS
Nine Copies Of Shakespeares Original Book
Of Plays.
All Perfect and I'm Good Order. and
the Volumes in Existence.
From the New York Tribune.

There appeared a few weeks ago in
Notes and Queries list compiled by a
correspondent, Of forty-fiye copies of the
| first folio of Shakespeare which are trace
able today. It's compiler did not claim
completeness for his list but he considered
| 1t step toward the ascertainment of the
number of such folios in existence. OF the
forty-fve which he mentioned, four only
were in America. These were credited to
Robert Hoe. Augustin Daily and the Lenox
Library, New York, and to Robert Roberts
of Boston. Instead of three, the writer has
been able to find nine. Of these the Lenox
Library owns four, Columbia University
| one, Mr.. Hoe and Mr.. Daily each one as
stated, and the remaining two copies are
| the property, respectively, of E. D. Church
and w. A. White of Brooklyn.
1t has frequently been observed by liter
airy authorities that the first, or 1923, folio
of Shakespeare is not. strictly speaking a
rare book, except in state of perfect
preservation. If all the battered and de-
fective copies were counted the list says
one writer, could doubtless be extended
into the hundreds. The nine mentioned
here. however. and presumably all those in
ciuded in the English list, are known to
book collectors as perfect COPIES.
or the four specimens now in the Lenox
Library one is the old Aston library copy,
which was recently taken uptown when the
consolidation of the two institutions caused
some changes to be made in the arrange
ment of the books. This was known in
England as the Stowe copy. Not much is
known about its history beyond the fact
that 1t was bought by BONN in 1S49 for
fI6 1t measures 12Ss inches by Sls inches,
ana has the Ben JonSon verses, opposite
the Droeshout portrait, inlaid.
The most famous of the Lenox folios is
the Baker or Litchfeld-B Baker copy, once
owned by James Baker Kings Arms Cole
man street, London. 1t measures 12k by
"a inches and cost in 1855 f163 16s A
distinguishing popularity is that it has
TWO Cancelled leaves in .AS You Like 1t"
1t may be said incidentally that all Of
these folios present some slight differences
in the text, so that each has a certain in
dividuallty The most remarkable thing
ABOUT this copy. however, is that 1t bears
the date 1G22 instead OF the usual 1923
The discrepancy has been the subject of
much argument and opinions seem to have
been divided to whether the alteration
was made by accident or design.
OF the third Lenox copy no history is
given. 1t is fine one, similar to the one
Just described, except that the date is the
usual 1923. 1t has been bound by Francis
Bedford in red crushed levant morocco
with gilt edges and tooling on the sides and
I back The fourth and last of the folios
now in the library was formerly the prop
orty of Samuel ]. Tilden. 1t is inferior
to the others in condition, and is kept
locked up instead Of being on view in the
cases. " ~
remarkably fine copy is that owned by
W.. A. White of Brooklyn. 1t measures
II 3-16 by 1916 inches and was bound
ABOUT twenty-five years ago by Francis
BEDFORD This folio was once the property
~ oir Wlillam llte, from whose possession
II subsequently passed into that of Eu-
gene N Robinson, and then into the library
of Brayton Ives.
what would be considered by fastidious
coiiectorS slight defect serves only Mr.
white says, to make his copy more yalua-
bic to him. This popularity consists of q
small wormhole running through the first
i.a OF the volume and reaching to the
comedy of Errors" 1t guarantees the
TACT that the portrait, the leaf with the
lines addressed to the reader ETC., are all
as they were originally
=. u. Church of Brooklyn owns what
mas peeil called by experts one of the finest
| known copies of the 1923 folio. Its size,
los by 81. Is exceptional, and is the same
as that OF the celebrated Daniel copy pur-
chased at the Daniel sale in 1864 nv the
baroness Burdett-Coutts Mr.. Cbnrch,s
copy is sound and perfect throughout and
mas never been cleaned. He bought if fen
or Twelve years ago from Dodd Mead &
Co. for $780, an unusually high price even
Tor perfect first folio.
Ahother copy known to collectors for its
SIZE ana general excellence is that owned
! py ROBERT Hoe The entire inside is abso-
iuteiy perfect, the only place where there
has been any letouching being on the up-
per r1ght-hand corner of the title mage
This had become torn off and new paper
nc. oeei supStituteu, with two or three
letters inlaid
NO details could be learned regarding the
folio owned by Augustin Daily beyond the
mere TACT that 1t was sold to him about
ten years ago by Dodd, Mead & Co., who
acquired it in England. 1t is said to be re-
markable more for it's perfection than for
| its large size.
The last of the nine copies mentioned
mat at Columbia University found it's way
INTO mat library as a part of the s. Whit
ney PhoenlX collection. Mr.. Baker the CO.
lumbla librarian, says it has been pro-
nounced by experts to be a beautiful and
valuable folio
Ihere was a copy of the first folio in
the Pope collection in Brooklyn, which was
sold two or three years ago with the resi-
OF that library, but the name of its pres
ent owner could not be learned 1t is pos
Slble that there are still other copies in the
neighborhood. but the addition of the fore
gong to the Notes and Queries" list is
interesting as proving the existence of sew
eral more American copies than were mem
toned there. $1,000