The sun., 1901-08-11
SHLKBSPBARIkI PRIZES HERB
NEW YORK RlCH IN COPIES o.
THE FIRST FOLIO EDITION.

L
THE FIRST FOLIO EDITION.
ssme WIN Uusqus Yeaturss-Othess
Amsag tho Nlsst Perfect Known
The Book b Becsslas the Most
| Valuable N the Eneiish Language.
The sale In London on July 10 Of First
Folio Shakespeare for the record price OF
G, .77o has again attracted attention to
the book. which Is rapidly becoming more
valuable than any other In the English
language. Only Q few Of the Caxton i'm
prints are more highly treasured BY col
loctors. 1t h rumorcd that this copy VIII
come to Join other treasures In great New
York private library, and II this u true
| II lends additional interest 20 the fact that
this city Is particularly rich In the possession
of copies Of the flrst edition Of Shakespeare's
plays. One may 60 further. In fact. and
say that more good copies are to be found
here than in any other city In the world
not excepting that one where most oil the
plays we're written and first placed on the
stage. for the really fine copies In Great
Britain are not In London, but In private
collections In Glasgow. Lincoln and Chats
worth. Sidney Lee. Shakespeare's latest
bioerapher has lamented this fact at much
length, for he found that In order TO ex-
anime certain copies possessing unique
| features ne would have to take trip to
New York.
The arst copy Of the First Folio to come
to America was probably the one secured
In January. is4e. at the stowe sale BY DR..
Joseph Green Coggswell. librarian OF tho
Astor Library. The price paid was ETC.
This copy. lately transferred to the Ienox
Library, measures i2,txsH inches. and is
| in fair condition, the leaf Of verses by Ban
Jonson, which precedes the title page;
being inlaid and supplied from the second
edition The title V remargined and Is
faulty at the top. The binding bears the
arms OF the Duke Of Buckingham.
William +. Burton. who made New York
laugh at the Chambers Street Theatre,
Possessed a love for books and formed an
is0O, soon after his death. Among tbs
books was Q First Folio. measuring i2k
| by az inches, and with the verses, title
page, except the portrait, and the last leaf
In facsimile. Burton had paid Boone OF
London ESQ for the book. AZ his sale II
but was nearly destroyed by fire in January.
1873. This was the first time First Folio
was sold at auction In this country.
The most remark able OF the four First
Folios In the I.enox Library Is the famous
John Lchfeld copy. referred TO by DIR;
later in possession Of James Baker OF Kings
Arms, Coleman street, London. II has
long been celebrated on account OF having
! a title page with the date 1927, followed by
another title page with the usual date, 1923.
II has also two cancelled leaves In the play
Of As You Like It. and the leaf OF verses
In two states. one a perfect leaf without
any water mark, the other with the water
mark Of a crown but with the verses in
laid. The measurement Is l2ia by 81
inches, and the binding Is maroon morocco,
by Charles Lewis, England's foremost book
binder seventy-five years ago.
For many years considerable difference
OF opinion existed among Shakespearian
scholars as 10 the genuVeness OF the date
1922 in this copy. for it's value and i'm
portance would be great II the date were
really what 1t appears TO be. The hest
critical opinion nowadays has decided
that the date has been skilfuly altered
Mr. Lenox paid Eis3 iss for the volume
at the Baker sale In 1855 Its present
value would easily be ten times that sum.
The third OF the Ienox First Folios II a
perfect though small copy. in red Levant
morocco. by Francis Bedford. The fourth
|
j. Tilden's.
At the Columbia College Library can
be seen the fine copy OF the first folio be-
queathed number OF years ago by y.
| Whitney Phoenix. This Is known "a the
Phpnix copy, and more than twenty years
ago was pronounced by Justice Winsor
10 be one Of the best preserved and most
perfect in existence. II measures i2I
by 81 inches, and is bound In red morocco,
Tho paper Is strong and unwashed by
binders acid, and the text everywhere
il clean and without defects.
The Cooke sale, held in this city In 1883,
brought forward remarkable set OF the
four folios. 1923. 1882, 1884 and 1885, all
uniformly bound by Bedford the sum
OF q 900 being realized for the four Al
the Ives sale in 1891 the four volumes were
resod separately, the total being $500.
The first Of the four Is one OF the beat
First Folos In existence though II is smaller
than several In this country, measuring
IL S-is by 1919 inches. II was once Sir
William fite's copy, and at his sale In 1874
sold for f440 TO an agent representing
the late Eugene n. Robinson OF this city
From him II passed to the late Joseph ]
Cooke OF Providence, and at his sale
was purchased for Brayton Ives, whose
magnificent collection was sold In 1891
II then realized - 200, which was a record
price and remained 80 for eight years
A few months after the Ives sale William
A. White OF Brooklyn added IL TO his fine
Shakespearian collection for a sum said
TO be $1,000. 1t would now bring much
more than that, for II ia In perfect state
the leaf OF verses and the titls-page being
genuine and in remarkable condition
The binding Is a lovely specimen OF Bed
ford's workmanship.
Dwight Church Of BROOKLYN Possesses
one Of the half dozen really fine and per.
feet First Folos In existence. ono that
rivals the famous fl 100 copy sold In London
In 1909 and now In the MacGeorge colec-
ton In Glasgow and also the copy lately
sold for fl ,720. This beautiful copy. which
Is quite complete, with the verses, title
| page, portrait and all preliminary leaves
, In splendid original condition, untouched
by the hand OF any modern renovator
measures 1871 by 81 inches. the size OF the
famous Daniel copy, and Is bound by Bed
, ford in red morocco supra extra, In the
Venetian-English style of Queen Eliza.
beth's time. 1t came upon the market
In 1888, when Quaritch sold II to Dodd
, Mead 4 Co. for fi 200, asserting that /,
was the finest copy seen In a quarter Of a
century and that probably not four Other
/ | similar copies were known to exist A
: year later Mr.. Church purchased II fol
7 Is, 500 sum that would easily be exceeded
. IL the book were resold to-day.
Z A very large and In some ways remark
. able copy was sold for c590 in 1884 In Lon.