The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-15
Rocks THAT COST THOUSANDS.
voBE RARE SHAKESPEARES So
CURED BY AMERICANS.

v.,sden j. Perry's Collection Fast Beconi.
ing the Most Valuable in Existence
rare Volumes Recently Obtained by
New Yorkers-Brookiyn Collections.
ruy sun printed on Sunday, August II,
,n, an account OF the copies Of the First
E,,io shakespeare OF 1923 which were owned
4, Greater New York, sho wing that public
and private libraries 10 this city were rtoh
IN this respect. Several fine copies OF the
first Folio have crossed the Atlantic since
then.
Notable among them is the CT ,72O example.
II measures i2H by 81 inches, and save
Tor the mending Of the leaf Of verses and OF
n the last three leaves Is In splendid con-
dItion, and it brought this record auction
nrioe at a London sale July 10. 1901. This
GOV has since been purchased at private
sse by a member Of the publishing house
ofCharles Scribner's Sons.
Last summer Frederick Looker-Lamp-
sons First Folio, measuring 10 by 81 inches
and in perfect condition throughout, was
privately purchased In this city by W. A.
Van Antwerp, a member of the New York
Stock Exchange, for $40, 900, the record
DIlCt lOl NIo pooho Nv bAhO.
Marsden j. Perry Of Providence, r. l.;
whose Sh~akespearian collection Is fast be-
coming the most valuable one In existence,
has made since 1901 many notable purchases
OF folios, including a set OF the editions
Of 1873, 1882, 1854 and 1885 for which his
London agent gave Mr.. MacGeorge, a
Glasgow collector, the sum of SIC, 900.
This set, secured last year, includes the copy
ofthe First Folio which cost MIR. MaoGeorge
Gl, 700 in London in 1899; and the Daniel
Oxford copy Of the Second Folio, with the
'Allot' imprint, for which the Scottish
bibliophile paid ESQ in 1895.
The First Folio, measuring lax by 81
inches, has a few minor imperfections but
Is otherwise a remarkably beautiful copy
in old, perhaps the original, calf. The
Second Folio, measuring 1871 by ~ inches,
Is in the contemporary cali and is immaou-
late from beginning to end. 1t has long
been famous among book collectors as the
finest Second Folio extant.
The principal Shakespeare additions to
American private libraries since the summer
Of 1901 have been early and important
editions Of the poems and quarto plays Of
the worlds poet" These acquisitions,
including many treasures possessing the
highest degree Of rarity, val u and interest,
have been secured, for the most part, by
six collectors-H. C. Folger, Jr., E. Dwight
Church, William A. White, Robert Hoe,
J. Pierpont Morgan and Marsden j. Perry.
the first three residing In Brooklyn, the
fourth and fifth in this city and the sixth
In Providence.
Mr.. Folger's Shakespear ian collection,
although little known among bibliophiles.
includes one treasure which would lend
distinction to even the British Museums
list Of quarto plays. 1t is a unique copy
Of the long lost titus Andronicus' Of 1894,
the first printed Of Shakespeare dramas
and the greatest Of early English dramatic
r~arities, equalling in importance and biblio-
graphical interest that unheard Of prize ,
seen only in the dreams Of collectors, an
uncut copy Of the First Folio. This unique
copy, secured by Mr.. Folger at q large
advance on the original purchase price,
s2,0o0. is considered by some judges to be
intrinsically the most valuable volume in
the whole range Of English literature, and
.extrinsioally rs only exceeded in value
among early English books, by several Of
the productions Of William Caxton. the
first printer in England.
The text Of the 1894 titus Is practically
the same as that Of the reissue Of 1900, Of
which only two copies are known, in the
Ellesmere and Edinburgh University COL
l~ections, save hat In the latter some mis-
prints have been corrected and some new
ones added, one word exchanged for another
in several instances, and four lines added
to the final scene Of the tragedy.
The earliest known owner Of the play was
Charles Robson, an accountant in Sweden
(born 1735, died 1900, whose family re-
moved to Sweden from Scotland with his
great grandfather, Christian Robson Cborn
about 1879, the latter probably being the
original possessor. Some time during he
last century it passed into the ownership
Of the father Of Herr Kraft, the present
Postmaster OF Malmo, who remained igno-
rant Of its real importance until December,
1904, when it was identified by Evald Lung
gren, librarian OF Lund University in
Sweden. In january. 1905, it was sold for
f2,OOO to Sotheran i Co., the London book
dealers, by whom it was resold a little later
for & considerably larger sum and imme-
diately came to this city.
The only defects Of this copy occur In the
second leaf in signature B, where the bot
tom corner has been torn away, with the
result that a letter and a half in the catch
word and eight letters in the text have dis
appeared. These 'mperfections are Of
trifing importance, however, and do not
affect the value and interest Of the play.
Mr.. Church's library undoubtedly in
cludes the finest Of the three Shakespearian
collections Of which Brooklyn boasts. His
collie otion, already rich in rare items, re-
ceived many important additions in 1905
through the purchase Of the private library
Of the late Frederick Looker-Lampson, the
poet b%ibliophile Of Rowfant, England.
To-day his special gathering Of Shake
speare quarto plays includes these rarities-
Richard the Second 1858, second edition;
Richard the Third" 1893, second edition;
Romeo and Juliet 1899, second edition;
Henry the Fourth" first part, 1890, second
edition; Loves Labors Lost" 1893, first
edition; Henry the Fourth second part,
1900, first and second issues Of the first
edition; Henry the Fifth" 1900, first edi-
ton; THE Merchant Of Venice" 1900, first
edition (the y. Roberts issue), and second
issue, ("for Thomas Heyes'), same date:
"A Midsummer Nights Dream" 1900, first
edition (the james Roberts" issue); Much
Ado About Nothing 1900, first edition;