Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-10-13
BY ROBERT CRAWFORD.

DR.. Joseph Quincy Adams of South
Carolina-you might have thought
that he came from Massachusetts,,
whose second name is "Adams"-di-
rector of the Folger Memorial Shakes
peare Library. and one OF the most
noted scholars and authorities on
Shakespeare in this country or, for
that matter, in the world, is just now
gloating over the acquisition by the
Folger Memorial of one Of the rarest
and most unique contributions to
Shakespeariana that is in existence.
From the day the producers started
working on the motion picture, "A
Midsummer Nights Dream" DR..
Adams doubtless had weather eye
out for the working script" used by
Prof. Max Reinhardt in the filming Of
the immortal phantasy. So he sought
and gained the good Offices of friend
of the professors, DR.. A. S. w. Rosen-
bach. president of the Shakespeare
Association of America, bibliophile
and one of the worlds best known
collectors of rare books and manu-
scripts, to assist him in prevailing
upon Prof. Reinhardt to give the
script" to the Folger Library. The
professor, who also has a fine collec-
ton Of Shakespeariana in his house
in Austria. unselfshly consented and
in the near future the working script"
will be formally presented to the Ii
brary.
The manuscript is especially to be
coveted as it bears the notations OF
Prof. Reinhardt and the pencil
sketches and color drawings by Anton
Grot; bars of music written by DR..
Erich Korngold and other invaluable
hall marks of Prof. Reinhardt who Is
considered perhaps the greatest ar
tistic genius of the century in stage
productions. It is difficult for those
who were fortunate enough to see that
superb, spectacular pantomime, The
Miracle" which was the child of the
professors brain, to ever disasSociate
him from that miraculous perform
ance.
The world premiere of "A Mid
summer Nights Dream" was held in
New York Wednesday last under the
auspices of the English Speaking
Union of New York and seldom has a
first showing assembled a more select
or distinguished audience. DR.. Rosen-
bach is reported to have said in speak
ing of the picture, ITO me, the pro-
duction is the play of Shakespeare S
imagination-ft is produced in man.
ner he would liked to have seen. but
which was impossible on the Eliza
bethan stage, or in fact on the stage
of any modern theater." He thinks
many of the plays of Shakespeare will
lend themselves to the screen. There
is the forecast of a great revival of
the plays this Winter The Tanning
of the Shrew" has had most sue
cessful reception in New York and
next week Washington is to see a
revival of Romeo and Juliet" by
Katharine Cornell.
"a Midsummer Nights Dream" was
produced first about 1891 by COM
pany of actors known as the Lord
Chamberlaine's Servants" The play
DR.. Rosenbach says, first saw light
in print in little quarto published
in 1890 by Thomas Fisher of London.
Copies of that quarto are now very
rare. only about eight of them being
known, and they each are valued in
the neighborhood of $4,000. Five
copies are in collections in the United
States. The play was mentioned in
1898 in Mere's Wits Treasury"
Samuel Pepys evidently did not think
much of "A Midsummer Nights
Dream" for he writes in his diary in
September, 1862: ITO the Kings
Theatre, where we saw 'Midsummer's
Nights Dream which I had never
seen before, nor shall ever again, for
it is the most insipid, ridiculous play
that ever I saw in my life"
That most interesting diarist, how
ever. took more kindly to Hamlet"
for in May of 1863 he writes: by
water to the Royal Theatre; but that
was so full they told us we could have
no room. And so to the Dukes
house; and there saw Hamlet done,
giving us fresh reason never to think
enough of Betterton. Who should we
see come upon the stage but Gosnell,
my wife's maid, but neither spoke,
danced, nor sung, which I was sorry
for" 1t must have been from 1862
or 1863 to 1868 that women began to
take parts in the Shakespeare plays
which had formerly been played by
young boys or men.
Just bit more of the immortal
dramatist: Dr. Rosenbach has the
largest collection of Shakespeare
quartos outside private libraries.
By the way. in London they call
Katherine Hepburn blend of Bern