Bibliography

This page is devoted to all matters to do with the texts of Shakespeare's plays and poems and will include recent research and documentary 'discoveries'.

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Posted 17.09.2019: 'When Milton met Shakespeare: poet's notes on Bard appear to have been found' : Hailed as one of the most significant archival discoveries of modern times, text seems to show the Paradise Lost poet making careful annotations on his First Folio edition of Shakespeare’s plays: www.theguardian.com/books/2019/sep/16/when-milton-met-shakespeare-poets-notes-on-bard-appear-to-have-been-found .

Posted 21.04.2016: Shakespeare: who put those thoughts in his head? - a major article by Jonathan Bate: http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/apr/20/shakespeare-thinking-philosophy-jonanthan-bate .

Posted 21.04.2016: Some of the Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust’s most valuable books were donations, such as the so called ‘Wheler Folio’ (above) named after its donor: Miss Anne Wheler. See more at: http://findingshakespeare.co.uk/whelers-folio?utm_source=Finding+Shakespeare+RSS-Email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=b5d4c7dba8-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_term=0_bcfa6d3979-b5d4c7dba8-297835533#sthash.FOrEJ2dp.dpuf .

Below is a photograph of the Shakespeare Second Folio (1632) in the possession of the Charlecote Park estate.

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington began with the purchase of a single copy of the Fourth Folio (1685): http://bloggingshakespeare.com/bangs-maggs-folger-fourth-folios?utm_source=Blogging+Shakespeare+RSS-Email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=a136a54ad6-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_term=0_9b7c91aee0-a136a54ad6-274586381 .

A rare and valuable Shakespeare First Folio ... has been discovered in a small French town. The book had lain undisturbed in a library in Saint-Omer, near Calais in northern France, for 200 years: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30206476 ; http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/nov/25/shakespeare-first-folio-found-in-french-library .

Who Edited Shakespeare...? Saul Frampton (Guardian Review 13.07.2013) makes a case for claiming that John Florio (above) was the editor of the First Folio (1623). He is currently writing a book about Florio and Shakespeare: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jul/12/who-edited-shakespeare-john-florio .Florio (1553–1625), known in Italian as Giovanni Florio, was a linguist and lexicographer, a royal language tutor at the Court of James I, and a possible friend and influence on Shakespeare. He was also the translator of Montaigne into English. He married Aline, the sister of poet Samuel Daniel in 1580.

Posted 30.04.2013: Lambeth Palace retrieves stolen collection of extraordinary rare books. Early edition of Shakespeare - Henry IV Part 2 - and historic accounts of expeditions among 1,400 'priceless' books discovered in attic. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/29/lambeth-palace-stolen-books-retrieved .

The Bodleian Library copy of the First Folio.

Among the Treasure of the Bodleian Exhibition (see entry for 26.09.2011 on the News & Events page) is the Bodleian's copy of Shakespeare's First Folio (pictured left). Details of the item can be viewed at: http://treasures.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/First-Folio-shakespeare .
The information is supplemented by a 5-minute video by Dr Emma Smith, Fellow in English, University of Oxford who recounts something of the fascinating history of this particular volume.

The Shakespeare First Folio (1623): Three copies of the First Folio are kept in Stratford-upon-Avon. The full bibliographical descriptions of all three copies are reproduced in separate files below. The descriptions are taken from Anthony James West, The Shakespeare First Folio: The History of the Book, Vol. II.

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