#first folio

[shakespearenews]

In Richard III, “now is the winter of our discontent” is ignored, as is “a horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse”. The notebook’s author preferred the queen’s curse: “My tongue should to thy eares not name my Boyes / Till that my Nayles were anchor’d in thine eyes.”

[thehamletdiaries]

As part of the 400th anniversary of the first Folio, the RSC had a copy which they were encouraging people to scribble notes in.

My incredibly academic contribution to this was to go through Hamlet and write "boyfriends" next to all the parts where Hamlet and Horatio are clearly boyfriends.

This note, however, was not written by me but instead written by someone who came before me.

[uwmspeccoll]

Shakespeare Weekend

This weekend we explore Shakespeare’s comedy, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, the thirty-sixth volume of the thirty-seven volume The Comedies Histories & Tragedies of William Shakespeare, published by the Limited Editions Club (LEC) from 1939-1940. The Two Gentlemen of Verona is believed to be one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, written between 1594 and 1595. The story is heavily inspired by Montemayor’s pastoral romance The Seven Books of Diana (1559) and was first published as a play in the First Folio of 1623.  

French artist Pierre Brissaud (1885-1964) illustrated The Two Gentlemen of Verona with his chracteristic water-color drawings. Brissaud came from a family of artists and followed in their footsteps, training at the École des Beaux-Arts. He found great success in creating Art Deco prints for advertising firms and fashion magazines including Vogue. Brissaud was drawn to The Two Gentlemen of Verona for the challenge of capturing the city’s stunning architecture and ambiance and his work does not disappoint. In Brissaud’s water-color drawings, the characters play out their scenes against intricate architectural details and immersive landscapes. Atelier Beaufume reproduced Brissaud’s drawings for publication using actual watercolors resulting in the velvety colors appearing as if they glow upon the page. 

The volume was printed in an edition of 1950 copies at the Press of A. Colish. Each of the LEC volumes of Shakespeare’s works are illustrated by a different artist, but the unifying factor is that all volumes were designed by famed book and type designer Bruce Rogers and edited by the British theatre professional and Shakespeare specialist Herbert Farjeon. Our copy is number 1113, the number for long-standing LEC member Austin Fredric Lutter of Waukesha, Wisconsin. 

View more Limited Edition Club posts. 

View more Shakespeare Weekend posts. 

-Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern 

[whatareyoureallyafraidof]

Dear Santa...

With three weeks until Christmas, here’s my list for Santa: 1. Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men (and women, and the non-binary, too). 2. A 10 percent raise in worldwide IQ. 3. A 20 percent raise in Pittsburgh-wide IQ. 4. A benefit concert performed by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Julian Lennon, and Dhani Harrison. And, Dave Grohl, too. Because, why not?! 5. Alex Trebek’s (now Ken Jennings’) job on Jeopardy! (And a tennis ball gun to fire at contestants who give bonehead responses!) 6. A copy of William Shakespeare’s First Folio. 7. Someone (I'm looking at you, Kenneth Branagh!) to make a good film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.

8. A franchise quarterback for the New York Jets.

9. A publisher for my novelette Heroes Rise Again. And, for Peter Jackson to turn it into three movies!

[heyho-simonrussellbeale]

At the heart of the initiative is the three-part documentary series for BBC Two and iPlayer titled Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius, featuring contributions from Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Brian Cox, Adrian Lester, Lolita Chakrabarti, Martin Freeman and Jessie Buckley, alongside academics and writers including James Shapiro, Jeanette Winterson, Lucy Jago, Jeremy O’Harris and Ewan Fernie.

The documentary series will be made available from 8 November at 9pm.

A whole host of archived productions and Shakespeare-based films will be released across October and November to celebrate the contributions made by the First Folio.

There will also be specially created new introductions for many of these, featuring David Tennant on Hamlet, Richard Eyre on King Lear, Janet Suzman on Wars of the Roses, Gregory Doran on the Shakespeare Gala from the RSC, Russell T Davies on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mirren on As You Like It, Hugh Quarshie on Othello, Steven Berkoff on Hamlet at Elsinore, Simon Russell Beale on The Hollow Crown, and Ian McKellen on All is True.

[britneyshakespeare]

been thinking about this a lot lately. if i had the opportunity to leaf through a first folio, i would lick one of the pages and that would be my contribution to history. reblog with which play you would lick in a first folio i'd do antony and cleopatra

[californiastatelibrary]

This incredible edition of the Tragedy of Hamlet is beautifully crafted, and a perfect way to celebrate Shakespeare during April! Now that April is coming to a close we won't have the First Folio on display each Wednesday anymore, but you can always request to view any of the amazing parts of Sutro Library's collections at any time. These historic, often beautiful and well-preserved pieces belong to all Californians (and, of course, the world).

[eleanorblythe]

Got the most stunning edition of No Country for Old Men. Folio Society 😍😍

[fivedayshakespeare]

11/19/2023-11/23/2023: Richard II

Hey, I got a First Folio!

Well, not an ACTUAL First Folio. Those things are pretty expensive. Instead, I got a special replica of the First Folio made by the British Library. It's the 400th anniversary of the Folio's publication, so they did this one up right. So it was, you know, kind of expensive, but in a range I could manage.

It's propped up on a bookstand, and I will have it open to whatever play I'm currently reading. It feels a bit pretentious, but also it makes me happy whenever I look over and see it on my dresser. So.

I was completely unfamiliar with Richard II, both the play and the man. I knew, in an abstract sort of way, that the existence of Richard III and Richard the Lionhearted (or "The absent king during Robin Hood") implied an interim Richard, but I was entirely ignorant of the details. So I'm simultaneously reading Shakespeare and learning English History! Maybe not 100% accurate English History, but I feel like Shakespeare is the Official Version at this point.

In Richard II, the titular Richard is the heir of Edward III, who we last saw basically conquering France. I guess it didn't go well after the final curtain, because France is not at issue here. Instead, Richard is fooling around with court favorites and exiles the wrong dude. Bolingbroke leaves England and immediately comes back with an army.

Sidebar: Where do these dudes find their armies? During the constant challenges to Henry VI, people would just stroll out of England and immediately come back with 10,000 men. It's like this in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms too, so it's not just England. I guess in Medieval times, peasants were eager to do anything that didn't smack of peasant-ing, so they were more willing to die in attempts to overthrow the king.

Toward the end, Richard comes off very sympathetically. Although he doesn't ever feel like he'd be a great king, I do feel bad for him. He got a raw deal.

So now Bolingbroke is Henry IV, and I am assured that we will catch up with him again.

Up Next: Romeo and Juliet (hey, I know this one!)

[shakespeares-gm]

my new tattoo!

this is the design stamped on the folio page above my favorite Shakespeare play, As You Like It. it’s used several more times in the folio with other plays (including Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Richard III, and both Henry IVs) and it’s above Ben Jonson’s beautiful tribute poem to Will as well. i’m thrilled with how this came out. it honors me and my name, my favorite play, my first project as a professional director, and the 400th anniversary of the folio this year!

and if anyone wants my comprehensive breakdown of the printed designs in the folio, hit me up, i guess

[theweeowlart]

Shakespeare Day today. 400th anniversary of the first printed collection of his plays.

Might post some photographs from my little collection of beautiful editions of Midsummer Nights Dream later if I have time.

Lots of duties today, but hopefully i will be able to do this.

[shakespearenews]

Peter Straughan, who adapted Hilary Mantel’s prize-winning historical novel “Wolf Hall” for screen has set the story of William Shakespeare’s first folio as his next project.

Produced by Bonafide Films and Runaway Fridge Productions with the support of Film4, “Folio” will recount how a collection of Shakespeare’s works were assembled seven years after his death and preserved for future generations.

“Four hundred years on from its original publication, ‘Folio’ follows the journey of Shakespeare’s former Kings Men colleagues – actors John Heminges and Henry Condell – as they embark on a picaresque road trip through an England on the brink of Puritanism and gather the material to keep their friend’s work and memory alive,” reads the logline.

[uwmspeccoll]

Shakespeare Weekend

This weekend we pore over Shakespeare’s romantic drama, The Tempest, the thirty-first volume of the thirty-seven volume The Comedies Histories & Tragedies of William Shakespeare, published by the Limited Editions Club (LEC) from 1939-1940. The Tempest was written between 1610-1611 and is thought to be one of Shakespeare’s latest completed works. It was first printed in 1623 as part of the First Folio and is further recognized as the first play within the publication. Historians note that The Tempest was the most well printed of the Folio and typeset by three compositors known as B, C, and F. 

Edward A. Wilson (1886-1970) illustrated the LEC’s publication of The Tempest. Born in Scotland, Wilson emigrated with his family to America at the age of seven and settled in Chicago. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago, studied under renowned illustrator Howard Pyle, and became an acclaimed book and advertising illustration artist in his own right. Wilson’s illustrations for The Tempest were reproduced from watercolors, in a three-part process that achieved vivacious results. When asked about his approach to illustrating the play, Wilson wrote that he composed the images and characters “so that, all together, they would carry the spirit of fantasy and unreality which Shakespeare intended.” 

The volume was printed in an edition of 1950 copies at the Press of A. Colish. Each of the LEC volumes of Shakespeare’s works are illustrated by a different artist, but the unifying factor is that all volumes were designed by famed book and type designer Bruce Rogers and edited by the British theatre professional and Shakespeare specialist Herbert Farjeon. Our copy is number 1113, the number for long-standing LEC member Austin Fredric Lutter of Waukesha, Wisconsin. 

View more Limited Edition Club posts. 

View more Shakespeare Weekend posts. 

-Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern 

[heyho-simonrussellbeale]

Sir Simon Russell Beale and Dame Harriet Walter performing during a reception hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla to celebrate the work of William Shakespeare, on the 400th anniversary of the publication of the first Shakespeare Folio at Windsor Castle on July 18, 2023 in Windsor, England.

Photo by Andrew Matthews - Pool / Getty Images

[heyilike]

Happy Folio Day! More to come shortly, but for now enjoy the podcast version of our favourite monologues from the Folio.