Firstly, there are a number of names and initials written at different points in the book, attesting to owners and readers over a couple of centuries. But the Munro copy retains some details of its own biography. In the process, of course, evidence of previous owners and marks of their use were often destroyed. Some booksellers were experts in this kind of repair – known in the trade as ‘vampment’ – producing old books that were as good as new. It’s a testimony to the value of the book in the period. The skill with which damaged paper has been replaced and the lines of type provided in perfect hand-inked characters is remarkable: only by holding the page up to the light can we see the join. It also has a beautifully executed ink facsimile repair to one of the margins of this play. It has replacement facsimile leaves – for the titlepage (although the portrait itself is an original) and for Ben Jonson’s famous eulogy in which he predicts that Shakespeare is ‘not of an age but for all time’, and a couple of pages at the end of the final play in the volume, Cymbeline. At the same time, booksellers worked to repair and revive copies that often showed considerable signs of wear and tear. As Darwinism chipped away at biblical authority, the Victorians invested another big old book with meaning and value, substituting the First Folio as a kind of secular scripture. Shakespeare’s high cultural status in the age of empire really transformed the First Folio into an iconic object. The Munro copy that is reproduced on this website is a fine example of this book in an early nineteenth-century rebinding. The book we now know as the First Folio is no exception, and copies carry clues, from doodles to lost pages and from inscriptions to bindings, that bear witness to the circumstances of their production and reception. Writing in books, sometimes engaging directly with their content but equally often simply using up blank paper, was standard. And standard accounts of reading in this period described it as an activity undertaken with a pen. Most books were sold unbound in order for purchasers to customise them to their own requirements. We tend to assume that the printing press produced identical copies, but in fact, early modern printing practices meant that books of the period comprised different combinations of corrected and uncorrected sheets. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies is unique. Stay tuned for updates on how you can experience our work in this exciting new platform.Every copy of the book published in London at the end of 1623 as Mr. Honors include the 2008 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, the prestigious Honorary OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in recognition of her contributions strengthening British-American cultural relations, as well as multiple Joseph Jefferson Awards for Best Production and for Best Director. Since founding the Theater in 1986, Barbara has directed nearly sixty Chicago Shakespeare productions, including thirty of Shakespeare’s plays. Chicago Shakespeare Theater Founder and Artistic Director Barbara Gaines invites you to join her for an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at her artistic process with an online Folio Masterclass. A hallmark of Barbara's career in directing Shakespeare, the Folio technique centers on a rigorous analysis of Shakespeare’s First Folio text, unlocking clues in the timeless poetry to illuminate character and meaning. Step into a virtual rehearsal room with Barbara and two actors well-known to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater audience as she breaks down the building blocks to clear and thrilling Shakespeare performance.
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