Shakespeare's Fourth Folio, 1685 [Copy 01]

Public

The Fourth Folio, published in 1685, included the same 43 plays in the same sequence as the Third – and indeed exactly echoed its claim on the title page to have “added” 7 plays “Never before Published in Folio.” These were in fact also reprinted from the Third Folio. As in the Second and Third Folios, the Fourth once more made abundant changes to the text of Shakespeare’s Third Folio, on which it based its copy. The Fourth Folio would be used as the basis of the first modern edition, Nicholas Rowe’s 1709 Works The Fourth Folio in turn served as the base for the series of eighteenth-century editions of Shakespeare's plays. Nicholas Rowe used the Fourth Folio text as the foundation of his 1709 edition, and subsequent editors — Pope, Theobald, etc. — both adapted and reacted to Rowe's text in their own editions. -- [from auction clippings] Contains introductory pieces of writing by John Heminge and Henry Condell (actors in the King's Men) and L. Digges, along with a poems by Ben Johnson, John Milton, and Hugh Holland.

In Collection:
Creator Contributor Subject Publisher Language Date created Resource type Rights statement Extent
  • 1 volume (303 pages)
Alternative title
  • Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. Published according to the true Original Copies. Unto which is added, Seven Plays, Never before Printed in Folio: Viz. Peicles Prince of Tyre. The London Prodigal. The History of Thomas Lord Cromwel. Sir John Oldcastle Lord Cobham. The Puritan Widow. A Yorkshire Tragedy. The Tragedy of Locrine.
Edition
  • The Fourth Edition
Additional physical characteristics
  • Contemporary clippings about the Second and Fourth folios attached to the inside front cover.Handwritten note attached to inside cover: Bequeathed to Charles Baron Clarke M.A. of Queen's College Cambridge by His affectionate Uncle Thomas Parker Esq of Sutton Scotney Hampshire 1854Includes an engraved title page portrait of the author signed: Martin Droeshout, sculpsit, London.
Physical repository Collection
  • Early Printed Books
Provenance
  • From the Legislative Library of British Columbia's collection.
Provider Genre Date digitized
  • March 14, 2017 to March 27, 2017
Transcript
  • Contents _archival-image-number/title/(printed page number): _007 frontspiece and title page_008 dedication_009 To The Great Variety of Readers_012 Tempest (1)_021 Two Gentlemen of Verona (18)_029 Merry Wives of Windsor (35) _039 Measure for Measure (55)_050 Comedy of Errors (76)_057 Much Ado About Nothing (90)_066 Love's Labour Lost (110)_076 Midsummers Nights Dream (130)_084 Merchant of Venice (146)_094 As You Like It (168)_104 Taming of the Shrew (188)_114 Alls Well that Ends Well (208)_125 Twelf-Night, Or What You Will (230)_135 Winter's Tale (250)_148 King John (1)_158 Life and Death of King Richard II (20)_168 First Part of Henry IV... (41)_179 Second Part of Henry IV... (63)_192 Life of King Henry V (87 i.e. 88)_204 First Part of King Henry VI (112)_214 Second Part of King Henry VI (133)_226 Third Part of King Henry VI (157)_238 Tragedy of Richard III... (180)_252 History of King Henry VIII (208)_264 Tragedy of Trolius and Cressida (233)_277 Tragedy of Coriolanus (258)_290 Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus (285)_300 Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (305)_312 Life of Timon of Athens (1)_322 Tragedy of Julius Caesar (20)_332 Tragedy of Macbeth (40)_342 Tragedy of Hamlet (59)_356 Tragedy of King Lear (87)_368 Tragedy of Othello... (111)_382 Tragedy of Anthony & Cleopatra (138)_394 Tragedy of Cymbeline (165)_408 ...Pericles, Prince of Tyre... (193)_418 London Prodigal (212)_425 History of...Thomas Lord Cromwell (227) _432 History of Sir John Oldcastle... (241)_443 The Puritan... (262)_452 A Yorkshire Tragedy (280)_455 Tragedy of Locrine... (286)
Technical note
  • Received from Legislative Library late February 2017. Scanned from 14 Mar - 27 Mar. 600 dpi TIFF. Edge of book approx 10 1/4" from front edge of scan deck. 1/20; 263 ISO; Bent 5 tone. Size 10.33 x 12.95 @ 500 camera height. Cropped to 12.95 x 9.25" -- built "FourthfolioA" action in Photoshop. Metadata by KD.
Rights
  • This material is made available on this site for research and private study only.
DOI

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