The First Folio of Shakespeare: The Norton Facsimile

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 928 pages
• Published by: W. W. Norton & Company; 2 Sub edition October 1996
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0393039854
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0393039856
• Book Dimensions: 15 x 10.2 x 2.4 inches
• Weighs: 9.7 pounds

Product Review
Charlton Hinman's facsimile of Shakespeare's First Folio was a colossal achievement when it was first published in 1968, and its reputation is further enhanced by this gorgeous second edition. Looking for a way to provide scholars with a reliable version of Shakespeare's text, Hinman invented a device that sped up the collation process, allowing him to compare 82 of the surviving copies of the Folio and bring to light features of Shakespeare's work that have been--and continue to be--edited out of most modern editions. A Midsummer Night's Dream, for example, contains what are known as false starts, fragments of earlier versions of certain speeches. These traces of the composition process survive only because the printers, working directly from Shakespeare's handwritten copy, were not given a chance to thoroughly proofread their work. Though they would make crucial changes during the printing process, it was too wasteful to throw away pages that were already printed. Thus, when they went to bind the Folios, each book contained a fascinating patchwork of corrected and uncorrected copy.

Also hidden beneath the familiar text of the plays is a portrait of the printers who created the book. Their names remain unknown, but Professor Hinman was able to track individuals' work by looking at their spelling habits. Their story is as important to this book as the works of literature that it contains. The many errors the printers introduced into the text of Shakespeare's work still provide fertile ground for theatrical and academic debate. Hamlet, for example, wishes that his "too, too solid flesh would melt."--or is it his "sullied" flesh, or perhaps his "sallied" flesh? Which is Shakespeare, and which is an error? We cannot blame the printers; they spent long hours setting page after page of tiny type, working in a cramped space that smelled strongly of the stale urine they used to soften the inking pads. It is ironic that the most revered symbol of English high culture owes its existence--in part, at least--to the productive bladders of a handful of pressmen. This book gives these men their due, demonstrating the extent to which Shakespeare's plays were the work not just of one man but of a whole society.

Product Description
When it was first published in 1968, this justly famous First Folio of Shakespeare's plays--a full-sized photographic facsimile that has won the admiration of actors and scholars throughout the world--set a new standard for scholarly accuracy, introducing, among other features, a standard system of reference, "through line numbering," based on the lines printed in the 1623 edition. This long-awaited reissue reintroduces Hinman's achievement. Slipcase.

Reader Reviews
Compiled from the best extant leaves of Shakespeare's First Folio, this edition is a labor of love. The binding and slipcover are more impressive in the Norton's first edition, but the pages within contain Shakespeare in a way that's rare today: unedited, giving a real sense of Elizabethan and Jacobean times. Of course, the absence of footnotes or explanatory text places the burden on the reader, and it's likely you'll want to have some supplementary materials handy in case a particularly obscure turn of phrase arises. On the other hand, the remarkable introduction by the late Charleton Hinman provides a remarkable glimpse into the history of the First Folio, and is essential reading in itself. It does not, of course, contain all of Shakespeare's plays, as scholarship has enlarged his ouevre over time; but just about everything is here. A huge volume (14 inches high by 9 inches deep and over 3 inches thick), this is the ultimate coffee table book - in itself, an suggestion of period bookcraft. If you have the space, and can do a healthy bench press, this is the kind of educational experience that you could spend a lifetime poring over.