THE FOLIO OF 1623. THIRTEEN COPIES IN NEW YORK CITY. BEFORE the Shakespeare Society at the Columbia College in this city Mr. W. H. Fleming read a paper on The First Folio Shakespeare's, in New York City." The essay was a revelation to Shakespearian scholars, for the author announced that no less than twelve folios were in this city. When it is considered that this volume has now been for generations the exclusive property of rich collectors, and, as Halliwell-Phillips says, a sealed book to the generality of readers and students, it will be admitted that New York City is exceeding fortunate in the possession of so many rich treasures. A writer in the Saturday Review claimed that England gave Shakespeare to the world, but America was to be the sphere of his future glory. The The folios, which are now priceless, are finding a lodgement upon this side the Atlantic. twelve copies mentioned by Mr. Fleming are the Lenox Folios, two being in the Lenox Library; the Phoenix Folio, presented by S. W. Phoenix to the Columbia College; the Astor Folio, in the Astor Library; the Kalbfleish Folio, the property of Charles H. Kalbfleish; The Frederickson Folio, owned by Charles W. Frederickson; the Kennedy Folio, owned by Robert Lenox Kennedy; the Ives Folio, owned by Brayton Ives; the Chauncy Folio, the property of Elihu Chauncy; the Hoe Folio, owned by the late Robert Hoe; the Daly Folio, the property of Augustin Daly; and the Sewall Folio, owned by Henry Sewall. These books vary in price, according to the condition they are in. The only perfect copy of the lot is that of the Phoenix copy, which is said to be absolutely perfect. That of the Astor Library is a very poor copy, being made up from different folios, and it cost £76. Mr. Kalbfleish has refused an offer of £1,000 for his copy; he paid for it £480. It is a fine copy, of large size. I have discovered another folio in this city which brings the list up to thirteen. This folio is in the possession of Mr. John McDonough, and is the only copy this side the Atlantic for sale It is, at first glance, a remarkably clean and perfect-looking book, newly bound in polished brown Russian, extra gilt, gilt edges. It has the book-plate of Henry Cooke and crest of an ostrich. A careful examination of this folio of 1623 reveals the fact that it is not an absolutely perfect copy. It measures 12 3-8 by 8 1-2 inches, a fair measurement. The Hoe Folio measures 13 3-8 by 8 5-8 inches, which exceeds the famous £714 copy of the Baroness Burdett-Cout's, bought for her at the Daniel sale. A copy measuring 12 1-4 by 8 inches is offered for sale by Quaritch, of London, at $1,500, but this copy has the portrait and leaf containing the verses of Ben Johnson in fac simile. In binding the McDonough Folio, the binder has misplaced the preliminary leaves. They are not carelessly placed, but placed according to the binder's best judgment of their order, without his having apparently a guide to go by. In the original Folio the first leaf bears the lines of Ben Jonson, and faces the print of Shakespeare. The next leaf bears the title of the book and the Martin Droeshout portrait of Shakespeare. Then follows the leaf bearing the dedication to the Earl of Pembroke, which takes up the two pages. Next comes the address" To the great Variety of Readers," followed by a blank page. Then comes the leaf containing the poem of Ben Jonson : "To the memory of my beloved, the author," on both these pages. The next leaf is the lines of Hugh Holland, with the next page blank. Then in order is the leaf with Digges' lines, and lines by I. M. on one page, followed by a blank page. The next leaf bears the names of all the actors who appeared in the plays, followed by a blank page. The last preliminary leaf is the catalogue of the plays. Now in the McDonongh Folio the page containing the lines of Hugh Holland are placed after the page containing Digges' lines instead of being placed before. The leaf containing lines "To the memory of my beloved" follows the lines of Hugh Holland instead of after "To the great variety of readers." Taking the Phoenix Folio as a standard, all the leaves are there, but as already mentioned, misplaced. From the page bearing the contents, on through the body of the book, all is correct. The title-page of this McDonough copy looks so like a genuine imprint of the "Isaac Jaggard and Ed. Blount, 1623" copy as to raise no doubt as to its authenticity; but by holding the page up to the light it can be seen that the page is mended in a neat and most artistic manner. The outer margin of the leaf had been torn off, much in the same manner as one would strip off the margin of a newspaper. The tear thus made is about one and a half inches at the ends and about two inches in the center. It is mended with a piece of paper taken from some book of that same age and not pieced, but mended as if the added piece was manufactured in. This mend, front and back, is smooth as the original leaf, and can only be detected hy the 'light test." All this naturally leads to the impression that the leaf thus so ingeniously mended was the original leaf; but a careful examination of the Droeshout print of Shakespeare's face shows that the whole leaf itself even before it was mended is not genuine. to be a good portrait, and but for these tests would pass as genuine. The leaf containing the lines of Ben Jonson, though to all appearance like the original, would not stand minute critical tests, and was admitted to be a facsimile. All the rest of the book with its blundering pagination is genuine. A few leaves have been mended where small pieces have been torn off the margins, but these would not be noticed. The owner tacitly admits it is not a perfect copy when all he asks for it is $1,250.00. A perfect copy with the appearance that this book presents would be cheap at $5,000. A copy bound by Belford in London and having the portrait, is offered in London for $1,875.00. Quaritch has another copy for which he asks $4, 400.00 The McDonough Folio which may be seen at 744 Broadway, was sent to a gentleman in this city from England. It has never been in any American collection. A number of the 1623 Folios have been destroyed by booksellers detaching leaves from imperfect copies to sell to collectors who wished to make up imperfect books which they had purchased. In 1786, Mr. Fox the bookseller of Holborn, London, charged £2. 2s. for two leaves from imperfect copies, and at that time he had several defective copies in his possession. Robert M. Baxter. A LOST SONG. OUT of the distance, sweet and strong, As when the mind strives to recall Melting in silence one by one, So when the crimson curtains play, The song an inspiration brings, A step toward nobler, higher things. Mabel Hayden. AMATEUR NOTES. Sec A MUSICAL and Dramatic entertainment for charity, will be given at the Lyceum Theatre, on the afternoon of Thursday and Friday, February 23d and 24th, at half past two o'clock. Tickets, with reserved seats, at $5.00, $3.00 and $2.50, according to location. Boxes, $50.00 each, to be had from Mrs. Richard Irvin, Jr., 12 West 36th Street, on and after February 6th, between the hours of to A. M. and 12, noon, daily. The programme will consist of the following: Musical selections under the direction of Mr. Reinhard Schmelz, by "The Ladies' Amateur Orchestra," who, on these occasions, will play for the first time in public. First Violins, Miss S. C. Hewitt, Miss Hood, Miss Bartlett, Miss Tucker, Miss Woodward, Miss Molke, Miss Jewett, Mrs. Gerard. ond Violins, Miss Klauser, Miss Steers, Miss M. Pillsbury, Miss McKim, Miss Wilde, Miss Emmet, Miss Moran, Miss Woodward. Violas, Miss E. Remsen, Miss E. G. Hewitt, Miss Knox, Mrs. Schenck. Violincellos, Miss Pillsbury, Miss Parker, Miss Arnold, Basso, Miss S. B. Smith. Piano, Miss Johnston. Organ, Mrs. Joseph Walker, Jr. Harp, Miss Drexel. Kettledrum, Mrs. Janin. Triangle, Miss Leaming. Cymbals, Miss Eva Johnston. In addition to this, there will be for the first time under the management of Mr. David Belasco, an emotional play, in one act, entitled "Contrast," by Miss Marbury, suggested by a French comedy. Period: Louis XVI. The cast will be as follows: André, Prince de Brion, Mr. Herbert Kelcey: Paul Verdier, Mr. W. A. Faversham; The Marquis D'Alembert, Mr. E. F. Coward; Marion, Mrs. W. Fellowes Morgan; Diane Regnier, Miss Elsie A. Dewolfe. Scenic decorations and costumes designed especially for this play by Mr. Edward, Hamilton Bell. Patronesses will include Mrs. W. C. Whitney, Washington, D. C.; Mrs. T. Harrison Garrett, Baltimore; Mrs. John Davis, Washington, D. C.; Mrs. Rollins Morse, Boston; ; Mrs. T. H. Morris Baltimore, Mrs. F. L. Higginson, Boston. And the following New Yorkers: Mrs: Abram S. Hewitt, Mrs. John Taylor Johnston, Mrs. Richard Irvin, Jr., Mrs. Arthur M. Dodge, Mrs. William Schermorhorn, Mrs. William Douglas Sloan, Mrs. Clarence Carey, Mrs. F. K. Sturgis, Mrs. Charles A. Sackett, Mrs. John L. B. Mott, Mrs. William Osgood, Mrs. J. E. Roosevelt, Mrs. E. J. Woolsey, Jr., Miss Louise Taylor, Mrs. Griswold Gray, Mrs. F. W. Vanderbilt, Mrs. Bradley Martin. From what hear, this entertainment will be one of the finest ever given in New York, and in the I play "Contract" professionals will again come into contact with amateurs, thus making it an affair like that of Mrs. Harrison's, last season, at the Madison Square. The only drawbacks that I can see against the entertainment is the enormous price the tickets have been raised to, and I fear that many will be kept away on account of this who would have otherwise been glad to attend; I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Belasco a few evening since, and from what I gathered, I imagine Miss DeWolfe (in the character of Diane), will eclipse anything she has as yet ever done on the amateur stage. "The Amateur.” PHILADELPHIA NOTES. FEB. 14.-"Othello" was given at the Walnut Street Theatre last night with Mr. Louis James in the title-rôle and Miss Marie Wainwright as Desdemona. Mr. James is very favorably remembered here as a member of the Arch Street Theatre Stock Company about twenty years ago, and more recently by the excellent work he has performed while supporting Mr. Lawrence Barrett. A His first appearance in this city as a star, therefore attracted a large audience. picturesque and dignified bearing and a deep, sonorous voice aid Mr. James in his impersonation of Othello, and together with an intelligent force, make his rendition of the character interesting, if not purely artistic. Miss Wainwright's Desdemona was as attractive as one of the best exponents of Shakespearean heroines of the present time could make it. Mr. F. C. Mosely made a fair lago, but was somewhat hampered by the laughter of the intelligent balcony who, as usual, mistook the part for low comedy. Hamlet" began its last week at the Broad Street Theatre. A revival of "The Lady of Lyons" with Creston Clarke as Claude Melnotte is probable, and the production of a new comedy, “ Leap Year," has been announced. Mr. John S. Clarke has presented Edwin Booth with the valuable collection of theatrical portraits that for some time has been on exhibition at the Broad Street Theatre. The collection, which was described in THE THEATRE a short time ago, is an important addition to Mr. Booth's already large gallery, lately enriched with the collection owned by John E. Owens. Jefferies. |