Books In Eric Rasmussen's catalogue of Shakespeare's First Folios, the 'manuscript annotations' section typically covers about half to three-quarters of a page. However, this copy features two full pages of dense text and a separate paragraph of general notes. That’s because a previous owner took it upon themselves to correct the text in red pen, going through four history plays, changing every comma to a semicolon, underlining any artillery terms in King John, and sporadically ‘correcting’ modern English spellings to more contemporary versions (‘marlemas’ written above ‘Michaelmas’).
Rasmussen suggests these annotations were the work of John Forster, the biographer and literary critic who was the final private owner before bequeathing his library to the National Art Library (now part of the Victoria and Albert Museum). However, the man who gifted it to him, Joseph C. King, a schoolmaster best known for educating two of Charles Dickens's sons, was the only other known owner. Purely fantasy, probably, but it’s easy to imagine him poring over the text with the same zeal he applied to his students’ scripts, tutting and shaking his head as he proofread Henry VIII, writing ‘confessions’ above ‘commissions’. That’s probably why these pages were chosen for display—they’re the least scarred.
Ticking this folio off the list was a happy accident. For the past six months or so, I've been travelling down to London again thanks to Avanti Superfare, with mixed experiences. The cheapness of the tickets has the caveat that because they're seat filling you don't know what time that will be. Almost every month it's been the 11:45 am from Lime Street which means not arriving at Euston until 2:00 pm, with a return ticket at about 7:45 p.m., not so much a day trip as an afternoon 'rager' (if you can compare being overwhelmed by the intellectual brilliance of others in ancient buildings to drinking five Jägerbombs and chundering in a strangers garden which in my post-alcohol world you certainly can).
What with that chronological uncertainty, this was my last trip down to London for a while (or at least until the price become low enough for me to be able to afford an earlier journey) so I decided to return to the Theatre & Performance galleries, which were the site of my first visit. The space has changed considerably in the past nine years. Originally it was somewhat chronological with models of the original playhouses in the first section and sense of beginning at the beginning. Now its much more thematic and based in crafts, with costume, set design, props and the rest given their own sections. Fortunately Kylie's dressing room is still present and correct with its good luck lipstick greeting from Dannii on the mirror.
But still, right at the beginning, is Shakespeare's First Folio, and I surprised and delighted to find it wasn't the same edition displayed in 2016 and featured on television but the aforementioned volume last owned by Forster. As you can see from the photo, it's displayed against a black background, mounted with a fair gap from the protective glass and for some reason parallel to a join so that it's impossible to look at it straight on, let alone get a picture of it. You can just about make out that it's the second two pages of A Midsummer Night's Dream (146 & 147), the kids deep into the initial explanations of who loves who at that point. If I'd known about the red "corrections" at the time I would have looked for them but they're not obvious from the photograph.
In terms of physical differences from other copies, Rasmussen notes in the First Folio catalogue that the authorship of a couple of plays is also questioned. The title page of Cymbeline has "Not Shakespears, any part of it" written across it (don't tell Michael Blanding) and Titus Andronicus says "Not Shakespeare; scarce a word" even though Henry VI is right there. Recent research from Brian Vickers (well, from 2002) suggests it could have been co-authored with George Peele so perhaps the statement might be partially correct. Once it came into the National Art Library's possession they stamped it with 'Department of Science and Art 1876' in block capitals, along with 'Forester Bequest'. It's also incomplete. The preliminary pages (introduction and so forth) are 'poor-quality printed facsimiles'. Every copy is different. Next.
