How Shakespeare's First Folio Became a Star

Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare Unlimited

Folger Shakespeare Library

Arts

4.8 • 878 Ratings

🗓️ 6 September 2016

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today, the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s works, printed in 1623, can sell for millions of dollars. But the First Folio wasn’t always valued so highly. In this podcast episode, two experts in the First Folio and the book trade, Adam Hooks and Dan De Simone, chart the rise of the First Folio—how and when this book became a cultural icon with such a dizzying price tag. Adam Hooks is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the University of Iowa and author of “Selling Shakespeare: Biography, Bibliography, and the Book Trade.” Dan De Simone is the Eric Weinmann Librarian at the Folger Shakespeare Library. They were interviewed by Neva Grant. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast series. Published September 6, 2016. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. “A Volume Of Enticing Lines” was produced by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster and Esther Ferington. Esther French is the web producer. We had technical help from Jim Davies, Chief Engineer at Iowa Public Radio in Iowa City and the News Operations Staff at NPR in Washington, DC. http://www.folger.edu/shakespeare-unlimited/how-first-folio-became-a-star

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	From the Folger Shakespeare Library, this is Shakespeare Unlimited.
0:04.0	I'm Michael Whitmore, the Folgers Director.
0:07.0	This podcast is called A Volume of Enticing Lines.
0:12.0	As we're recording this, 18 first folios from the Folger Collection are traveling around the country
0:18.0	to libraries and museums in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
0:24.8	Crowds have been beyond expectation at every stop as people wait in line to see the first printed collection of Shakespeare's plays.
0:33.0	The enthusiasm level hasn't always been like this.
0:37.1	The first folio is 393 years old, and for a long time it took its place alongside the other
0:44.0	books on reader's shelves and held no particular fascination.
0:49.1	But as you'll hear, a time came when all that changed and the book's reputation and its value climbed to unimaginable heights.
0:58.2	In this podcast, we tried to explain when and why this happened, how Shakespeare's first folio became a star.
1:06.4	We brought in two people with eminent qualifications for the job.
1:11.2	University of Iowa English professor Adam Hooks is the author of Selling Shakespeare, Biography,
1:17.2	Bibliography, and the Book Trade.
1:20.0	Dan de Simone is the Eric Weinman librarian here at the Folger.
1:24.7	Before his career in library work, Dan operated his own New York-based book-selling business for 22 years.
1:31.9	Dan and Adam are interviewed by Neva Grant.
1:34.8	So, Dan, over the course of 12 months, the Folger Library is putting on tour several copies of the first folio.
1:42.6	It's actually touring all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the
1:45.6	District of Columbia, included in that. And as I understand it, so far on the tour, it's been selling
1:52.7	out. It's been a total superstar. I mean, that in some cases, tickets are all taken. You can't
1:59.0	even get in to see the first folio.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Folger Shakespeare Library, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Folger Shakespeare Library and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.