The first popular narrative history of Shakespeares First Folio, the worlds most obsessively pursued book. One book above all others has transfixed connoisseurs for four centuriesa book sold for shillings in the streets of London, whisked to Manhattan for millions, and stored deep within the vaults of Tokyo. The book: William Shakespeares First Folio of 1623. Paul Collins, lover of odd books and author of the national bestseller Sixpence House, takes up the strange quest for this white whale of precious books. Broken down into five acts, each tied to a different location and century, The Book of Williams travelogue follows the trail of the Folios curious rise: a dizzying S othebys auction on a pristine copy preserved since the seventeenth century, the Fleet Street machinations of the eighteenth century, the nineteenth century quests for lost Folios, obsessive acquisitions by twentieth century oilmen, and the high-tech hoards of twenty-first century Japan. Finally, Collins speculates on Shakespeares cross-cultural future as Asian buyers enter their Folios into the electronic ether, and recounts the books remarkable journey as it is found in attics, gets lost in oceans and fires, is bought and sold, and ultimately becomes immortal.
Authors
Paul Collins
Additional Info
- Release Date: 2009-07-07
- Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
- Format: Hardcover
- ISBN: 9781596911956
SKU |
Condition |
Store |
Shelf |
Price |
|
2994007 |
Very Good
|
Fern Park |
7-1-6 |
$7.99 |
Add to Cart |