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Photo-Facsimiles of STC
Books: A Sequel
by
Franklin B. Williams, Jr.
A few addenda and some further comment may be offered with respect to my 1967 "Photo-Facsimiles of STC Books: A Cautionary Check List,"[1] although the flood of subsequent reprints forbids an effort to continue the list beyond its 1966 cutoff.
Howard Staunton's 1866 reprint of the Shakespeare First Folio, acclaimed in my article (p. 112) as the first complete photo-facsimile of an STC book, was in fact preceded by an experimental Shakespeare quarto. Mr. John R. Hetherington of Birmingham calls my attention to an obscure reproduction of the 1600 Much Adoe about Nothing that I had overlooked at the Folger Library. It was photographed from the Ellesmere copy by R. W. Preston under "superintendence" of Staunton, and was published by photo-lith in 1864 by the London firm of Day and Son. The entire team is thus identical with that involved in the 1866 Folio. The product is of fair quality and now assumes pioneer honors as the first photo-facsimile.
My censure of the concept of an ideal facsimile selecting the corrected formes from numerous copies (p. 110) now sounds ironic, since unknown to me, the Charlton Hinman facsimile of the First Folio was in active preparation.[2] Hinman uses no less than thirty of the Folger copies to achieve (a) not only the "corrected" condition of each page known in two or more states, but likewise (b) an example of maximum legibility. In the hands of a unique Hinman dealing with a book of relatively simple proof-reading, the method is reliable; indeed the product is essential for the scholarly world. Yet as Hinman points out (p. xxvii), "there are at least as many . . . miscorrections in the Folio as there are corrections." One fears that use of the method by less skillful hands might produce facsimiles of dubious textual authority.
Except that the Bibliotheca Americana (p. 116) apparently lapsed after its two trial issues in 1966, the predicted flood of facsimiles has materialized. Supplementing its previous undertakings, the Scolar Press has launched 630 titles of English recusant literature before 1641, edited by D. M. Rogers of the Bodleian. In addition it now issues many important literary titles in cheap paperback for student use, placing them in Penguin price range. One questions whether Scolar maintains its hope of checking its facsimiles by Hinman collator, but in fact purchasers were supplied with a collotype
The most ambitious new series, The English Experience, began appearing in 1968 under the imprints of Theatrum Orbis of Amsterdam and Da Capo Press of New York. The prospectus lists 1200 STC titles in all fields, with intent to extend coverage to an eventual blanket of needed titles. One fears that reprints on this scale will involve wasteful duplication with other series. George Olms of Hildesheim facsimiles some impressive titles. Alice Shalvi of Jerusalem edits Renaissance Library Facsimile Editions, a modest series handled by H. A. Humphrey, ltd., of London. Fifteen STC items are listed in The March of America, published by University Microfilms ("printed," but process not specified). In brief, output has reached a volume that justifies an annual Check List; the present writer will not undertake it. The wider aspects of reprints are arousing increasing comment, whether price and copyright problems or the simple difficulties of enumerative bibliography.[3]
The Check List had a terminal date of 1966 but incorporated a few 1967 issues. Only two authentic addenda have come to light (together with one partial facsimile). A further 1967 item is added, since it might easily escape notice.
| Original Text | Modern Editor |
| 5487 Coilzear, R. Taill of . . ., 1572 | W. Beattie, Nat. Lib. Scot., 1966 |
| 11553τ Garcie, P. Rutter of see, [1557] | D. W. Waters, Rutters of Sea, 1967 |
| 13798 pt. Horace Arte of poetrie, 1640 | G. W. Cole, Mod. Lang. Ass., 1931 Masque of Gipsies only |
| 22304 Shakespeare Much adoe, 1600 | H. Staunton, 1864 |
Notes
SB, XXI (1968), 109-130. A few off-prints with titlepages are available at nominal cost from the publishers.
See The Times Literary Supplement special issue of 6 March 1969, and Felix Reichmann, "Bibliographical Control of Reprints," Library Resources & Technical Services, XI (1967), 415-435. Disturbing evidence of sophistication in the Methuen facsimile of the Second Folio is found by John W. Velz, "The Text of Julius Caesar in the Second Folio," SQ, XX (1969), 95-98.
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