Subscribe to our newsletter by emailFirst Folio Friday with Andrea Mays
First Folio Friday continued this year with great success. Andrea Mays, author of the "The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folger's Obsessive Hunt for Shakespeare's First Folio," joined the seminar for the second year to share her extensive knowledge.
Commissioned by two of Shakespeare's principal actors, John Heminge and Henry Condell, shortly after Shakespeare's death, the First Folio is one of the very first collections of drama printed in the folio format (at the time, usually reserved for law and religious texts). It also preserved over 18 of Shakespeare's plays that would otherwise have been lost since many of his original plays were never published, and if they were, often only illicitly and with a variety of errors.
This year, Mays was able to not only provide an in-depth seminar that delved into the history of the First Folio as a physical object, but also investigate in real-time UCI's very own copy.
Originally gifted to the Libraries by alumnus Patrick Hanratty (the "Father of CAD/CAM"), the UCI copy like all other 233 copies in existence, has its own unique features and details that distinguish it. Using a document projector, Mays walked guests through the curiosities of the copy showing the facsimile insertion of a later 1808 copy of the famous engraving of Shakespeare (likely due to its removal much earlier on in its history) as well as the various catch-words that helped the printers organize and assemble the First Folio from its composite pieces, and she also showed guests watermarks in the paper that distinguished the papermaker.
After her talk, guests were treated to a talk by Director and Professor Eli Simon and principal actors of the New Swan Theater discussing the summer 2017 production of the play, "The Tempest." They also offered an impromptu soliloquy from the play. Then, guests headed to the Verle and Elizabeth Annis Reading Room where Outreach and Public Services Librarian Derek Quezada connected some of the themes and talking points to other Shakespeariana in the collection and let attendees view the First Folio up-close and take selfies.
The Libraries' extends gratitude to Professor Julia Lupton for her continued partnership on the annual First Folio Fridays. This event is co-sponsored by the UCI Libraries, UCI School of Humanities and the New Swan Shakespeare Festival.
Photos from the event can be found on the UCI Libraries' Flickr.