Research Catalog

The Shakespeare thefts : in search of the first folios

Title
The Shakespeare thefts : in search of the first folios / Eric Rasmussen.
Author
Rasmussen, Eric, 1960-
Publication
New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
Supplementary Content
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TextUse in library JFD 11-3014Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Description
212 p. : ill.; 22 cm.
Summary
"The first edition of Shakespeare's collected works, the First Folio, published in 1623, is one of the most valuable books in the world and has historically proven to be an attractive target for thieves. Of the 160 First Folios listed in a census of 1902, 14 were subsequently stolen-and only two of these were ever recovered. In his efforts to catalog all these precious First Folios, renowned Shakespeare scholar Eric Rasmussen embarked on a riveting journey around the globe, involving run-ins with heavily tattooed criminal street gangs in Tokyo, bizarre visits with eccentric, reclusive billionaires, and intense battles of wills with secretive librarians. He explores the intrigue surrounding the Earl of Pembroke, arguably Shakespeare's boyfriend, to whom the First Folio is dedicated and whose personal copy is still missing. He investigates the uncanny sequence of events in which a wealthy East Coast couple drowned in a boating accident and the next week their First Folio appeared for sale in Kansas. We hear about Folios that were censored, the pages ripped out of them, about a volume that was marked in red paint-or is it blood?-on every page; and of yet another that has a bullet lodged in its pages. Part literary detective story, part Shakespearean lore, The Shakespeare Thefts will charm the Bard's many fans"--
Subject
  • Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 > Folios. 1623 > History
  • Rare books
  • Book collecting
  • Theft
  • Thieves
  • HISTORY / General
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (p. [187]-206) and index.
Call Number
JFD 11-3014
ISBN
  • 9780230109414
  • 0230109411
LCCN
2011028287
OCLC
2011028287
Author
Rasmussen, Eric, 1960-
Title
The Shakespeare thefts : in search of the first folios / Eric Rasmussen.
Imprint
New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
Edition
1st ed.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (p. [187]-206) and index.
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Research Call Number
JFD 11-3014
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