SECOND FOLIO, 1632.
The most interesting copy of the second folio is in the King’s Library. It belonged to Dr. Mead, at whose sale it was bought by Askew for £2, 12s. 6d. At Askew’s sale it was bought by Steevens for £5, 10s., an amount which he styled enormous. At Steevens’s sale this copy was bought for George III. for eighteen guineas. It formerly belonged to Charles I., who wrote in it, “Dum spiro spero, C.R.” The King presented it the night before his execution to Sir Thomas Herbert, who had written, “Ex dono serenissimi Regis Car. Servo suo Humiliss. T. Herbert.” Steevens mistook the identity of this Herbert, and wrote, “Sir Thomas Herbert was Master of the Revels to King Charles the First.” George III. wrote beneath Steevens’s note, “This is a mistake, he (Sir Thomas Herbert) having been Groom of the Bed-Chamber to King Charles I., but Sir Henry Herbert was Master of the Revels.”
Dibdin made the same mistake with respect to this price that he did with respect to the price of the Grenville first folio. He wrote, “£18, 18s.—the largest sum ever given, or likely to be given, for the book.” Now in 1895, at the Earl of Orford’s sale, the largest and finest copy known of the second folio, in the original calf binding, sold for the enormous sum of £540. This is out of all proportion to the price of the first folio, and a ridiculous amount to pay for a volume of little interest by itself, and only of value as one of the four original editions.
The next largest price realised for a second folio was £148 for Daniel’s copy, which has some rough leaves, and was bought by Daniel from Thorpe, who bought it at the Nevill Holt sale for £28, 1s.
The Earl of Aylesford’s copy, with title laid down, and without verses (13-3/16 in. by 8-3/4 in.) sold in 1888 for £140. Brayton Ives’s perfect copy was sold in New York in 1891 for 400 dollars (£80). Birket Foster’s copy sold in 1894 for £56.
It is only lately that such high prices have been obtained for this edition. The following is a list of some of the prices given at an earlier date:—
B. Worsley (1678), 16s. Digby (1680), 14s. Richard Wright, M.D. (1787), £2, 9s. and £1, 6s. Allen (1795), £4, 4s. Stanley (1813), £13, 2s. 6d. Heber, Part 1, £10, 5s.; Part 4, wanting verses opposite title-page, and last leaf inlaid, £3, 7s. Valpy (1832), £18; resold to Broadley (1832), £12, 5s. Stowe (1849), £11, 5s.
Copies Sold within the Last Twenty-five Years:—
H. Perkins (1873), £44 (fine copy). Well-known collector (Sotheby’s), 1880, £12, 15s. (verses from fourth edition printed, part of title in facsimile reprint). Ouvry (1882), £46. Beresford-Hope (1882), £35, 10s. (title mended).
Standard English Works (Puttick’s), 1886, £19. F. Perkins (1889), large copy, but worm-hole through half the volume, £47. W. H. Crawford (1891), wanting verses, £19, 10s. Smithson and others, 1896 (Puttick’s), £18, 5s. (verses and several pages wanting, and a few worm-holes). Jack, Halliday, &c. (Sotheby, July 1897), £55 (fine copy, portrait and verses mended).
Sir Henry Irving gave £100 for Dr. Johnson’s copy of the second folio, which contains many notes in the margin by Theobald and Johnson. Osborn the bookseller bought it at Theobald’s death and presented it to Johnson. Samuel Ireland gave £1 for it at Johnson’s sale in 1785. It wants title and part of another leaf.[59]