400-year-old Shakespeare volume recovered 10 years after theft; man in custody
By Jill Lawless, Associated Press
LONDON — It's a case of all's well that ends well.
Police have recovered a 400-year-old volume of Shakespeare stolen in England a decade ago and worth millions of dollars (pounds) after a man walked into a library in Washington, D.C., and asked to have it authenticated.
Police in Durham, northeast England, said Friday they had arrested a 51-year-old man over the theft of the First Folio edition of 1623, which scholars consider one of the most important printed books in the English language.
It was among seven centuries-old books and manuscripts stolen in December 1998 from a display case at the Durham University library.
The university said at the time it would be virtually impossible to sell the books to legitimate buyers, and for almost a decade police found no trace of them.
The mystery began to unravel two weeks ago when a man brought the First Folio to Washington's Folger Shakespeare Library and asked to have it verified as genuine. The man claimed to be an international businessman who had bought the volume in Cuba.
"We have people come to us from time to time with questions about books," said Garland Scott, head of external relations at the library, one of the world's leading centers of Shakespearean research. "It's not every day that someone walks in with a First Folio."
Scott said library staff members soon had their suspicions raised. The book was largely intact, but the end boards and some early pages — which bore marks that would have identified them as the Durham copy — had been removed.
"There was something about it that felt a little off to us," Scott said.
Staff members at the library asked to keep the book while they did research, and their investigation soon confirmed it was stolen. They told the FBI, which launched an international appeal to find the man.
Police said a suspect was arrested at an address in the English town of Washington, near Durham, on Thursday. He was being questioned Friday while detectives searched his home.
The book remains in a climate-controlled vault at the Folger Library. Durham Police said authorities felt would be safer there than in "an FBI warehouse next to piles of cocaine and cannabis."
Plans were being made to bring the book back to Durham.
American writer Bill Bryson, the university's chancellor, said its recovery was "wonderful news."
"Like Shakespeare himself, this book is a national treasure giving a rare and beautiful snapshot of Britain's incredible literary heritage," said Bryson, whose books include Shakespeare: The World as a Stage.
"I'll certainly be joining the crowds who will be eagerly welcoming it home."
The First Folio was published seven years after William Shakespeare's death and was the first collected edition of his plays. Some 750 copies were printed, and about a third have survived, though most are incomplete. Only about 40 complete copies of the book are known to exist, most in museums or public collections.
The stolen copy was acquired by John Cosin, former Bishop of Durham, and was part of the library he established in Durham in 1669. The university said its estimated value, if in perfect condition, was 15 million pounds (US$30 million).
The university said it was hopeful of recovering the other stolen woks, which include a 15th-century manuscript containing a fragment of a poem written by Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales; an edition of Beowulf printed in 1815; and a book of maps and poetry dating from 1612.
It promised to keep the First Folio safe.
"Our security has been very significantly reviewed and enhanced to the highest standards since the theft 10 years ago and we are confident the First Folio will be safe when it arrives back in Durham," said the university's vice chancellor, Chris Higgins.
10 comments:
I sent this article to Whirlygirl because she's a big fan of Shakespeare and she has made many attempts to get me on board with this passion of hers. After I sent her this article she wrote the following,
"Wow, That's amazing and so exciting! I'm not sure how much you are familiar with the printing of Shakespeare's plays, so I'm going to give you some background because I think it's fascinating.
During Shakespeare's lifetime 18 of his plays were printed. There is nothing that says he took any interests at all in their publication. These 18 plays were printed separately in editions called quartos (about the size of a small paperback book). It is also interesting that all of these quartos bared the actors names, but not Shakespeare's until Love's Labor's Lost. Some of the quartos were popular during his lifetime and were reprinted. Then, after his death two more quartos were printed for two of his other plays.
Now, 7 years after Shakespeare died in 1623 the first edition Folio was printed. It's titled Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies, and contains 36 of the 38 plays believed to have been written by Shakespeare. The Folio was printed in a style intended for serious literature and scholarship. Also, interestingly, in the preface to the first edition Folio two of Shakespeare's fellow actors Heminge and Condell wrote that the Folio plays were of higher superiority to the quartos because the Folio plays had been written according to the true original copies. They claimed that they had collected Shakespeares plays and seen them with their own eyes. They claimed that the quartos were poor quality frauds. As a result of this declaration, in the 18th and 19th century the Folio plays were thought to be superior to the quartos.
Years pass and scholars begin looking more closely at the Folio plays in comparison to the quartos and discover that one quarter of the Folio plays were reprinted from the quartos. So, of course, this brings into question the validity of Heminge and Condell's claim. Something to consider, is that Heminge and Condell were not reffering to all the quartos, but just to the early ones that are shorter and muddled. Scholars speculate that these poor quality quartos may have come into existence from audience members that took notes and then payed a poet to write it from these notes, which were then published. Another speculation is that these quartos are shorter versions that came from the memories of actors that wanted to stage them. (Can you imagine this. It's crazy to think this could go on.)
What is interesting about the editions of Shakespeares plays that we read today is that they are either based on the quartos or the Folio. This is determined by the editors. Since Heminge and Condel's declaration has proved to have holes, it's not certain which is superior the Folio or the quartos.
Someday, I will die and have gone to heaven when I get to visit the Folger Shakespeare Library in D.C. They have a large collection of quartos and the first, second, third, and fourth edition Folio.
If only I could have been a Shakespearean scholar.
I hope I didn't bore you terribly."
Last night we went to see the following,
"PROVIDENCE, RI—You shop local. Buy local. Why not also support your local theater artists? This was the inspiration for the Providence Playwrights Ten-Minute Play Festival—ten minute plays written by local authors that will be performed at Perishable Theatre in Providence from July 10 - July 13. Everything written, acted, and directed by homegrown talent. We promise—no imports!"
Well it sounds better than it was. The venue is terrific, it's very small and intimate. Whirlygirl chose the seats closest to the stage, which means we were about 3 feet away from the actors. The mini-plays, in a nutshell, kind of sucked. There were a few bright moments, but overall it was a disappointing experience. It was hot and I was thirsty and just when I didn't think I could get any more uncomfortable, one of my fucking patients walked on to the stage to give a performance! He was about 10 feet away from me and I prayed that he didn't see me.
Whirly and I frequently watch live theater and we've seen some great stuff, including a fantastic performance of The Importance of Being Earnest in Boston and a really creepy play called The Pillow Man at the Gamm Theater in Pawtucket. The worst play we watched together? A hip hop version of Moby Dick. Call me horrified.
"Yo, yo, yo, theys call me MC Ishmael, and I gots a crazy mad tale to tell!"
The image of a hip-hop MD is hysterical.
Whirly is wicked sma't. I really am the "stepchild in the basement" of this group....
I love live theater, but hardly ever get to go. *boo-hoo*
I think the last thing I saw live was "A Christmas Carol" a few years back.
I took Bevington's Shakespeare class at the University of Chicago and we used "his" Complete Shakespeare, meaning, the U of C Press edition which Bevington had edited. Meanwhile I was partial to the "Oxford Shakespeare" (e.g. the Oxford University edition published by Penguin) which I had been reading in one format or another for years. Anyway I remember a specific "citation showdown" between the "Oxford Shakespeare" vs. the "Chicago Shakespeare" and it was a folio issue. Juliet says "this gentle fine is this," or maybe it's "this gentle sin is this" based on which version. Chicago Shakespeare footnotes it and simply explains the old-english typography; the Oxford Shakespeare states out both versions and then gingerly picks one, while noting (in the footnote) "some editions select [the other choice] 'fine,' perhaps correctly."
So (based solely on this unscientific poll) game goes to Oxford Shakespeare! I always thought Bevington's class was overrated anyway.
Oh, JPX, I could certainly murder you. I see that I'll have to be careful about what I email me you in the future. Next thing I know there will be naked pictures of me posted on the blog (Just kidding, I would never email JPX profanity.) But I am only going to send you short one sentence emails from now on.
Miko, thanks for the compliment.
Jordon, it is funny that you mention Bevington because I have a book of his in transit at the library right now, and I'm eagerly awaiting its arrival. It is This Wide and Universal Theater: Shakespeare in Performance, Then and Now.
I'm going tonight to see the second part of the Providence Playwrights Ten-Minute Play Festival. I would consider skipping it, but one of the plays was written by my playwriting teacher. Unfortunately, there are duplicates from last night, and one of them is a play that I absolutely despise. Although, I don't enjoy all the local plays I see, I never hate them, but this one I do, and it annoys me that its title is very close to a play I'm currently writing. Mine is "Junk Dreams," and this horrid play is titled "Asphalt Dreams." I'm debating renaming my play, but JPX did come up with it, and it does suit it perfectly.
i admire whirlygirl and jpx for risking iffy live theater. my own fear of the type of experience jpx describes in his second comment keeps me far, far away.
Whirlygirl, how was the second night of 10 Minute Plays?
They were actually really good. The first one was based on Hamlet. It was comical. I'm pretty sure the Gertrude like character was played by the same actress that played Victoria in that vampire play we saw there. Remember her? She was awesome. Then there was a political monologue that was funny, true, and well performed. Next was my playwriting teacher’s play. He said it wasn't very good because he just threw it together very quickly for this festival, but I thought it was pretty damn good. It was hysterical. It was a one character play, and it was performed by the same actor who played the drunk in the God play the night before. The play is about this guy who is apparently traveling, and is sitting in a hotel and wants to order a female escort. The entire play is him on the phone with the automated system choosing which type of girl he wants. It was so, so funny. It was a string of never ending questions, such as, what race, age, weight, height, sexual position, if he wanted oral or anal, hair color, clothing, and if he wanted a girl with bush, trim, or waxed down below. It went on and on and periodically would repeat his order, then it would ask if he wanted extras, he would say no, and it would keep asking him if he was sure. The guy starts screaming "I just want the girl. I just want the damn girl." So he finally gets through the automated system to complete his order, and then it tells him all operators are busy and to wait for the next available. The recording keeps repeating and the play ends with the guy asleep with the receiver on his lap.
I also watched Asphalt Dreams again and I still hate it and I still don't really get it. Then it was intermission and I left because I seen the other plays.
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