The Shakespeare First Folio: The History of the Book: Volume II: A New Worldwide Census of First Folios(2 The Shakespeare First Folio)

Existing copies of the Shakespeare First Folio (1623) were surveyed and counted a hundred years ago, in Sidney Lee's Census of 1902. Since then, some seventy copies have come to light, some of which are only now identified as First Folios. This new Census lists 229 copies, giving concise descriptions of each. The entries cover condition (including the number of original leaves), items of special interest, provenance, and binding. A concordance of Lee and West numbers is also provided. To set the stage, the volume tells the story of the search for copies and the detective work involved in dealing with doubtful identifications. Because Folios survive in such a wide variety of condition, the tests for defining what to count as a copy are described, then demonstrated with three unnumbered, unrecognized copies at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Finally, details of missing copies are given, to increase the likelihood of their rediscovery.

Review :
... here is evidence gathered on a scale that has been accorded to no other book. Times Literary Supplement The sheer extent and reach of West's researches, which have seen him in transit across the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Rest of the World not only suggest the excitement of following leads and locating copies, but say more of the hard work and hard travelling that has gone into the production of his book. The Library As an exercise in census-making, West's book is exemplary ... As a piece of functional scholarship that will prompt and enable future Shakespearean scholars securely to embark upon this and other projects, West's Census is warmly to be welcomed. The Library Review from Volume I: Genuinely monumental ... Through a combination of careful archival research and tireless legwork, West has located 228 copies - a remarkable 70 more than were listed in Sidney Lee's 1902 Census ... This is an essential reference work for Shakespeareans, librarians, book-collectors, and antiquarian book dealers ... a monumental achievement. Eric Rasmussen, Shakespeare Survey "[A] work of painstaking scholarship that will be the standard reference tool for the field." Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 '(West's) thorough and comprehensive census...provides not only a fresh and reliable work of reference, but also an indispensible tool for future researchers...All future workers in the field will owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. West both for his impressive achievement and for the stimulus to further and different investigations that they will derive from his invaluable books.' Richard Proudfoot, from the Foreword to Volume II From Volume I 'a magisterial study of the posthumous history of a book ... Dr West's enterprise is comparable in scope to that of the compilers of the Folio itself... his monumental study forms a major contribution to the shelf of volumes essential to the Shakespeare scholar.' Stanley Wells, Foreword to Volume I Review from Volume I: An amazing piece of scholarship ... West's study is the first comprehensive study of the book as book and as cultural object. One wonders why we had to wait nearly four centuries for such a study. Notes and Queries