Ghosts, Holes, Rips and Scrapes: Shakespeare in 1619, Bibliography in the Longue Duree

Before the First Folio, a group of London printers and booksellers attempted to produce a collected works of William Shakespeare in quarto pamphlets. The project ran into trouble, and information on the title pages was falsified to resemble leftover copies of earlier editions. This deception worked for nearly three hundred years until it was unmasked by scholars in the early twentieth century. Zachary Lesser's new study of the Pavier Quartos reveals evidence of ghosts, holes, rips, and scrapes, suggesting that they are far more mysterious and consequential for book history and Shakespeare scholarship than previously thought.

Format: Hardback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 28 May 2021
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

Before the release of the First Folio, a group of London printers and booksellers attempted to compile a comprehensive collection of William Shakespeare's works, opting for a series of smaller quarto pamphlets rather than an imposingly large format. However, for enigmatic reasons, perhaps linked to Shakespeare's theatrical company, the King's Men, the project encountered difficulties. To save it, information on the title pages of some of the playbooks was falsified, making them resemble leftover copies of earlier editions. This deception lasted for nearly three hundred years until it was uncovered by scholars in the early twentieth century. The discovery of these Pavier Quartos, as they became known, marked a significant achievement for the New Bibliography and played a crucial role in establishing the validity and authority of that analytical method.

While more recent scholars have reevaluated the traditional narrative presented by the New Bibliographers, no one has revisited the primary evidence: the quartos themselves. In his book "Ghosts, Holes, Rips, and Scrapes," Zachary Lesser undertakes a comprehensive examination of these playbooks. Through an extensive bibliographical analysis of over three hundred surviving quartos, Lesser uncovers evidence that has previously gone unnoticed: ghosts (faint, oily impressions created when one book is bound next to another), holes (tiny remnants of the initial simple stitching used to bind pamphlets), and rips and scrapes (post-production alterations of title pages). This new evidence, much of which is only visible through advanced photographic methods, suggests that the Pavier Quartos are far more enigmatic and have far-reaching implications for book history and Shakespeare scholarship than previously believed.

The Pavier Quartos' enigmatic nature and the significance of their findings will undoubtedly spark further research and debate among scholars in the field. The discovery of these playbooks provides a fresh perspective on Shakespeare's works and sheds light on the complex processes involved in their production and dissemination. It also raises important questions about the reliability of traditional bibliographic analysis and the importance of examining primary sources in the study of literature. As researchers continue to explore the Pavier Quartos and other early editions of Shakespeare's plays, we can expect to gain a deeper understanding of the playwright and his works, and to refine our methods of analysis and interpretation.

Weight: 542g
Dimension: 584 x 280 x 322 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780812252941