Quickie outline for Gulielmus Shakspere.
Baptized thusly in 1564 because that’s supposedly Latin for William. Lots of conflicting information on the web, I suspect some is guesswork,
opinions, speculation, and wishful thinking just for the byline.
You see after this post I can tell people I publish a treatise on Shakespeare. LoL
They were all about Latin in those days, that’s what was taught in Elementary schools. They didn’t teach spelling either, probably because
communication was primarily verbal for the hoi polloi, and the Latin was for religion.
It showed later as he signed his name with several different spellings.
English has always been in flux, even more so at the corners of the empire.
 
Typical teen, wanted to be an actor rather than honest labor. At 18 knocked up an older woman(26), had to get Dad’s permission to get married
which took place in a neighboring parish. Got a modified publishing of the bans, just once instead of the customary three times.
Had a girl 6 months later then twins after that.  Anne outlived him by 7 years
 
Not as good at acting as procreation. Had to lay low for awhile for poaching deer on an estate. He kept the family fed but could have been
hung/shot/disappear. Estate owners were highly intolerant.
He had some success writing and producing then got rich as a partner in an acting company and two theaters, one outdoors and one indoors
which they burned down in short order firing a cannon to say “showtime”.
With no ball it was packed with wadding which set fire to the roof.
 
7 years after Shakespeare died I guess his Bros, Heminge and Condell, decided to clear out Will’s stuff by publishing most in a book they
called “First Folios”. Hmm... that coincided with Anne’s death.
Anywho 750 copies were printed which was a lot of work. I wonder how many times the set type were worn out and replaced/reset.
 
 235 of those books survive today. 
The Folger Shakespeare Library was built by Henry Clay Folger (Standard Oil, NY), because he knew happy wife, happy life,
on Capitol Hill right next to the Library of Congress. I guess those old books keep better in rarefied air.
That’s good because they have 82 of that 235.
Being rare as hens teeth they rarely come up for sale. One sold in 2001 for $6.2 million. Another sold in 2020 for $9.9 million.
Nobody is paying that kind of money for a book to read, especially one you can download. It’s strictly bragging rights, making the Jones
harder to keep up with. I suppose they could claim it’s an investment, they feel it will appreciate faster than inflation but the cost of keeping
it secure is not cheap. It’s Shakespeare’s work, but he never touched or saw the book, so back to bragging rights.

=13px
 

Last edited by xoxoxoBruce (12/05/2023 12:16 am)