William Shakespeare, Pericles & The London Prodigal, Fourth Folio Fragment, 1685

Overview:

William Shakespeare
Pericles, Prince of Tyre & The London Prodigal
London, 1685
Original leaves from Shakespeare's Fourth Folio

Printed: London, 1685
Edition: Fourth Folio
Contents: Pericles, Prince of Tyre and The London Prodigal
Provenance: Bradley J. Crompton, bookplate
Binding: Later red cloth and leather collector's binding with matching slipcase

An attractive and substantial original fragment from the Fourth Folio of William Shakespeare's works, printed in London in 1685, containing Pericles, Prince of Tyre together with The London Prodigal.

The Fourth Folio was the last of the four great seventeenth-century folio editions of Shakespeare, following the First Folio of 1623 and the subsequent editions of 1632 and 1663/64. It was also the final Shakespeare folio to appear during the seventeenth century.

This fragment is particularly interesting as it preserves two plays from the group of seven additional plays first incorporated into the expanded issue of the Third Folio in 1664 and retained in the Fourth Folio of 1685.

Pericles, Prince of Tyre

The fragment opens with the striking opening page:

"The much Admired PLAY, CALLED PERICLES, PRINCE of TYRE."

The play is explicitly presented in the Fourth Folio as:

"Written by W. SHAKESPEARE, and published in his Life time."

Pericles had not appeared in the First or Second Folios, despite having previously been printed separately during Shakespeare's lifetime. Its inclusion in the later folios helped establish its place among Shakespeare's works.

Today Pericles is accepted as part of the Shakespeare canon, although generally regarded as a collaboration, with George Wilkins believed to have written a substantial portion of the earlier part of the play and Shakespeare the latter.

The London Prodigal

Following Pericles is The London Prodigal, another of the seven additional plays included in the Third and Fourth Folios.

Unlike Pericles, however, The London Prodigal is no longer accepted as a work by Shakespeare. Originally published in 1605 with an attribution to Shakespeare, it continued to be included among his works in the later seventeenth-century folios before eventually being relegated to what is now known as the Shakespeare Apocrypha.

The pairing therefore provides a fascinating illustration of the development of the Shakespearean canon: one play omitted from the first two folios but now accepted as Shakespearean, alongside another once printed among Shakespeare's works but subsequently rejected from the canon.

The Fourth Folio

Published in 1685, the Fourth Folio was the last of the seventeenth-century Shakespeare folios and presents the text in a noticeably more modern typographical style than its predecessors.

Its supplementary section retained the seven additional plays introduced in the expanded Third Folio:

Pericles, The London Prodigal, The History of Thomas Lord Cromwell, Sir John Oldcastle, The Puritan Widow, A Yorkshire Tragedy, and The Tragedy of Locrine.

Of these, only Pericles remains firmly within the modern Shakespeare canon.

Binding & Provenance

The original seventeenth-century leaves have been preserved in an attractive later collector's binding of red cloth with contrasting red leather spine, gilt rules and gilt lettering. The upper board is lettered:

"WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE / TAKEN FROM ORIGINAL / FOURTH FOLIO / 1685"

with "PERICLES" lettered vertically in gilt to the spine.

The volume is housed within a matching red cloth slipcase.

The front pastedown bears the distinctive red pictorial bookplate:

"EX LIBRIS / BRADLEY J CROMPTON"

beneath the image of a standing bear.

Bradley J. Crompton appears to have been a private collector, although his identity has not presently been established with certainty. The bespoke binding, slipcase and personalised bookplate suggest that the fragment formed part of a deliberately assembled private collection.

Condition

The original 1685 leaves show expected age toning, occasional spotting, staining and handling marks consistent with their age. Some margins show wear and minor imperfections. The printing remains strong and highly legible, including the impressive opening of Pericles.

The later red binding remains attractive and secure, with some minor external marks and wear. Matching slipcase also present.

An appealing and highly displayable Shakespeare fragment preserving a substantial section of the 1685 Fourth Folio, particularly notable for bringing together Pericles and The London Prodigal and illustrating the changing boundaries of the Shakespeare canon during the seventeenth century.

Dimensions (With slip case):

Weight - 1.24kg

Height - 37cm

Width - 24cm

Thickness - 2.7cm