Andrea Mays: The Millionaire and the Bard; Henry Folger's Obsessive Hunt for Shakespeare's First Folio

One of the (many) cultural highlights of my time in DC was my involvement with the Folger Library. The superb performances they put on, the educational res,ources, not least the annual Schools Shalespeare festival which I took part in for the majority of my years at BSW/BISW the library itself, the wonderfully curated, thoughtful and original exhibitions - everything about it to be honest. I was (obviosuly) somewhat awarebof Henry Folger but until I read this had no idea what a remrarkable man he (and his wife) was.

This was a book that was an utter joy to read as it todl the story of a ‘one percenter’ - and one for whom that REALLY meant something (he was virtually second-in-command of Standard Oil when under Rockefeller and, I think, before the anti-trust legislation) who used his vast resources for a wonderful aim - not for self-aggrandisment (‘a little summer cottage in the Newport…) but for personal love and pleasure that he wanted to share as well.

The story of how he chased down these volumes is, oddly, thrilling, but for me the best part was the ending where he set up the library so that future generations could enjoy his achievements. the institute is now one of, if not THE world centres for Shakespeare Studies. I saw, on preliminary information about the MA I hope to be starting in September, that this library was one of the basic resources that were mentioned, along with the Shakespeare Institute at Stratford.

A great read