Facsimiles

For the ultimate in “unedited” texts, nothing beats a digital facsimile—high-resolution images of the pages of an early printed book. The Folger Shakespeare Library has an extensive collection of English drama from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Many of these plays have been carefully imaged by the Folger’s Department of Photography and Digital Imaging.

The Folger collection includes copies of 334 of the plays encompassed by A Digital Anthology of Early Modern English Drama (EMED). Indeed, some of those plays exist in multiple copies, for a total of more than 475 early print witnesses. You can see full image sets of a selection of these playbooks in the list below. This list also includes a few examples of additional later editions or manuscript copies held at the Folger, for comparison to the earliest printed playbook.

Digital facsimiles of playbooks held at the Folger Shakespeare Library

Bussy D’Ambois (BDA): EMED play entry: 1607, STC 4966; Images: 1607, Folger STC 4966; Read a full digital version
The Changeling (Change): EMED play entry: 1653, Wing M1980; Images: 1653, Folger Wing M1980; Read a full digital version
Eastward Ho (EastHo): EMED play entry: 1605, STC 4971; Images: 1605, Folger STC 4971; Read a full digital version
The Reign of King Edward the Third (RKE3): EMED play entry: 1596, STC 7501; Images: 1596, Folger STC 7501; Read a full digital version
Epicene, or The Silent Woman (Epicene): EMED play entry: 1616, STC 14752; Images: 1616, Folger STC 14751 copy 2; Read a full digital version
The Fair Maid of the Exchange (FME): EMED play entry: 1607, STC 13317; Images: 1607, Folger STC 13317 copy 1; Read a full digital version
The Fair Maid of the West, or A Girl Worth Gold, 1 (1FMW): EMED play entry: 1631, STC 13320; Images: 1631, Folger STC 13320 vol. 1; Read a full digital version
The Fair Maid of the West, or A Girl Worth Gold, 2 (2FMW): EMED play entry: 1631, STC 13320; Images: 1631, Folger STC 13320 vol. 2; Read a full digital version
A Game at Chess (GaC): EMED play entry: 1625, STC 17882; Images: 1625?, Folger STC 17884 copy 1; Read a full digital version; Images: 1625?, Folger STC 17884 copy 2; Read a full digital version; Images: 1624, Folger MSS v.a.231 [manuscript]; Read a full digital version
George a Greene, the Pinner of Wakefield (GaG): EMED play entry: 1599, STC 12212; Images: 1599, Folger STC 12212; Read a full digital version
Holland’s Leaguer (HL): EMED play entry: 1632, STC 17443.5; Images: 1632, Folger STC 17443.5; Read a full digital version
Hyde Park (HP): EMED play entry: 1637, STC 22446; Images: 1637, Folger STC 22446; Read a full digital version
The Jew of Malta (JoM): EMED play entry: 1633, STC 17412; Images: 1633, Folger STC 17412 copy 1; Read a full digital version
Locrine (Locrine): EMED play entry: 1595, STC 21528; Images: 1595, Folger STC 21528 copy 1; Read a full digital version
The London Prodigal (LonPro): EMED play entry: 1605, STC 22333; Images: 1605, Folger STC 22333 copy 1; Read a full digital version; Images: 1605, Folger STC 22333 copy 2; Read a full digital version; Images: 1605, Folger STC 22333 copy 3; Read a full digital version; Images: 1605, Folger STC 22333 copy 4; Read a full digital version
The Malcontent (Malc): EMED play entry: 1604, STC 17479; Images: 1604, Folger STC 17479 copy 1; Read a full digital version; Images: 1604, Folger STC 17481 copy 2 [another edition]; Read a full digital version
The Merry Devil of Edmonton (MDE): EMED play entry: 1608, STC 7493; Images: 1608, Folger STC 7493; Read a full digital version
The Picture (Pic): EMED play entry: 1630, STC 17640; Images: 1630, Folger STC 17640.5 copy 4; Read a full digital version
The Renegado (Ren): EMED play entry: 1630, STC 17641; Images: 1630, Folger STC 17641 copy 1; Images: 1630, Folger STC 17641 copy 3; Read a full digital version
The Revenger’s Tragedy (RT): EMED play entry: 1607, STC 24149; Images: 1607, Folger STC 24149; Read a full digital version
The Roman Actor (RA): EMED play entry: 1629, STC 17642; Images: 1629, Folger STC 17642 copy 1; Read a full digital version
The Royal King and the Loyal Subject (RKLS): EMED play entry: 1637, STC 13364; Images: 1637, STC 13364 copy 2
This copy contains manuscript corrections and emendations.; Read a full digital version
Sir John Oldcastle, 1 (1SJO): EMED play entry: 1600, STC 18795; Images: 1600, Folger STC 18795; Read a full digital version
Thomas Lord Cromwell (TLC): EMED play entry: 1602, STC 21532; Images: 1602, Folger STC 21532; Read a full digital version
’Tis Pity She’s a Whore (TPSW): EMED play entry: 1633, STC 11165; Images: 1633, Folger STC 11165; Read a full digital version
The Troublesome Reign of King John, 1 (1TRKJ): EMED play entry: 1591, STC 14644; Images: 1591, Folger STC 14644
The Troublesome Reign of King John, 2 (2TRKJ): EMED play entry: 1591, STC 15644; Images: 1591, Folger STC 14644; Read a full digital version
The True Chronicle of King Leir (TCKL): EMED play entry: 1605, STC 15343; Images: 1605, Folger STC 15343; Read a full digital version
The White Devil (Vittoria Corombona) (WD): EMED play entry: 1612, STC 25178; Images: 1612, Folger STC 25178; Read a full digital version
The Yorkshire Tragedy (Yorkshire): EMED play entry: 1608, STC 22340; Images: 1608, Folger STC 22340; Read a full digital version