First quarto

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First quarto is a bibliographic term, usually encountered in the study of English literature in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, especially in regard to the early printings of the plays of English Renaissance theatre. In the Tudor and Stuart periods, stage plays were generally published individually in quarto format. Popular works were published in multiple editions over time, then as now. They were small and cheap pamphlets called quarto due to way they were printed. "First" indicates that the quarto in question is the earliest edition of that particular play to have survived. A quarto was approximately the size of today's A5 standard paper (210 x 148mm or 8.3 x 5.8").

Contents 1 Method of printing 2 Importance 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] Method of printing

Quartos were printed on the two sides of large paper sheets, four printed pages to the side. This was folded twice and bound, giving eight printed pages. A few plays were printed in octavo, the sheet being folded thrice and yielding sixteen smaller pages for each "gathering."

[edit] Importance

None of Shakespeare’s original manuscripts survived, thus printed texts are the only source of his works. The quarto texts are the earliest references, and may preserve the foul papers (fair copies) he originally wrote.

[edit] See also

v • d • e Early editions of William Shakespeare's works Folios and Quartos Foul papers • Bad quarto • First quarto • Second quarto • First Folio • Second Folio • False Folio Early editors John Heminges • Henry Condell • Edward Knight • John Leason • John Shakespeare • Thomas Bowdler Publishers Robert Allot • William Aspley • John Benson • Edward Blount • Cuthbert Burby • Nathaniel Butter • Philip Chetwinde • Richard Hawkins • Henry Herringman • William Leake • Richard Meighen • Thomas Millington • Thomas Pavier • John Smethwick • Thomas Thorpe • Thomas Walkley • John Waterson • Andrew Wise Printers Edward Allde • Thomas Cotes • Thomas Creede • George Eld • Richard Field • William Jaggard • Nicholas Okes • Peter Short • Valentine Simmes • William Stansby

[edit] External links

• One British Library reference
• Second British Library reference
• Britannica reference