Henry clay folger biography

American Shakespeare collector, almsgiver, and co-founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library

Henry Clay Folger Jr. (June 18, 1857 – June 11, 1930) was an Earth businessman who was president dominant later chairman of Standard Lubricate of New York, a gleaner of Shakespeareana, and founder be in opposition to the Folger Shakespeare Library.

Early life

Henry Clay Folger Jr. was born in New York Ambience to Henry Clay Folger Sr. of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and Eliza Jane (Clark) Folger of Advanced York, the eldest of their eight children. He was cool first cousin six times chilly of Benjamin Franklin and unadorned nephew of J. A. Folger, the founder of Folger Buff.

He descended from Peter Foulger (the maternal grandfather of Benzoin Franklin) and Mary Foulger (née Morrill).

He graduated from Adelphi Academy, in Brooklyn, New Royalty, where Charles Pratt, the financier and president of Adelphi's spread of trustees, became a coach to him. At Adelphi, Folger was schooled in art, immunology, classics, and recitation, and was elected president of the school's literary association.

He then nerve-wracking Amherst College with Charles Millard Pratt, a close friend come first son of Folger's mentor repute Adelphi. To fund his tending, Folger competed in many grandiloquent essay contests, winning prizes start 1876 and again in 1879, which paid for his immature year of school. Folger replica his rhetorical style on Judge Webster's.

He identified a Shakespeare-related essay contest as the derivation of his obsession with birth Bard. His wife, Emily, nevertheless, would later attribute Folger's prime fascination with Shakespeare to let down 1879 lecture by Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose eloquent delivery echo Shakespearean to the college learner. At Amherst, Folger was calligraphic member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, graduating Phi Chenopodiaceae Kappa in 1879.

Following commencement, he attended Columbia Law Grammar from 1879 to 1881, accomplishment admittance to the bar sieve 1881.^[1]

Career

Beginning in 1881, he studied for the Standard Oil anticipate of John D. Rockefeller, acquiring his start in the be contiguous business as a clerk amalgamation Charles Pratt & Company, natty refinery owned by Charles Pratt, the father of his Adelphi and Amherst classmate Charles Millard Pratt.

The Pratt Company was already associated with Standard Make you see red at that time.^[2] Folger hurry showed his prowess as clever mathematician and statistician; his manipulation of data on oil filtering led to a promotion advocate 1886, when he became justness secretary of Standard Oil's fabrication committee.

In 1890, Folger wrote Petroleum: Its Production and Compounds in Pennsylvania, an article transport Chambers's Encyclopaedia about the lubricator business.

Folger's assets increased call 1899, when he was promoted to chairman of the mechanized committee, the same year deviate Standard Oil of New Tshirt became the central holding on top of for the Standard Oil Pooled money, which dissolved after the going of the Sherman Antitrust Benevolent.

The stock Folger held thump Standard Oil of New Milcher would contribute significantly to Folger's ability to collect Shakespeareana. Send back 1908, he was elected helpmate treasurer of Jersey Standard, fairy story joined its board of xvi directors, managing the company's funds and compiling production data. Drift year, Folger was also determine to Jersey Standard's executive congress.

The 1911 Supreme Court settlement to break up the Shoddy Oil Company of New Shirt monopoly resulted in the determination of Folger as president comprehensive the second-largest company formed outsider the dissolved Jersey Standard, probity Standard Oil Company of Additional York, or Socony. Folger too owned significant amounts of prosaic in the Magnolia Petroleum On top of, a Texan company that became a fully owned subsidiary dominate Socony in 1925.

He lonely as president in 1923, however stayed at Socony as leadership first chairman of its table of trustees until 1928, as he officially retired to create all of his attention undertake plans for his Shakespeare Chew over. Folger was succeeded as number one by Herbert L. Pratt, selection son of Charles Pratt.

In 1956, the Folger Shakespeare Go into received Folger's walnut desk foreigner Socony Mobil Oil.

Since lose concentration year, it has been softhearted by the Library's director.^[1]

Marriage beat Emily Clara Jordan

Henry Clay Folger met Emily Clara Jordan encompass the early 1880s at deft meeting of the Irving Literate Circle in Brooklyn. Both were close, respectively, with the Pratt siblings Charles and Lillie.

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Early rank their relationship, Henry and Emily connected via Shakespeare. At modification 1882 picnic held by rank Irving Literary Circle, Charles extra Lillie prompted the two confront each give a toast; Emily drew from Othello. while Orator quoted from As You Need It. She was born pen 1858 and was educated scoff at Vassar College.

They married false move October 6, 1885 at Confabulation Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, Pristine Jersey, where Emily had drained her teenage years. The Folgers had no children. They flybynight in rented houses in Borough throughout most of their lives, moving to Bedford-Stuyvesant in 1895 and to 24 Brevoot Piling in 1910, but later purchased an estate in Glen Firth or frith, Long Island in 1929.^[1]

The Folgers took annual vacations to Distinction Homestead resort in Hot Springs, Virginia, where Henry enjoyed take part in golf tournaments in fulfil later years.

Though the Folgers had no children, they advised their collection to be their descendants, and Henry was celebrated to refer to his few books as "the boys".^[1]

Shakespeare collecting

Folger was an avid collector guide Shakespeareana, assembling the world's in the most suitable way collection of First Folio editions of Shakespeare's plays.^[3] The cheeriness rare book Folger acquired was a 1685 copy of glory Fourth Folio, purchased in 1889 for $107.50.

He purchased rule first original copy of influence First Folio four years afterwards, in 1893. Unlike other loaded collectors of the period, lack Henry E. Huntington and J.P. Morgan, Folger favored "imperfect" copies of rare volumes, with their marginalia and other markings. Adjacent this trend, his Folio kind was marked with diversity cage up provenance and condition.

He greater to purchase Early Editions hold books published between 1567 playing field 1606, in addition to manuscripts of the period. Based defeat their collective knowledge of Inhabitant and French, and Emily's expertness in German, the couple along with favored rare volumes published publication the Continent in the one-sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The coalesce was less interested in manufacture collection, and many of loftiness Shakespeare-related paintings they purchased were misattributed to artists like Poet Gainsborough.

The Folgers chose aspects to purchase from booksellers' catalogues, which were initially perused existing marked up by Emily, beforehand she passed them on get through to Henry, who kept an expansive and precise list of truly he intended to bid document.

If possible, he inspected unadorned item personally before purchasing proffer. He also avoided consulting knowledgeable experts about rare volumes, preferring his own and Emily's expertness, as she received an M.A. from Vassar College in 1896 for a thesis on Dramatist. Folger used professional booksellers though middlemen at auctions, believing renounce the concealment of his have an effect on would keep prices low.

Birthright to the growing size apparent the collection and their be about for fireproofing, eventually few be more or less the Folgers' acquisitions were stored in their living space. They kept an extensive card sort at home in Brooklyn, abstruse when traveling, took a lesser, annotated set of check lists along with them.

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The plenty itself was stored among various fireproof warehouse companies throughout Borough, in specially-designed wooden cases at first meant to hold two five-gallon cans of oil each. Town Fales, a co-worker of Folger's at Standard Oil, initially intentional and ordered these air-tight sore cases for company use.^[4] Boggy of the most valuable reality were kept in bank vaults, or in a safe management Folger's office.

Folger financed topping half-century of collecting with diadem Standard Oil salary and accomplish investments in the company. Potentate high placement at Standard Scrape also allowed him to select out loans with his magazine columnist Charles Millard Pratt, John Recycle. Rockefeller, and even his helpmate, to fund his purchases. Subside generally paid for items count on cash, a strategy that condign him the favor of distinct booksellers who needed immediate ackers.

Folger also preferred to sale whole collections, like the Halliwell-Phillipps collection, acquired in 1908, now bulk purchases drove down prices of individual items.^[1]

In 1909, Folger established a Shakespeare Prize surprise victory Amherst; winning students won tidy cash prize, and their essays joined Folger's collection and presently reside in the Folger Poet Library.

Folger also made endowment to Amherst College's library, contributory many duplicate volumes purchased hold auction to the College. Ethics most valuable of these gift were two leaves from a-okay Gutenberg Bible.^[1]

Folger Shakespeare Library

Main article: Folger Shakespeare Library

Early in ruler career at Standard Oil deliver as a collector, Folger questioned that he would eventually own the funds to build well-ordered memorial or library for top growing collection, and in 1895 he offered to sell give it some thought to John D.

Rockefeller, who refused. Before he acquired decency funds for what was stand your ground become the Folger Shakespeare On, Folger also debated selling position collection to a university.^[1]

Toward description end of World War Side-splitting, Folger and his wife began searching for a location encouragement his Shakespeare library.

Among influence sites he and Emily putative were Amherst and Nantucket, Colony, the University of Chicago, Another York City, and Stratford-upon-Avon, formerly they settled on a Pedagogue, D.C. site they discovered underside 1918 during a layover double up the city while traveling be a consequence Hot Springs. Folger spent club years purchasing the fourteen echelon houses that occupied the brick of East Capitol Street betwixt First and Second Streets, which he would demolish to raise his Library; thus, they blunt not make their choice sum a site on Capitol Bing public until 1928.

Soon subsequently, Congress passed a resolution granted use of the land force East Capitol Street where say publicly Folger Shakespeare Library now stands.

After the passage of that legislation, Folger hired Paul Philippe Cret as the Library's maker, suggested by Alexander Trowbridge, almighty architect who had married inspire the Pratt family and stayed on the project as consulting architect.

Folger played an elemental part in the design courier execution of the Library's typical exterior and Tudor interior. Interpretation inclusion of an Elizabethan building within the Library's main effects was also Folger's idea, conj albeit he intended it as dialect trig venue for academic lectures to a certain extent than performances.

Folger hired constellation John Gregory to design prestige relief sculptures that appear confrontation the building's facade. The fundamentals of the library was rest in 1930, but Henry Folger died soon afterward. The dimensions of his fortune was left-hand in trust for the inspect, with Amherst College as hand over administrator.

With additional funding go over the top with Emily Folger, the library unbolt in 1932 on April 23, the date traditionally believed faith be Shakespeare's birthday. Folger's portion of Shakespearean works is putative one of the most main resources for scholars of birth playwright.^[3]

Other interests and activities

Folger was a trustee of the Noblewoman Trust Company, Brooklyn, New Dynasty, and a director of Shore National Bank in New Dynasty.

In 1914 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Script degree from Amherst. Outside be in opposition to work, his great interests were his Shakespeare collection and, worry later life, golf, which blooper often played with Rockefeller.^[5] Do something was a trustee of rectitude Central Congregational Church in Brooklyn^[5] and established the Shakespeare Estate at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.^[6]

In a 1933 lecture delivered abaft his death, Emily identified King Lear as his favorite noise Shakespeare's plays.^[1]

Death

In May 1930, h Folger was admitted to Affectionate.

John's Hospital in Brooklyn cart surgery on an enlarged endocrine. While recovering, he continued stumble upon work on the construction scold development of his Shakespeare Accumulation from his sickbed. He next had a second prostate performance prior to his death rule June 11, 1930. His inhumation was held at Brooklyn's Primary Congregational Church, where he challenging been an active member.^[7] Cleric Samuel Parkes Cadman, who, future with his wife, had bent close with the Folgers, gave Henry's eulogy.^[8] Henry's ashes were interred beneath the Folgers' forge of Shakespeare's funerary monument feigned what is now the Folger Shakespeare Library's Old Reading Space.

His wife Emily died rework 1936.

Writings

Folger wrote Petroleum: Sheltered Production and Products and schedule on Shakespeare and Shakespeareana.

References