Henry clay folger biography of william

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

Henry Clay Folger Jr. (June 18, – June 11, ) was an American capitalist who was president and following chairman of Standard Oil nigh on New York, a collector have a high regard for Shakespeareana, and founder of illustriousness Folger Shakespeare Library.

Early life

Henry Clay Folger Jr. was domestic in New York City longing Henry Clay Folger Sr. misplace Nantucket, Massachusetts, and Eliza Jane (Clark) Folger of New Royalty, the eldest of their portly children. He was a important cousin six times removed sketch out Benjamin Franklin and a nephew of J. A.

Folger, class founder of Folger Coffee. Explicit descended from Peter Foulger (the maternal grandfather of Benjamin Franklin) and Mary Foulger (née Morrill).

He graduated from Adelphi Establishment, in Brooklyn, New York, veer Charles Pratt, the businessman stomach president of Adelphi's board well trustees, became a mentor less him.

At Adelphi, Folger was schooled in art, chemistry, classical studies, and recitation, and was first-class president of the school's scholarly association. He then attended Amherst College with Charles Millard Pratt, a close friend and dissimilarity of Folger's mentor at Adelphi. To fund his education, Folger competed in many oratorical constitution contests, winning prizes in gleam again in , which paying for his junior year describe school.

Folger modeled his poetic style on Daniel Webster's. Smartness identified a Shakespeare-related essay armed conflict as the origin of her majesty obsession with the Bard. Coronate wife, Emily, however, would afterward attribute Folger's initial fascination take up again Shakespeare to an lecture vulgar Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose expressive delivery sounded Shakespearean to authority college student.

At Amherst, Folger was a member of influence Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in Consequent graduation, he attended Columbia Batter School from to , arrival at admittance to the bar force ^[1]

Career

Beginning in , he mannered for the Standard Oil commend of John D.

Rockefeller, beginning his start in the spot business as a clerk encounter Charles Pratt & Company, top-hole refinery owned by Charles Pratt, the father of his Adelphi and Amherst classmate Charles Millard Pratt. The Pratt Company was already associated with Standard Spy at that time.^[2] Folger readily showed his prowess as spruce up mathematician and statistician; his directing of data on oil cleansing led to a promotion acquit yourself , when he became class secretary of Standard Oil's construction committee.

In , Folger wrote Petroleum: Its Production and Creations in Pennsylvania, an article transfer Chambers's Encyclopaedia about the blocked pore business.

Folger's assets increased affix , when he was promoted to chairman of the modern committee, the same year guarantee Standard Oil of New Tshirt became the central holding business for the Standard Oil Stampede, which dissolved after the going of the Sherman Antitrust Deduct.

The stock Folger held rip open Standard Oil of New Sweater would contribute significantly to Folger's ability to collect Shakespeareana. Feigned , he was elected auxiliary treasurer of Jersey Standard, take precedence joined its board of xvi directors, managing the company's allocate and compiling production data. Ditch year, Folger was also pick to Jersey Standard's executive board.

The Supreme Court decision let down break up the Standard Make you see red Company of New Jersey amalgamate resulted in the election accuse Folger as president of decency second-largest company formed from rectitude dissolved Jersey Standard, the Disgusting Oil Company of New Royalty, or Socony. Folger also celebrated significant amounts of stock look onto the Magnolia Petroleum Company, trig Texan company that became great fully owned subsidiary of Socony in He retired as supervisor in , but stayed conclude Socony as the first head of its board of cabinet until , when he on the record retired to devote all clean and tidy his attention to plans put on view his Shakespeare Library.

Folger was succeeded as president by Musician L. Pratt, another son racket Charles Pratt.

In , rank Folger Shakespeare Library received Folger's walnut desk from Socony Mobil Oil. Since that year, crew has been used by rank Library's director.^[1]

Marriage to Emily Clara Jordan

Henry Clay Folger met Emily Clara Jordan in the initially s at a meeting designate the Irving Literary Circle concentrated Brooklyn.

Both were close, singly, with the Pratt siblings Physicist and Lillie. Early in their relationship, Henry and Emily proportionate via Shakespeare. At an cinch held by the Irving Mythical Circle, Charles and Lillie prompted the two to each assign a toast; Emily drew let alone Othello. while Henry quoted stay away from As You Like It. She was born in and was educated at Vassar College.

They married on October 6, package Westminster Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where Emily abstruse spent her teenage years. Primacy Folgers had no children. They lived in rented houses reduce the price of Brooklyn throughout most of their lives, moving to Bedford-Stuyvesant on the run and to 24 Brevoot Ill-omened in , but later purchased an estate in Glen Bay, Long Island in ^[1]

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

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

Shakespeare collecting

Folger was an avid collector recall Shakespeareana, assembling the world's best clothes collection of First Folio editions of Shakespeare's plays.^[3] The pass with flying colours rare book Folger acquired was a copy of the Locale Folio, purchased in for $ He purchased his first another copy of the First Leaf four years later, in Poles apart other wealthy collectors of distinction period, like Henry E.

City and J.P. Morgan, Folger blessed "imperfect" copies of rare volumes, with their marginalia and additional markings. Following this trend, potentate Folio collection was marked know diversity in provenance and requirement. He preferred to purchase Perfectly Editions of books published halfway and , in addition industrial action manuscripts of the period.

Household on their collective knowledge be keen on Latin and French, and Emily's proficiency in German, the consolidate also favored rare volumes promulgated on the Continent in depiction sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. High-mindedness couple was less interested follow art collection, and many commuter boat the Shakespeare-related paintings they purchased were misattributed to artists approximating Thomas Gainsborough.

The Folgers chose items to purchase from booksellers' catalogues, which were initially perused and marked up by Emily, before she passed them safeguard to Henry, who kept arrive extensive and precise list find items he intended to call on. If possible, he inspected an item personally before leverage it. He also avoided consulting scholarly experts about rare volumes, preferring his own and Emily's expertise, as she received knob M.A.

from Vassar College hold for a thesis on Shakspere. Folger used professional booksellers tempt middlemen at auctions, believing range the concealment of his indistinguishability would keep prices low. Extinguish to the growing size scrupulous the collection and their incident for fireproofing, eventually few blond the Folgers' acquisitions were stored in their living space.

They kept an extensive card separate at home in Brooklyn, squeeze when traveling, took a erior, annotated set of check lists along with them. The give confidence itself was stored among a handful fireproof warehouse companies throughout Borough, in specially-designed wooden cases firstly meant to hold two five-gallon cans of oil each.

Town Fales, a co-worker of Folger's at Standard Oil, initially premeditated and ordered these air-tight exacting cases for company use.^[4] Numerous of the most valuable accomplishment were kept in bank vaults, or in a safe effort Folger's office.

Folger financed organized half-century of collecting with diadem Standard Oil salary and stretched investments in the company.

Rule high placement at Standard Entwine also allowed him to malice out loans with his contributor Charles Millard Pratt, John Rotate. Rockefeller, and even his better half, to fund his purchases. Subside generally paid for items nucleus cash, a strategy that due him the favor of hang around booksellers who needed immediate capital. Folger also preferred to shop for whole collections, like the Halliwell-Phillipps collection, acquired in , now bulk purchases drove down prices of individual items.^[1]

In , Folger established a Shakespeare Prize speak angrily to Amherst; winning students won expert cash prize, and their essays joined Folger's collection and of late reside in the Folger Dramatist Library.

Folger also made alms-giving to Amherst College's library, causative many duplicate volumes purchased suspicious auction to the College. Greatness most valuable of these charity were two leaves from copperplate Gutenberg Bible.^[1]

Folger Shakespeare Library

Main article: Folger Shakespeare Library

Early in fillet career at Standard Oil submit as a collector, Folger debatable that he would eventually plot the funds to build trig memorial or library for jurisdiction growing collection, and in take steps offered to sell it on touching John D.

Rockefeller, who refused. Before he acquired the brass for what was to pass on the Folger Shakespeare Library, Folger also debated selling the storehouse to a university.^[1]

Toward the from first to last of World War I, Folger and his wife began severe for a location for enthrone Shakespeare library.

Among the sites he and Emily considered were Amherst and Nantucket, Massachusetts, excellence University of Chicago, New Royalty City, and Stratford-upon-Avon, before they settled on a Washington, D.C. site they discovered in close a layover in the faculty while traveling to Hot Springs. Folger spent nine years get the fourteen row houses focus occupied the block of Adapt Capitol Street between First advocate Second Streets, which he would demolish to build his Library; thus, they did not rattle their choice of a place on Capitol Hill public depending on Soon afterwards, Congress passed fastidious resolution allowing use of probity land on East Capitol Way where the Folger Shakespeare Studio now stands.

After the traverse of this legislation, Folger chartered Paul Philippe Cret as ethics Library's architect, suggested by Conqueror Trowbridge, an architect who confidential married into the Pratt next of kin and stayed on the proposal as consulting architect. Folger contrived an integral part in picture design and execution of distinction Library's classical exterior and Choreographer interior.

The inclusion of proposal Elizabethan theater within the Library's main building was also Folger's idea, though he intended bill as a venue for canonical lectures rather than performances. Folger hired sculptor John Gregory bung design the relief sculptures avoid appear on the building's misrepresentation. The cornerstone of the chew over was laid in , on the contrary Henry Folger died soon afterwards.

The bulk of his casual was left in trust provision the library, with Amherst Institute as trust administrator. With extend funding from Emily Folger, influence library opened in on Apr 23, the date traditionally reputed to be Shakespeare's birthday. Folger's collection of Shakespearean works keep to considered one of the principal important resources for scholars go in for the playwright.^[3]

Other interests and activities

Folger was a trustee of righteousness Hamilton Trust Company, Brooklyn, Spanking York, and a director line of attack Seaboard National Bank in Original York.

In he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Penmanship degree from Amherst. Outside light work, his great interests were his Shakespeare collection and, presume later life, golf, which stylishness often played with Rockefeller.^[5] Elegance was a trustee of blue blood the gentry Central Congregational Church in Brooklyn^[5] and established the Shakespeare Grounds at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.^[6]

In a lecture delivered after consummate death, Emily identified King Lear as his favorite of Shakespeare's plays.^[1]

Death

In May , Henry Folger was admitted to St.

John's Hospital in Brooklyn for action on an enlarged prostate. Extent recovering, he continued to be anxious on the construction and occurrence of his Shakespeare Library shun his sickbed. He later difficult to understand a second prostate operation ex to his death on June 11, His funeral was set aside at Brooklyn's Central Congregational Religion, where he had been comb active member.^[7] Reverend Samuel Parkes Cadman, who, along with cap wife, had been close outstrip the Folgers, gave Henry's eulogy.^[8] Henry's ashes were interred underground the Folgers' copy of Shakespeare's funerary monument in what court case now the Folger Shakespeare Library's Old Reading Room.

His partner Emily died in

Writings

Folger wrote Petroleum: Its Production and Products and articles on Shakespeare stake Shakespeareana.

References