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Chapter Ten q q q Dear, Blessed Plot of Land The Folgers’ Gift to America This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, . . . . . . this dear dear land . . . Richard II, 2.1.55–63 After the cornerstone of his library had been laid in May 1930, Henry Folger entered St. John’s Hospital in Brooklyn for a routine operation under local anesthetic for an enlarged prostate. During convalescence, into the first week of June, Folger worked from his hospital bed. He dictated instructions about library design and contracting matters to Alexander Welsh, who communicated them to Trowbridge. The secretary signed correspondence and the patient signed checks and contracts that the secretary witnessed. After a second operation following prostate removal, Henry Folger died at 72. The death certificate stated the cause as “adenoma of prostate and post-operatory pulmonary embolism.” Arterial blockage by clotting was not uncommon after prostate surgery. The funeral crowd filled the chapel of the Central Congregational Church in Brooklyn, where Folger had been a worshipper, donor, and trustee. The pastor, Rev. Dr. S. Parkes Cadman (who once lived in Warwickshire, Shakespeare’s natal county) noted in the eulogy that “Mr. Folger was a singularly mild man: he kept a steady silence which was more eloquent than speech. I do not recall a single instance when an unkind word left his lips. His life was marked by self-discipline and poise.” Honorary pallbearers included Alexander Trowbridge and Herbert Putnam. Paul Cret, James Baird, and Dr. A. S. W. Rosenbach attended. Many Standard Oil colleagues and a strong contingent of Pratt family members paid respects to their long-time friend and colleague. For Henry Folger there would be no dearth of “that which should accompany old age,/As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends” (Macbeth, 5.3.28–29). The sad irony was that Folger never saw a single stone of his library in place; he was never able to admire his books, paintings, and other treasures on public display. 164 Collecting Shakespeare Emily Folger was left to face alone the dilemma of whether, or how, to carry on the gigantic enterprise. She wrote, “I do not understand his going, but I am perfectly reconciled, I think.”1 Alexander Trowbridge thought “Mrs. Folger is in excellent mental and nervous condition. She was not in any sense cast down or overcome by the loss of her husband . . . . [T]hey must have talked the matter over with great frankness, knowing that they both had reached advanced years and that one or both might be called before the library was finished.”2 Newly widowed, Emily was already showing formidable resilience and strength of purpose. Folger’s death dealt a harsh blow to booksellers. Bundles of books continued to arrive from Europe and America, requiring attention. Unfilled book orders had to be confirmed or halted. Folger’s estate, which included over two thousand packed crates warehoused under Emily’s name, needed to be assessed. Books filled the shelves at 24 Brevoort Place in Brooklyn and at 11 St. Andrews Lane in Glen Cove. In addition, Folger had stashed away three hundred boxes of Shakespeare items at 26 Broadway. Mrs. Folger and Judge Dimock chose Samual Marx, Inc. of New York to perform the assessment of the Folger collection for income tax purposes. Three appraisers labored for seven months before producing separate estimates of total value, each hovering around $2 million. Emily’s nephew and legal counsel, Judge Edward J. Dimock, was present with others at the opening of Uncle Henry’s safe at Standard Oil. He described the scene. “Old-fashioned great big doors in front, shelves where books could be put, catacomb holes that could be opened with lock and key. But there was also inside the combination safe another combination safe, filled. And no one knew what the combination to that one was. And so we got the man from the safe company to come down and use his skills, Henry Valentine, to open it. What do you suppose was in it? Various bars of candy.”3 The examiners drew closer, and discovered that the brand was “Oh Henry!” Henry got the last laugh. In life, Folger had been largely successful in escaping press coverage. After his death, the press carried articles about him, his fortune, and his legacy.The American public knew almost nothing about Henry Folger. Shakespeare and early modern scholars were aware of his growing collection, as was the British public who read the unhappy press accounts as Folger took...

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