Looking Beneath the Surface: The Long-Briquets’ Contribution to Material Bibliography and Shakespeare Studies

This essay explores significant methodological breakthroughs a Swiss couple contributed to material bibliography and Shakespeare studies. It does so through consideration of publications attributed to a Genevan named Charles-Moïse Briquet, especially Les Filigranes (1907), and their influence on the resolution of famous bibliographical puzzles, such as the dating of the Shakespeare “Pavier Quartos,” the Misssale Speciale, and a 2014 forgery of Galileo Galilei’s Sidereus Nuncius, or Starry Messenger (1610). Les Filigranes has long been used by scholars wishing to learn more about the paper used to make manuscripts and printed books, but Caroline Long’s role as Charles-Moïse’s collaborator, and the couple’s contribution to bibliographical research and Shakespeare’s print history has remained somewhat obscure. Building on recent studies seeking to reinscribe into the history of bibliographical studies the contributions of marginalised groups—including female scholars and those working beyond anglophone countries—I suggest that, in addition to historical biases within the field, failure to recognise the Long-Briquets’ methodological breakthroughs and links to major discoveries can be attributed to issues with reproduction, translation and typesetting.