Ralph Crane facts for kids

Ralph Crane was a professional scribe or writer who lived in London during the early 1600s. He is famous for his close work with the plays of William Shakespeare. Because of his important role, some people call him "Shakespeare's first editor." He helped prepare many of Shakespeare's plays for printing in the very first collection, known as the First Folio.

Who Was Ralph Crane?

We don't know a lot about Ralph Crane's early life. Most of what we know comes from his own writings.

Early Life and Work

Ralph Crane was born in London, England. His father was a successful member of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors, which was a group for skilled tailors and merchants. Being a "Freeman" of this company meant his family had certain benefits.

Crane worked for seven years as a law clerk for Sir Anthony Ashley. Sir Anthony was an important secretary for the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, a group that advised the King. After this, Crane became a scribe, mostly working for lawyers.

Writing His Own Poems

Later in his life, around 1621, Ralph Crane started writing his own poems. He published a small book of them called The Works of Mercy, Both Corporeal and Spiritual. He dedicated this book to a noble named John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater. Crane mentioned in his book that he was not feeling well and was struggling financially when he wrote these poems.

Ralph Crane and Shakespeare's Plays

Ralph Crane worked for the King's Men, which was William Shakespeare's acting company. He started working for them around 1618. Over the next ten years, he made many copies of their plays.

Copying Plays for the First Folio

Experts today believe that Ralph Crane's copies were used to print at least five of Shakespeare's plays in the First Folio. The First Folio was the very first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays, published in 1623.

The five plays that Crane likely copied for the First Folio are:

• The Tempest
• The Two Gentlemen of Verona
• The Merry Wives of Windsor
• Measure for Measure
• The Winter's Tale

Some scholars think he might have also copied Othello. Crane's unique way of writing stage directions, character names, and punctuation has been studied closely by many Shakespeare experts.

Other Works Copied by Crane

Ralph Crane didn't just copy Shakespeare's plays. He also copied other important documents for the King's Men, like the will of famous actor Richard Burbage.

Plays by Other Playwrights

One of his most important copies for the company was the play The Witch by Thomas Middleton. This play is interesting because it has some connections to Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Crane also copied several plays for the first collection of plays by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, published in 1647. These included:

• The False One
• The Knight of Malta
• The Prophetess
• The Spanish Curate

In 1623, the play The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster was printed. It is almost certain that the printer used a copy made by Ralph Crane.

Surviving Manuscripts

Even though none of Crane's copies of Shakespeare's plays have survived, we still have some of his other handwritten works. For example, two of the six existing copies of Middleton's play A Game at Chess were written by Crane. He also copied the play Sir John van Olden Barnavelt, which was never printed during his time.

Special Presentation Copies

Crane often made special, beautiful copies of plays for important clients. These were called "presentation manuscripts."

• In 1625, he sent a copy of John Fletcher's play The Humorous Lieutenant to Sir Kenelm Digby.
• He also made a special copy of Ben Jonson's 1618 play Pleasure Reconciled to Virtue for Sir Dudley Carleton.