Printed seven years after his death in 1623, Shakespeare’s First Folio compiles 36 of his plays. Edited by the playwright’s partners in the acting company – John Heminge and Henry Condell – the book is officially titled Mr William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories and Tragedies and has been described as “the most important book in English Literature”.
On Thursday 21 July, at an auction in Sotheby’s, New York, an original, rare copy of this text was bought by a private collector for $2.4 million.
Only 750 copies of the bard’s First Folio were printed, of which about 232 are known to survive. It is thought that the text auctioned on 21 July is one of just 20 remaining in private ownership today. The British Library houses five copies, with the rest displayed in museums and libraries across the world.
Heminge and Condell curated the texts in the First Folio by cross-referencing prompt books, authorial fair copy and working drafts to ensure it was as accurate as possible. The pair’s categorisation of the plays into “comedies”, “tragedies”, and “histories” continues to shape modern readings of plays.
Without the First Folio, it is possible that 18 of Shakespeare’s most renowned works, including Macbeth, The Tempest, Julius Caesar, and Twelfth Night, would have been lost as no contemporary manuscripts of Shakespeare’s plays survive.
The book’s cover states the texts have been “published according to the True Original Copies”. It contains an engraved portrait of Shakespeare and tributes by Ben Jonson and other supporters.
The book that was sold at Sotheby has passed through the hands of the British political activist and historian R W Seton-Watson and Abel E Berland, a real estate executive and bibliophile from Chicago. It contains various annotations, doodles, and markings from its owners over the centuries.
Words by Eve Davies
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