But take heart - there are many other rare and beautiful editions of Shakespeare's works currently on offer, including the Second Folio (1632) and the Fourth Folio (1685), 18th–century editions edited by Nicholas Rowe and Alexander Pope, early 20th–century editions illustrated by Arthur Rackham, and much more. There are, unfortunately, no First Folios currently available on AbeBooks. Williams's Library in London sold to an unknown buyer at Sotheby's for US $4.6 million.Ĭonsidered the Holy Grail of book collecting, finding a previously-undiscovered First Folio by happenstance, and at a bargain price, is the dream of many a collector. And in 2006, a complete copy owned by Dr. In a private sale shortly before his death in 2003, Sir John Paul Getty purchased a First Folio from Oriel College, Oxford, for an estimated US $5.6 million. A copy sold in 2001 at Christie's in New York for US $6.1 million, to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. holds 82.īased on some highly publicized sales since 2000, three copies of the First Folio are known to be privately owned.

Most known copies are held by institutions - the British Library holds five copies and the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. Of the estimated 750 copies originally printed, 228 are believed still in existence, although only 40 of those remain complete. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies were compiled by John Heminges and Henry Condell, Shakespeare's fellow actors in the King's Men, the theatrical company for which he wrote. Known as the First Folio, the 36 plays in Mr. While quarto editions of some of the plays and poems were published during Shakespeare's lifetime (1564 - 1616), the first collected plays did not appear until 1623, seven years after the Bard's death. Early editions are also some of the most valuable. Considered the greatest writer in the English language, William Shakespeare's works are among the world's most widely read, most intensely studied, and most passionately collected.

All the plays of william shakespeare