Shakespeare folios expected to fetch more than £3.5m at auction
Published: 03:04 PM,Apr 26,2025 | EDITED : 07:04 PM,Apr 26,2025
William Shakespeare's four folios, published more than 300 years ago, are set to go under the hammer, where they are expected to fetch between £3.5 million and £4.5 million. The tomes, which compile Shakespeare's plays, will be sold at Sotheby's in London on 23 May, a month after the Bard's birthday on 23 April.
Experts state that the first folio, which contains 36 of Shakespeare's plays, is 'the most significant publication in the history of English literature,' adding that without it, up to half of the writer's works would have been lost, including 'Macbeth,' 'Twelfth Night,' and 'Julius Caesar.' Alongside the King James Bible, the auctioneers assert that this book has had 'the greatest impact on the development of the English language itself.'
The initial print run of the first book is believed to have been around 750 copies, which led to the release of subsequent volumes to meet demand, with the books published between 1623 and 1685. It is thought that producing the first 750 copies would have cost nearly £100 due to the price of the 227 sheets of crown paper used in each.
The folios were compiled by John Heminges and Henry Condell, who were close friends of Shakespeare, both being actors and shareholders in the King’s Men, the acting company to which Shakespeare belonged for most of his career. Shakespeare even bequeathed money for a mourning ring to the pair in his will.
The earliest recorded purchase of the first folio was in December 1623, when Edward Dering bought two copies for £2. The third folio is the rarest of the books, with the Shakespeare Census listing 182 copies still in existence, which is just over half the number of surviving second and fourth folios. Its rarity is believed to be due to a proportion of the stock being destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666.
Born in 1564, Shakespeare is considered one of the UK's greatest writers, with his best-known plays including 'Romeo and Juliet,' 'Macbeth,' and 'Hamlet.' He died on his birthday in 1616 at the age of 52. —PA Media/dpa
Experts state that the first folio, which contains 36 of Shakespeare's plays, is 'the most significant publication in the history of English literature,' adding that without it, up to half of the writer's works would have been lost, including 'Macbeth,' 'Twelfth Night,' and 'Julius Caesar.' Alongside the King James Bible, the auctioneers assert that this book has had 'the greatest impact on the development of the English language itself.'
The initial print run of the first book is believed to have been around 750 copies, which led to the release of subsequent volumes to meet demand, with the books published between 1623 and 1685. It is thought that producing the first 750 copies would have cost nearly £100 due to the price of the 227 sheets of crown paper used in each.
The folios were compiled by John Heminges and Henry Condell, who were close friends of Shakespeare, both being actors and shareholders in the King’s Men, the acting company to which Shakespeare belonged for most of his career. Shakespeare even bequeathed money for a mourning ring to the pair in his will.
The earliest recorded purchase of the first folio was in December 1623, when Edward Dering bought two copies for £2. The third folio is the rarest of the books, with the Shakespeare Census listing 182 copies still in existence, which is just over half the number of surviving second and fourth folios. Its rarity is believed to be due to a proportion of the stock being destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666.
Born in 1564, Shakespeare is considered one of the UK's greatest writers, with his best-known plays including 'Romeo and Juliet,' 'Macbeth,' and 'Hamlet.' He died on his birthday in 1616 at the age of 52. —PA Media/dpa