Rare 1600s Copy Of William Shakespeare’s First Folio Fetches $2.4 Million

If the saying “you can tell a lot about a person by the books they own” rings true, then it’s a wonder what that would mean about the new owner of a US$2.4 million copy of William Shakespeare’s First Folio. 

While 750 copies of the collection were printed in its first run, only 234 are known to still exist, most of which are owned by public collections. As one of just 18 remaining copies in private libraries, the book is an ultra-rare find, unsurprisingly fetching seven figures at the sale.

Within its dated pages, the 400-year-old tome comprises 36 of the Bard’s most beloved plays, including half unpublished manuscripts that never made it onto the stage. 

Sotheby’s, which facilitated the sale, reported that the copy had originally belonged to a Scottish family who acquired it in the 17th century, and that it is probably the only remaining copy of the collection that harks back to Scotland. 

Of course, with an artifact this old, it’s not in the best of shape, with the auction house noting it has visible wear and tear, such as annotations and doodles from previous owners that date all the way back to the 1600s. 

According to Robb Report, the original version of the folio is often regarded as the “most important book” in English literature, on par only with the King James Bible. Considering that none of the playwright’s original manuscripts survived, the world may have never known his works without the First Folio. 

As per BBC, it’s believed that John Heminges and Henry Condell, part of Shakespeare’s acting company, had compiled and edited the writings as a way of preserving the Bard’s famed plays. 

It’s them we have to thank that The Tempest, Antony and Cleopatra, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, The Taming of the Shrew, and All’s Well that Ends Well is still a large part of our culture.

[via Robb Report and BBC, cover image via Sotheby’s]