The Purple Copy
This First Folio has been called the “purple” copy, because five leaves have an unusual, faint purple tint, as do some leaves in First Folio 78. This suggests that someone supplied both of the First Folios with original leaves from the same, purple-tinted First Folio.
But that’s not all: incredibly, the “purple” copy has leaves from at least five different First Folios. Henry and Emily Folger purchased it in 1901 for $892.50.
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Sophisticating the First Folio
This week we will continue our discussion of the First Folios currently on display in the Folger Shakespeare Library exhibition, First Folio! Shakespeare’s American Tour. This post will look at their “sophistication.” A “sophisticated” or made-up book is a defective…
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Shakespeare First Folio
The First Folio is the first published collection of Shakespeare’s plays, produced seven years after his death. Learn more about this book and see inside.
About the Folger First Folios
The Folger has 82 First Folios of Shakespeare, the largest collection in the world. Explore research, discoveries, and the stories behind the books.