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Folger First Folio 44

Detail of printed page showing horizontal printer's ornament above

Henry and Emily Folger acquired this First Folio in 1898 for only $561. While that is not the lowest purchase price for a First Folio in the Folger collection, it was still considered a bargain. This copy is the fourth First Folio that the Folgers acquired.

An early reader altered and added stage directions to The TempestThe Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Cymbeline. (Alterations to stage directions were also made in Folger First Folio 50.)

The original title page and four other leaves in the introduction are missing. These, as well as two leaves in the book’s final play, Cymbeline, were replaced with printed facsimile leaves. Original leaves from other First Folios took the place of another 16 missing leaves.

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See where it traveled on tour in 2016