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Folger First Folio 59

Detail of printed page showing horizontal printer's ornament above

In 1829, two women, Mrs. Fortescue and Mrs. Gillis, offered this First Folio to their public library in Plymouth, England. Until the early 1830s, readers could check it out like any other book for up to seven days. Then, a note was added to the inside cover: “not to circulate.” Henry and Emily Folger purchased the First Folio in 1913 for $255.

Like Folger First Folio 72, this one was originally sold without the text of Troilus and Cressida; the play was not licensed for publication until late in the printing process. A facsimile of the play was added at a later date. Seven of the nine introductory leaves, the final two plays (Antony and Cleopatra and Cymbeline), and 22 other leaves scattered throughout the First Folio were replaced with leaves that are likely from the first published facsimile of the First Folio, produced in 1807.

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