To acquire this First Folio in 1916 for about $3,000, Henry and Emily Folger also had to purchase a Second and Fourth Folio—two later editions of the First Folio—from the bookseller as a package deal.
Just like Folger First Folios 38, 50, and 58, this First Folio was an “unrecorded” First Folio at the time of its purchase. That means it did not appear in Sidney Lee’s earlier 1902 Census of the Shakespeare First Folios.
Like many First Folios, this one has both missing and damaged leaves. All of the leaves of the introduction are missing; at the end of the book, the last two leaves of the last play in the volume, Cymbeline, are supplied in printed facsimile. It also has several damaged leaves that have been completed in handwriting.
Related
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…
More
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.