first folio

Bard's original collection

The First Folio is the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays, published in 1623, seven years after his death.

It preserved eighteen plays that had never been printed, including *Macbeth*, *Twelfth Night*, and *The Tempest*.

Surviving copies are among the most valuable books in existence.

Extended to other authors, a first folio is the earliest collected edition of someone's work in folio format—large sheets folded once.

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page · publishing · Shakespeare · complete works · tragedy · theatre · comedy · edition · ink · printing press · rare books · drama · anthology · compilation · dramatic works · literature · literary canon · historical plays

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first folioquarto

Four-leaf printing format

octavo · duodecimo · pocket edition · pamphlet · broadside

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Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Rated G