![]() The most recent high-profile sale of a copy of the First Folio was at Sotheby’s New York in July 2022 when it sold for $2.47m including buyer’s premium. This copy of Poems has been in private collections since it was sold at Christie’s London on June 6, 2007. This copy is even rarer in its contemporary binding. The 1640 first collected edition of Shakespeare’s Poems is much rarer than either the First or Third Folios, with only 64 copies extant, of which only five remain in private hands. It is not known when this copy was last sold. This copy is in a Regency-period diced russia binding. The Fourth Folio dropped the final ‘e’ from Shakespeare's name, a spelling that persisted until the beginning of the 19th century. It is in a larger font and more liberally spaced than the three earlier editions. The publishers used a larger paper size to increase the number of lines per page and decrease the bulk of the book. The most immediately striking aspect of the Fourth Folio is its height. It added seven plays at the end of the volume, although of those, only Pericles is now recognised as Shakespearean. Published in 1685, the Fourth Folio was the last of the 17th-century editions of Shakespeare's works and the most grandly produced. This copy is reported to have been in a private collection since it was bought at Christie’s New York on April 14, 2004. According to Peter Harrington it is one of only three copies to remain in private hands. This copy is a rare first issue, with the title page dated 1663. It is most commonly encountered in its second issue, published in 1664 with a different title page. Many copies were destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666. ![]() The rarest of all the four folios is the Third. It had been restored by bookbinders and restorers James and Stuart Brockman and was last sold by Peter Harrington in December 2003. The present copy of the Second Folio is described as a “well-margined copy in panelled calf”. The original edition was probably 1000 copies, shared between five publishers. ![]() It is also notable for containing the first appearance in print of John Milton, his poem in praise of “my Shakespeare”. Published in 1632, just nine years after the First proved to be a commercial success, and it included as many as 1700 changes when compared with the First Folio. It has an asking price of £6.25m ($7.5m) Second Folio This copy was in the collection of Lord Hesketh in his library at The Easton Neston and is believed to have last sold at auction at Sotheby’s in London on July 12, 2010. This copy lacks four of the eight preliminary leaves (which are supplied in facsimile). Published in 1623, this example is in late 17th or early 18 th century English calf binding and the entire text of the plays are complete (have not been made up with pages from other copies of the same work which is sometimes the case). Peter Harrington acquired the five copies from various private owners. Of the copies that Peter Harrington is offering, the First Folio is one of only 27 copies in private hands, the Third Folio is one of three in private hands and the Poems is one of five in private hands. Shakespeare's four Folios and collected poems.
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