First Folio

This is a very special book.

It is called the First Folio. It holds 36 plays by William Shakespeare.

Two friends made this book. Their names were John and Henry. They wanted to save the plays. They did this after Shakespeare died.

Some plays were in this book for the first time.

Without this book, we might not have them. It is a very important treasure.

Many copies were made long ago. Now, only 235 copies are left. Some are in big libraries. You can still see them today.

The First Folio is a very famous book.

It was published in 1623. This was seven years after William Shakespeare died. Two of his friends made the book. Their names were John Heminges and Henry Condell. They wanted to collect his work in one place.

The book is a folio. A folio is a large book format. It contains 36 plays by Shakespeare.

Some plays were in this book for the very first time. These include Macbeth and The Tempest. Without this book, we might not have these plays today. It is a very important source for his true words.

Long ago, many copies were printed. About 750 copies were made. Now, only 235 copies still exist. Most are kept in big libraries or private collections.

The Folger Shakespeare Library has 82 of them. These books are great treasures for the world.

The First Folio is one of the most important books ever printed.

It is a large collection of plays written by William Shakespeare. This book was published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare died. It was put together by his fellow actors, John Heminges and Henry Condell. They wanted to save his work for the future. The book is called a folio because of its large size.

It contains 36 plays that people still love today.

Making this book was a very big job for the printers.

The editors used different types of papers to get the words right. Some plays came from "foul papers," which were Shakespeare's own messy working drafts. Other plays came from "prompt books" used during live shows. These books had notes to help the actors on stage. Some plays were typed by a professional writer named Ralph Crane. He made very neat copies of the plays for the printers to use. This careful work helped make sure the plays were correct.

Before this large book, plays were often printed in a smaller way. These smaller books were called quartos.

A quarto was made by folding a large sheet of paper twice. They were often cheap and easy to carry around. Some people even used them as wrapping paper once they were worn out! Shakespeare's poems were sometimes printed in a format called an octavo. An octavo was even smaller because the paper was folded three times. These smaller books were not always seen as high-quality treasures.

History tells us that the First Folio was a special way to show value.

Printing in folio was usually saved for books of "superior merit." This means the book was meant to last a long time. The printers included plays like Macbeth and The Tempest in this collection.

Eighteen of the plays in this book had never been printed before. Without this specific book, we might have lost many of his famous stories. It was a way to fix errors from older, messy copies.

Today, these books are very rare and precious treasures.

About 750 copies were originally printed long ago. Now, only 235 copies are known to still exist in the world. Most of them are kept safe in big libraries or private collections. The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to 82 of them. This is more than one third of all the copies left. They help us connect to the stories Shakespeare wrote hundreds of years ago.

The First Folio is a monumental collection of plays written by William Shakespeare.

Formally titled *Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies*, this book was published in 1623. This was roughly seven years after Shakespeare's death in 1616. It is considered one of the most influential books ever published.

The collection was prepared by Shakespeare's colleagues, John Heminges and Henry Condell. They dedicated the work to William Herbert, the 3rd Earl of Pembroke, and his brother Philip Herbert. This massive volume contains 36 plays that define much of the English dramatic tradition.

To understand the First Folio, one must understand the printing formats of the era. Most plays were previously published in quarto format. A quarto was created by folding a large sheet of paper twice. This resulted in four leaves and eight pages. These were often cheap, small, and intended for quick reading. Some people even used worn-out quartos as wrapping paper.

Shakespeare's poems were sometimes printed in octavo. An octavo was made by folding a sheet three times. This created eight leaves and 16 pages. Octavos were smaller and often carried more prestige. They were used to associate Shakespeare's poetry with classical Greek works.

The First Folio used the folio format instead. A folio is a much larger book format. In the seventeenth century, folio printing was reserved for books of "superior merit." It was a prestige format meant for works of permanent value. This choice signaled that Shakespeare's plays were high art.

The production was a massive undertaking. The printers used high-quality rag paper imported from France. The typesetting and printing were so large they required the capacity of the Jaggard shop. William Jaggard was an experienced printer, though he was old and infirm by 1623. His son, Isaac Jaggard, likely performed much of the heavy work.

Creating an accurate text was a complex process involving various source materials. Editors had to decide which manuscripts to trust. Some plays were set from "foul papers," which were Shakespeare's own messy working drafts. Other plays came from "prompt books." These were manuscripts used during live performances and contained detailed stage directions.

Some plays, like *The Tempest*, were typeset from high-quality transcripts made by a professional scrivener named Ralph Crane. Crane's work included formal act and scene divisions. Other plays were typeset from existing quarto editions that had been corrected. This mix of sources helped create a more reliable text than previous individual publications.

The contents of the Folio are divided into three main categories: Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies.

This collection is vital because eighteen of the plays had never been printed before. These include famous works like *Macbeth*, *Twelfth Night*, *Julius Caesar*, and *The Tempest*. Without the First Folio, these plays might have been lost to history. While 19 plays had appeared in quarto before, the Folio provides the only reliable text for about 20 of them. Heminges and Condell aimed to replace "maimed" and "deformed" copies with Shakespeare's true, perfect words.

The historical impact of this book is reflected in its rarity and survival.

It is estimated that about 750 copies were originally printed. Today, only 235 known copies remain in existence. These are held in private collections or public archives. The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is especially significant. It houses 82 of the surviving copies. This means more than one third of all extant First Folios are kept in that single location.

Ultimately, the First Folio connects the world to the literary legacy of the King's Men. It transformed Shakespeare from a popular dramatist into a permanent literary figure. The book bridged the gap between ephemeral stage performances and lasting literature. By organizing plays into a single, prestigious volume, the editors ensured the survival of his genius. The First Folio remains a cornerstone of English language and global culture.