Shakespeare First Folio fetches nearly $6M in London
Last Updated: Thursday, July 13, 2006 | 9:30 AM ET
CBC Arts
A mint-condition First Folio edition of William Shakespeare's collected plays fetched nearly $6 million at a British auction on Thursday.
"This is the Holy Grail in terms of printed books," Peter Selley, the English literature specialist for the auction house Sotheby's, told CBC News.
"Certainly in terms of English literature, you can't really get any better than this."
A calfskin-bound 1623 copy of the First Folio edition of William Shakespeare's plays sold for about $5.8 million at a Sotheby's auction in London Thursday.
(Matt Dunham /Associated Press)
The calfskin-bound tome, considered among the world's most important works of English literature, sold to an unnamed buyer for 2.8 million pounds (about $5.8 million) — a hefty price but below Sotheby's top estimate of 3.5 million pounds.
Dr. William's Trust and Library had owned the rare, complete volume since about 1716.
However, the library and research facility was forced to sell the highly valuable work to generate much-needed funds for its endowment and bolster its finances.
Thursday's sale was "obviously sad, because it is such a treasure," said David Wykes, a historian who is the library's director.
"On the other hand, we have known for a number of years we'd probably have to sell it, and the case was not of if, but when."
Printed in 1623, seven years following the death of the Bard, the auctioned folio contains 36 plays, including Macbeth, Julius Caesar, The Tempest and Twelfth Night.
Out of the 750 copies of the First Folio originally printed, between 200 and 250 copies are believed to remain in existence today — including five copies held by the British Library.
However, unlike the copy sold on Thursday, many of these are incomplete versions.
The publication of the First Folio edition is considered important to Bard scholars because it collected some of Shakespeare's plays that had never before been printed.
