Mr William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories & Tragedies, Published According to the True Originall Copies, also known as the First Folio, was published in 1623, eight years after Shakespeare’s death. Apart from the Bible, this volume is now considered the most influential book ever published in the English language.

In the early seventeenth century, drama did not have a high literary value. Plays were written for the stage and generally remained the property of the theatre company. It is rare to see a volume of plays listed in any large library of the period. Thomas Bodley, founder of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, considered them as ‘baggage books ... some plaies may be worthy of keeping: but hardly one in fortie ... ’

In 1622, two of Shakespeare’s fellow actors, John Heminge and Henry Condell, gathered together both fair and ‘foule’ copies of the plays as a memorial to their friend. Of the 36 plays included in the first collection, 18 had never been published.

The First Folio was printed in London, near St Paul’s Cathedral. It was a large and ambitious undertaking, requiring at least eight compositors to prepare the copy. The main financial burden was born by the printers, William and Isaac Jaggard, who also had the complex task of negotiating copyright and registering the plays with the Stationers’ Guild in London. The exact print run for the First Folio is unknown, although estimates are between 500 and 1200. It was sold for just £1 in a plain calf binding, a reasonable price for the period.

 The Library’s copy of the First Folio was donated in 1885 by two brothers from Birmingham. Richard and George Tangye purchased the volume for £850 in 1884. This is the only known copy of the First Folio held in Australia.

The Second Folio was published nine years later in 1632. It was almost an exact reprint of the First Folio, with the addition of a poem in praise of Shakespeare by John Milton. The Library’s copy of the Second Folio was donated by the Australian Shakespearean actress, Essie Jenyns, around 1920. She received the copy from a group of admirers while she was performing in Hobart in 1887.

In 1664 a Third Folio was published. This edition included seven additional plays, among them Pericles, The Puritan Widow, The History of Thomas Cromwell and The London Prodigall, of which only Pericles is now accepted as genuinely Shakespearean. The Third Folio is extremely rare, as a large number of copies were destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The Library’s copy was purchased by the Library Trustees in 1964.

A Fourth Folio was printed in 1685. While the contents were the same as the Third Folio, the typography and layout of the text were improved, making the edition more readable. The Library received the Fourth Folio as part of the David Scott Mitchell bequest and the volume carries his bookplate.

Maggie Patton, Heritage Collection exhibition guide, 2003

Mr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories & tragedies; published according to the true originall copies, also known as the First Folio, was published in 1623, 8 years after Shakespeare’s death in 1616.

Apart from the Bible, this volume is now considered the most influential book ever published in the English language.

Of the 36 plays included in the First Folio, 18 had never been published. The unpublished plays existed only as prompt books, actor’s working copies, or occasionally as Shakespeare’s own copies. 

The State Library holds all four editions of the Shakespeare Folios published between 1623 and 1685. This is the only known First Folio and the only collection of the four volumes in Australia.