Complete Collection of Shakespeare’s Four Folios Expected to Reach $6 Million at Auction

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In the 17th century, the Bard’s plays were preserved for posterity in the First, Second, Third and Fourth Folios. Now, all four volumes are being sold as a set

Sonja Anderson – Daily Correspondent

April 28, 2025 5:03 p.m.

Sotheby’s is set to auction a complete set of Shakespeare’s Folios in London on May 23. This marks a significant event in literary history as it is the first time since 1989 that all four Folios will be available together.

The original collection began in 1623, just seven years after Shakespeare’s death, when friends and fellow actors Henry Condell and John Heminge compiled his works into what is now recognized as the First Folio, officially titled Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories & Tragedies.

Subsequent editions were released in later years, with the Second Folio appearing in 1632, followed by the Third in 1663 and the Fourth in 1685. This set is expected to achieve a sale price of up to $6 million at Sotheby’s.

Individual Folios command significant prices at auction, with a First Folio previously selling for nearly $10 million in 2020, a record for literary works. Another copy was auctioned for $2.4 million in 2022.

The First Folio is notable not just for its historical significance but also for its role in ensuring the survival of many of Shakespeare’s plays, including iconic works like Macbeth, As You Like It, and The Tempest. Before its publication, many plays had only appeared in small quarto editions, putting them at risk of being forgotten.

Emma Smith, a scholar from the University of Oxford, highlighted the First Folio’s critical role in preserving Shakespeare’s legacy, stating, “Without the First Folio, we wouldn’t even be talking about Shakespeare.”

While the First Folio is acknowledged as the most foundational text within this group, the Third Folio is recognized for its rarity, with only around 182 copies still in existence today, following significant losses during the Great Fire of London in 1666. In contrast, approximately 235 copies of the First Folio are known to survive.

The auctioned Folios were gradually assembled over centuries, beginning in 1800 with collector George Augustus William Shuckburgh-Evelyn, who acquired the First, Third, and Fourth Folios. The Second Folio was added to the collection more recently, in 2016.

Each Folio edition contains unique typographical errors, and with each successive print, the quality of the text reportedly deteriorated. Notably, the Second Folio includes an ode to Shakespeare penned by poet John Milton, while the Third Folio added seven new plays, of which only one is believed to be authored by Shakespeare.

Currently, many First Folios reside in prestigious institutions including the Folger Shakespeare Library, the British Library, and the New York Public Library, making complete sets exceedingly rare in the market.

The upcoming auction is a far cry from the first documented purchase of a Shakespeare Folio, made by politician Edward Dering in 1623 for just £2, which would equate to approximately $550 today.

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