A literary jackpot hits the auction block—will history’s greatest plays find a new home?
A rare treasure trove of Shakespearean history is set to dazzle the auction world next month—a complete set of the Bard’s first four folios, valued at up to USD$6 million.
Sotheby’s unveiled the extraordinary collection on Shakespeare’s 461st birthday, marking the first time in over three decades that all four folios have been offered together.
Printed between 1623 and 1685, these folios preserve the legacy of the world’s greatest playwright.
The First Folio alone, published seven years after Shakespeare’s death, saved 18 plays—including Macbeth and The Tempest—from vanishing into obscurity.
Only 230 copies survive today, most locked away in institutions. The Third Folio is the rarest, its numbers dwindled by the Great Fire of London in 1666.
This auction is a chance to own a cornerstone of literary history.
Will a private collector seize the prize, or will a museum step in to safeguard these priceless pages? The world will watch on May 23.
