Christie’s London will be auctioning a First Folio (along with a second and fourth) in their June 4th Auction. Quoting their catalog:
The preservation of over half Shakespeare’s works is owing solely to publication of the First Folio, the undisputed keystone of any serious collection of English literature. In the much quoted words of W.A. Jackson, ‘It is needless to emphasise the literary importance of this volume which has preserved twenty of Shakespeare’s plays, as well as provided superior texts of eight of the eighteen plays which had already been printed. Though it cannot be called a rare book, it is incomparably the most important work in the English language and will always be valued and revered accordingly.’
The last copy to come to market, one complete and in a contemporary binding, brought over five million dollars in 2006. The pre-sale estimate on the current offering is about $600,000-$800,000 and strikes me as very low, even considering the current economic environment and this copy’s faults (a handful of facsimile pages, a later binding, several repairs).
My prediction: $1.75 million.
SEE ALSO:
The Folger’s stunning high-resolution PDF version of one of their copies of the First Folio (WARNING: enormous file, but worth it if you have the time and disk-space).