Shakespeare’s Library / First Folio / Midi / Unlined

This gold-tooled design comes from a unique binding attributed to Christian Samuel Kalthoeber, a German bookbinder working in London. He created the beautiful new cover for this copy of Shakespeare's First Folio around 1800. Originally published in 1623, Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (or, First Folio) is the only reliable text for nearly 20 of Shakespeare's plays, including The Tempest and Twelfth Night. Today, the First Folio is one of the most valuable books in the world, with one being sold in 2020 for nearly $10 million. There are only 235 known surviving copies, from approximately 750 printed, and the Folger holds just over one third of them, including the binding reproduced here.