Sir William Fitzherbert acquired the First Folio in 1780. The family kept the book for many generations, until Henry and Emily Folger purchased it at a Sotheby’s auction in 1924 for $7,400.
Like Folger First Folio 58, this First Folio has the rusty outline of an early pair of scissors on its pages. Very few of this First Folio’s leaves are missing, however. Aside from the scissors, it has been left relatively untouched by later owners, unlike most First Folios that survive today.
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Scissors inside books?
The rusty outline we showed in last week’s Crocodile post is, as one of our responders, Giles Bergel, correctly guessed, from a pair of scissors. It appears in Folger First Folio number 58, in Henry IV, part 1 (pp. 50-51). This First Folio…
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Learn more about the 1623 First Folio and its incredible impact on what we know about Shakespeare’s plays today, and discover the Folger’s unparalleled collection of these remarkable books.
