Overview

• The four folios, published between 1623 and 1685, include the first folio, considered the most significant publication in English literature.
• Experts emphasize the first folio’s role in preserving half of Shakespeare’s plays, including Macbeth and Julius Caesar, which might otherwise have been lost.
• The third folio is particularly rare, with only 182 known copies surviving due to losses during the Great Fire of London in 1666.
• The folios were compiled by Shakespeare’s friends John Heminges and Henry Condell, who were actors and shareholders in the King’s Men acting company.
• The auction is expected to fetch between £3.5 million and £4.5 million, reflecting the folios’ unparalleled literary and historical value.