From 1893 to 1928, Henry Folger bought 82 copies of Shakespeare’s First Folio. Why would anyone want 82 copies of a rare and very expensive book of widely published plays?
If Henry Folger’s heirs had received his First Folio collection, they probably would have had a big-ticket estate sale. But Folger didn’t leave his 82 First Folios to his individual heirs. Folger established the Folger Shakespeare Library with his First Folio collection as its centerpiece. Unlike Henry Folger, the Folger Shakespeare Library can exist forever. As long as it exists, the Folger Shakespeare Library is highly unlikely to sell any of its First Folios.
When Shakespeare’s First Folio became a collector’s item in the eighteenth century, individuals owned most of them. Since then, First Folio ownership has shifted from individuals to institutions. Institutions now own all but about 20 of the 232 existing copies of the First Folio.
Buying 82 copies of Shakespeare’s First Folio is now inconceivable at any price. That’s an institutional effect that makes Henry Folger seem economically sane.
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The First Folio counts cited above are from the exhibition, Fame, Fortune, & Theft: The Shakespeare First Folio, at the Folger Shakespeare Library, June 3 to Sept. 3, 2011.