ENGL 118: Shakespeare and the Middle Ages (HC)

"with his battell fought at Agin Court in France. Together with ancient Pistoll. As it hath bene sundry times playd by the Right Honourable the Lord Chamberlaine his seruants."
London: printed for T.P., 1608.

"as it hath sundry times beene plaide by the Kings maiesties seruants"
London: printed by Edward Allde for Eedward White, and are to be solde at his shoppe, nere the little North dore of Pauls, at the signe of the Gun, 1611.
Title page in fascimile.

"with new additions of the Parliament Sceane and the deposing of King Richard : as it hath been lately acted by the Kinges Maiesties seruants, at the Globe"
London: Printed by Thomas Purfoot II for Mathew Law and are to be sold at his shop in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Foxe, 1615.

"with the unfortunate life of Edgar, sonne and heire to the Earle of Glocester, and his sullen and assumed humour of Tom of Bedlam, as it was plaid before the Kings Maiesty at White-hall, uppon S. Stephens night, in Christmas hollidaies, by his Maiesties seruants, playing usually at the Globe on the Banck-side."
London : Printed for Nathaniel Butter, 1608 (i.e., 1619).

"with the extreme cruelty of Shylocke the Iew towards the saide Merchant, in cutting a iust pound of his flesh, and the obtaining of Portia, by the choyse of three Caskets"
London : printed by J. Roberts i.e. by William Jaggard for Thomas Pavier, 1600 (i.e., 1619)

"with the tragicall ends of the good Duke Humfrey, Richard Duke of Yorke, and King Henrie the Sixt"
London : Printed by William Jaggard for Thomas. Pavier, 1619.

"presented at the Blackfriers by the King's Maiesties servants, with great applause"
London: Printed by Tho. Cotes, for Iohn Waterson, and are to be sold at the signe of the Crowne in Pauls Church-yard, 1634.

The "First Folio" or first collected edition of Shakespeare, "published according to the true original copies."
London : Printed by Isaac Iaggard and Ed. Blount, 1623.
Special Collections also holds the other three folios.

The Second Folio, printed nine years after the First Folio, makes almost 1,700 emendations to the text of the First Folio, but does not add any new plays. It is notable for being the first appearance in print of work by John Milton, who wrote an unsigned poem praising Shakespeare which appears as a preface to the plays.

The Third Folio includes seven plays not in the First or Second Folios: Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Locrine, The London Prodigal, The Puritan Widow, Sir John Oldcastle, Thomas Lord Cromwell, and A Yorkshire Tragedy. Of these plays, only Pericles, Prince of Tyre, is now accepted as by Shakespeare. Published in 1663, the Third Folio is relatively rare because unsold copies were destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire of London.

The Fourth Folio includes the same plays as the Third Folio, and, published in 1685, marks the last printing of Shakespeare's works in the 17th century.

This is one of the easiest digitized first folios to use.

If you want to compare all four folios, you can find digitized copies here.

You can find a full list of the digitized copies of the First Folio on this site.

Quarto edition from 1598.

Quarto edition from 1600

Quarto edition from 1600.

Quarto edition from 1594.

Quarto edition from 1595.

Quarto edition from 1597; first quarto edition.

Quarto edition from 1597, first quarto edition.

What does calling something a quarto or folio actually mean? This video explains how paper is folded and cut, and how you can identify the format when looking at a book.

This is a fairly old video, but it's a wonderful introduction to how early modern books were printed, based on the work of a very important press.