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Folio
A folio is a term used for a book made of individual sheets of paper, usually folded to produce two leaves or four pages. Folios were a common format for early printed books in the late 15th and early 16th century and many of the most valuable books on the market today were originally published as folios.
These include the early editions of the compendiums of Shakespeare’s plays known as the First Folio, Second Folio, Third Folio etc, as well as John James Audubon’s The Birds of America first published in 1827 and sometimes referred to as a ‘double elephant folio’ due to its size.
![DD 2655 Shapero](/media/105965/img_20240731_125721.jpg?rxy=0.5,0.50406504065040647&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133674194680000000)
Rare book dealer Shapero moves premises in London
07 August 2024Shapero Rare Books has recently commandeered an audacious move from their previous Bond Street store to a newly developed, dazzling landmark building.
![Shakespeare's four Folios](/media/90259/17th-century-shakespeare-folios-and-poems-6.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=133246610500000000)
Rare collection of Shakespeare’s four Folios and poems offered by London dealer
29 March 2023Bookseller Peter Harrington is commemorating the 400th anniversary of the publication of William Shakespeare’s First Folio with the sale of a rare collection of works.
![William Shakespeare’s First Folio](/media/81290/shakespeare-1.jpg?rxy=0.49333333333333335,0.29&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132996015210000000)
Copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio comes to New York auction
14 June 2022An original copy of William Shakespeare’s First Folio, printed 400 years ago, will be offered at Sotheby’s in New York on July 21 with an estimate of $1.5m-2.5m (£1.2m-2m).
![Quebec](/media/80909/img_4-3.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132989813790000000)
A landmark of Canadiana rediscovered in an attic
06 June 2022Recently found in a Norfolk attic, a full set of Canadian scenes by the military artist and topographical draughtsman Major General James Pattison Cockburn (1779-1847) sold for £130,000 at Forum Auctions (plus 25% buyer’s premium).
![US Constitution.jpg (1)](/media/73968/us-constitution.jpg?rxy=0.5140845070422535,0.15015015015015015&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132826612230000000)
US Constitution copy takes $41m at New York auction
19 November 2021A hedge fund billionaire has outbid a group of crowdfunded cryptocurrency fans for a copy of the US Constitution and has agreed to loan it to a museum.
![Stephan Loewentheil](/media/60130/shakespeare-first-folio-2464nec-16-10-2020.jpg?rxy=0.34462151394422313,0.45617529880478086&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132472521210000000)
Auction record for Shakespeare’s ‘First Folio’ as book dealer bids $8.4m at Christie’s
16 October 2020An ‘original and complete’ copy of William Shakespeare’s First Folio of plays set an auction record at Christie's latest 'Exceptional' sale in New York.
![John Gould's Birds of Great Britain](/media/59071/john-gould-birds-of-great-britain-b-2460hh-18-09-2020.jpg?rxy=0.42675159235668791,0.4&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132448115420000000)
Complete set of Gould’s Birds of Britain stars in our pick of five auction highlights this week
18 September 2020ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rare complete set of John Gould’s ‘Birds of Britain’ that doubled estimate in Gloucestershire.
![Catesby.jpg](/media/51420/43067848_127.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132240039260000000)
UK buyer sought for £2.5m collection of botanical drawings blocked from export
21 January 2020The UK government is seeking a buyer to pay £2.5m for a group of 18th century botanical drawings.
![img_5-2.jpg](/media/42726/img_5-2.jpg?rxy=0.61231281198003329,0.54092526690391463&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=132022138090000000)
A First Folio at Firsts as book fairs pack early June
13 May 2019Running from June 7-9 at Battersea Evolution, the upcoming ' 'Firsts: London’s Rare Book Fair' will feature 150-exhibitors.
![Richard Adams collection auction catalogue](/media/23149/richard-adams-auction-dominic-winter-2323webd-20-12-17.jpg?rxy=0.32974910394265233,0.40529247910863508&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131582407410000000)
Shakespeare Second Folio from collection of Watership Down author sells at Gloucestershire auction
21 December 2017A copy of the second folio of William Shakespeare's plays from 1632 was among the star attractions at the sale of the library of the late Richard Adams (1920-2016), the author of ‘Watership Down’.
![First four Shakespeare Folios at Christie's](/media/7357/shakespeare-folios-2245nedia-27-05-16.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462557090000000)
US collector splashes out £2.48m on four Shakespeare folios at Christie’s
27 May 2016A private US collector spent £2.48m at Christie’s, acquiring all four of the early William Shakespeare folios on offer in a specially-staged auction.
![Shakespeare Folios at Christie's](/media/7117/shakespeare-folios-christies-auction-2235ne09a-21-03-16.jpg?rxy=0.4825,0.42666666666666669&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462556940000000)
Rediscovered copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio heads to auction
21 March 2016A previously unrecorded copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio has emerged at Christie’s. Estimated at £800,000-1.2m, it will lead a specially-staged auction in May comprising just four lots – a copy of each of the first four Shakespeare folios.
![14-04-11-2136FM01C brass rubbing.jpg](/media/1621/14-04-11-2136fm01c-brass-rubbing.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462558500000000)
Victorian brass rubbings emerge at Norwich fleamarket
11 April 2014An item with an interesting local connection which is for sale at this Saturday’s Norwich Fleamarket is a rare Victorian large folio of European brass rubbings collected by a Norwich cleric.
![2062AB01A-12-10-18.jpg](/media/3043/2062ab01a-12-10-18.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462559270000000)
Swanns go native for $1.2m sale
18 October 2012Edward S. Curtis’ monumental photographic study of ‘The North American Indian’ was one of the most expensive and ambitious undertakings in the history of book production, comprising 20 illustrated text volumes and 20 folios of larger photographic plates.
![2036NE05A-12-4-10.jpg](/media/3074/2036ne05a-12-4-10.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462559100000000)
Views from a unique Victorian honeymoon
10 April 2012IN February we revealed how Queen Victoria was an accomplished artist, but now her daughter’s skills have been highlighted by a Surrey auction.
![1970NE04A.jpg](/media/3884/1970ne04a.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462559880000000)
Audubon flies to new record for printed book at £6.5m
13 December 2010AT Sotheby's sale in New Bond Street on December 7, a copy of John James Audubon's Birds of America set a new auction record for any printed book when it sold to the London art dealer Michael Tollemache for £6.5m (plus premium).
![1933NE04A.jpg](/media/3913/1933ne04a.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462559900000000)
Singapore and the China Seas, saved from the bonfire
22 March 2010WILTSHIRE auctioneers Netherhampton Salerooms were celebrating a new house record on March 3 after a disbound album of Far Eastern topographical drawings sold for £43,000.
![1749NE01A.jpg](/media/4783/1749ne01a.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462560480000000)
Is £2.5m a bargain for the Bard?
18 July 2006IT set a British auction record for a Shakespeare First Folio and made the highest price ever seen for a printed book at Sotheby’s London (20/12% buyer’s premium) – but hushed voices at the back of the saleroom were suggesting that the £2.5m hammer price represented pretty good value for a near-perfect copy of the most important book in English literature.
![1660OE02B.jpg](/media/5684/1660oe02b.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=125&height=125&rnd=131462561730000000)
£530,000 day suggests more Anglo-French sales are on the books
14 October 2004DAY two of the sale of the Mira Jacob Collection, held by Bailly-Pommery-Voutier & Sotheby’s (23.92 - 14.35% buyer's premium), was devoted to prints and illustrated books and yielded €780,000 (£530,000) with all but seven of the 166 lots selling.
£160,000 in the Will
13 October 2004THE sale of a Shakespeare First Folio is a rare event, but the sale of a copy that emerged out of nowhere is something that comes around only once in a generation.
![the saleroom](/images/Top-Banner-300-x-93px_v2.jpg)
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