The First Folio, the legendary first edition of William Shakespeare’s work, is celebrating its 400-year anniversary. Only 14 copies in the best state of preservation remain, one of them at the University and City Library Cologne. That’s why the University is part of the international celebrations. The recently digitized edition, among the best six copies worldwide, will soon be available on an open access platform.

By Maria Schrempp

To be, or not to be, that is the question. Probably everyone immediately associates this quote with William Shakespeare. Less well known is the fact that we would not even know half of his work today without one book: the First Folio. To this complete edition we owe plays such as Macbeth, Julius Caesar or A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which otherwise would not have been handed down.

In Shakespeare’s times, theatre companies rarely wrote down their plays so as not to provide material for competitors. However, two of the writer’s good friends and fellow actors, John Heminges and Henry Condell, seem to have been aware that Shakespeare’s works must not be forgotten. Seven years after his death, they printed 36 plays in a large, leather-bound folio format on high-quality paper – a considerable investment and absolutely unusual for the time. The title: ‘Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories & Tragedies’.

Folio format – The term folio refers to a historical book format. To obtain the folio format of the Shakespeare editions, a letterpress printer folds a sheet of paper once in half to make two large sheets and thus four book pages. Each subsequent folding of the sheet of paper results in a correspondingly smaller book format. Folding twice results in quarto, folding three times results in octavo, and so on.

There are 234 First Folio copies left in the world today, only 14 of which are Top Class I or ‘Class A’ editions, i.e. unrepaired books in the best state of preservation. The University and City Library Cologne owns one of them. While many First Folios are smeared with marks from sweaty fingers, wine stains or even muddy cat paws, the copy in Cologne is in excellent condition and has never needed restoration. There are only five other copies that are just as well preserved.

The university bought the book, along with four other Shakespeare volumes, on the antiquarian book market in 1960 for 425,000 Deutsche Mark. Today, the First Folio is worth an estimated ten million euros, making it one of the most expensive books in the world.

A book as a status symbol

In 2023, the First Folio turns 400, and its birthday festivities are an international event. All over the world, institutions are celebrating their editions. The Wallraf Richartz Museum, the University and City Library Cologne and the Wahn Castle Theatre Archive are showing the First Folio in the exhibition ‘Das ganze Drama – Shakespeares First Folio (1623)’ in the Wallraf Richartz Museum. The supporting programme ‘Shakespeare 400’ will also take place with readings, theatre, music and a Shakespeare dinner.

The University and City Library Cologne has digitized ‘No 6’ to make it broadly accessible on an open access platform. The platform will be launched in April 2023 with a distinct purpose: to make as many digitized First Folios as possible available to the public. In the future, the platform will enable a direct literary comparison of different First Folio copies in split-screen view.

The fascination for the First Folio, with its legendary comedies and tragedies, goes far beyond its contents. The books themselves also exert a fascination. There are research branches that exclusively focus on the histories of the individual copies, including who inherited or bought which copy and when.

Details about the previous owners of the copy in Cologne are known from about 1880 onward. No other copy boasts such a detailed history. In the nineteenth century, it was the first Shakespeare book ever to reach the United States. So before that, Americans knew neither of Hamlet nor of Romeo and Juliet.

In eighteenth-century Europe, the First Folio had already become a status symbol for wealthy people who were keen on culture. People who fancied themselves cultivated read Shakespeare. The value of the book had already risen so much at that time that individual pages were traded for high sums on the book market to complement damaged editions.

A journey to all First Folios

Listening to Gregory Doran, the fascination for the First Folio becomes tangible. The former intendant of the Royal Shakespeare Company travels around the world. His goal: To see all First Folios with his own eyes. He also came to Cologne on his journey and was noticeably excited before opening the book of all books in the library. Even though he has seen well over a hundred First Folios, anticipation remains high each time, said Doran. Almost tenderly, he opens the book cover and is immediately amazed at the perfect condition of the copy.

Doran enjoys talking about his travels and the many people who tell him their own personal stories about the First Folio and Shakespeare’s works. Things quickly turn emotional when talking about favourite quotes and people’s often very intimate relationships to them.

Even though the sensational condition of the Cologne copy is thrilling, Doran also loves the traces of use on many editions, as they show that the book was read and loved. And so he is particularly pleased that the University and City Library Cologne will be displaying and, above all, digitizing the book for its 400-year anniversary. The online publication will allow everyone to experience the wonderful edition and to feel the original Shakespeare.

Find out more about the anniversary programme in Cologne.