{"id":38,"date":"2021-03-09T20:42:18","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T20:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/folio400.com\/?post_type=publications&p=38"},"modified":"2022-09-05T12:27:08","modified_gmt":"2022-09-05T11:27:08","slug":"selling","status":"publish","type":"publication","link":"https:\/\/folio400.com\/publication\/selling\/","title":{"rendered":"Selling"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\u2018But, whatever you do, buy!\u2019<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Mr. William Shakespeare\u2019s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies<\/em> went on sale in November 1623, seven years after the death of its author.<\/span><\/p>

An expensive book, the First Folio was never going to be a best-seller, but it was successful enough to be reprinted, securing Shakespeare\u2019s legacy.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Delivering the goods<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Once printing was finished, single copies of each sheet were gathered together in page order, and sewn together. Probably about 700 to 750 copies of the First Folio were made, finally going on sale in November 1623. Some gatherings were bound with a cover \u2013 made from the skin of a calf, sheep or goat \u2013 but most were left unbound. Each customer could choose how they wanted to cover their own copy.<\/span><\/p>

As principal publisher, Edward Blount had Folios sent to his own bookshop. Like most such shops in London, Blount\u2019s \u2013 at the sign of the Black Bear \u2013 was in the churchyard to the north of St Paul\u2019s Cathedral. Co-publisher William Aspley\u2019s shop was nearby. The publishers sold most copies to wholesalers, who then sold them on to smaller booksellers. The price was marked up at each stage. The Folio probably cost the publishers 8\u00bd shillings per copy, and was sold unbound for 15 shillings. Bound copies cost up to 20 shillings.\u00a0<\/p>

The First Folio cost about the same as two months\u2019 wages for a skilled worker. It took time to sell out, but was popular enough that a second edition was completed within a decade. By the time the Second Folio appeared in 1632, Heminge, Condell, the Jaggards, and Blount had died.\u00a0<\/p>

The memory of Shakespeare and the survival of his plays were preserved for future generations.\u00a0\u00a0235 copies of the First Folio are known to survive, but most are missing some of their original pages. Only about 56 copies are complete, containing all 454 leaves \u2013 908 pages.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The right to print in England was controlled by the Stationer\u2019s Company in London. Here, on 8th November 1623, Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount entered the First Folio into the Stationer\u2019s Register as their \u2018copy\u2019, listing individual plays that had not previously been registered.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u2018But, whatever you do, buy!\u2019 Mr. William Shakespeare\u2019s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies went on sale in November 1623, seven years after the death of its author. An expensive book, the First Folio was never going to be a best-seller, but it was successful enough to be reprinted, securing Shakespeare\u2019s legacy. Delivering the goods Once printing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":250,"menu_order":1,"template":"","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSelling » Folio 400 - Printing Shakespeare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/folio400.com\/publication\/selling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Selling » Folio 400 - Printing Shakespeare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u2018But, whatever you do, buy!\u2019 Mr. William Shakespeare\u2019s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies went on sale in November 1623, seven years after the death of its author. An expensive book, the First Folio was never going to be a best-seller, but it was successful enough to be reprinted, securing Shakespeare\u2019s legacy. 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