Published: 1623, London, England

Printed seven years after William Shakespeare’s death, Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies, commonly referred to as Shakespeare’s “First Folio,” is the first collection that compiles all of Shakespeare’s plays, patched together from various scripts. Nicknamed the Folio because of the size of the sheets, approximately 750 copies were printed in 1623 and 233 survive today, according to Folger Shakespeare Library.

The John Hay houses the First Folio as well as the Second and Fourth Folios, printed in 1632 and 1685, respectively.