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 … Material of the Week: Shakespeare’s First Folio
Published: 1546, Basel, Switzerland Published just three years after Copernicus proposed his heliocentric (Sun-centered) cosmic model, Sphaera Mundi, written by Rabbi Abraham Hispanus, subscribes to the still widely accepted geocentric (Earth-centered) model of the universe. In Hebrew and Latin, the text elucidates the design of the universe with dozens of illustrations, and various leaves include … Material of the Week: Sphaera Mundi
Published: 1827-1838, London John James Audubon was an American naturalist and painter who, in the decade between 1927 and 1938, printed a series of folios depicting every bird species in America. The paintings are lifesize, requiring Elephant Folios (massive books) to fit the different birds. Printed in small sets per month, approximately 200 full editions … Material of the Week: Audubon’s Birds of America
