Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. Published according to the True Originall Copies

Narrator: Mr William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. Published according to the True Originall Copies. By William Shakespeare. Commonly referred to as the First Folio. 1623. Printed book. Just over a foot high by about 1 foot 3 inches wide when open.

This is a printed book, with off-white paper. The book is displayed open with a printed verse on the left-hand page and a black-and-white engraving of William Shakespeare on the right.

The spelling of the text on the left shows lower case s as f; v as u; and an e on the end of words like “booke” and “looke.” The heading says: “To the Reader.”

Below, in slightly smaller lettering, is a rhyming verse, with, below, the initials “B.I.” In this case, the I is a Latinate form of the letter J.

On the opposite page, the engraving shows the head and shoulders of a man with a high-domed forehead and receding hair that falls on each side to cover his ears, and rests on the stiff white collar—or ruff—that circles his throat. His heavy-lidded eyes look out slightly to his left.

Above are the words, in capital letters, “Mr William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies.”

Interpretive commentary follows.

James Shapiro: You’re looking at one of the great literary treasures of the world: the 1623 First Folio of Shakespeare’s works.

Anna Deavere Smith: James Shapiro, Professor of English at Columbia University.

James Shapiro: When the First Folio arrived in London’s book stalls, Shakespeare had been dead for seven years. And had this not appeared, the Shakespeare we know and love would have been quite different. We would not have had Macbeth. We would not have had The Tempest.

Anna Deavere Smith: In fact, about half of Shakespeare’s plays were published here for the first time. Surprisingly, though, the first words we encounter on these pages are not Shakespeare’s.

James Shapiro: They’re written by Shakespeare’s fellow dramatist and rival playwright, Ben Jonson. Jonson is describing the famous Droeshout illustration of Shakespeare: the famous receding hairline, the enigmatic expression, the high ruff…

And Jonson, speaking of this illustrator, says, “O, could he but have drawne his wit / As well in brasse, as he hath hit / His face: the Print would then surpasse / All, that was ever writ in brasse. / But since he cannot, Reader, looke / Not on his Picture, but his Booke.”

Anna Deavere Smith: In other words, this portrait cannot convey the wit, the beauty, the genius contained in Shakespeare’s exquisite writing. So, while this portrait has become the most iconic image of the author, the true significance of the First Folio lies in the pages that follow.

James Shapiro: I’ve spent most of my adult life in the archives, and have held many rare books. But none have the aura of a Shakespeare Folio. And there’s something magical about this volume.