Posted on 07/14/2006 10:23:49 AM PDT by presidio9
A rare and historic collection of plays by English playwright William Shakespeare has been sold at auction in London for 2.8 million pounds (4.1 million euros, 5.2 million dollars).
The 17th century First Folio -- the first published collection of Shakespeare's plays -- was bought by a "London book dealer", auctioneers Sotheby's said on Thursday.
About 750 copies of the First Folio, which has been described as the most important book in English literature, were originally printed in 1623, seven years after the bard's death.
They each contain 36 plays, 18 of which had never previously been printed.
Experts believe those 18 plays -- including "Macbeth", "Twelfth Night" and "Julius Caesar" -- might have sunk without a trace had they not been included.
Only about a third of the First Folio copies have survived and most of these versions are incomplete.
The copy on sale Thursday was described as one of the two finest to appear at auction in London since World War II.
It was sold alongside other items of English literature and history.
An employee of Sotheby's auctioneers looks at a first folio edition of plays by William Shakespeare in Hong Kong in May 2006. A rare and historic collection of plays by Shakespeare has been sold at auction in London for 2.8 million pounds (4.1 million euros, 5.2 million dollars).(AFP/File/Mike Clarke)
Old Bill was a distant relative of mine. When can I expect my share of the proceeds?
Ping
> Old Bill was a distant relative of mine.
> When can I expect my share of the proceeds?
You can't. Billy didn't actually write that stuff.
He just agreed to be credited with having done so.
For political reasons, the real author couldn't
publish under their own name, which was
.&#%Disconnect by serv
LOL!
"...a monument without a tomb..."
"Old Bill was a distant relative of mine. When can I expect my share of the proceeds?"
Not so fast, there, Bucky. Since Shakespeare, or Shakespere didn't even write those plays, the money goes to me, as the last living relative of the person who actually wrote them. Her name will be revealed after I win my lawsuit. Then we'll see who laughs last, eh?
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