The folio will be put up for auction during Sotheby's sale of
English Literature and History in London on July 13.
Estimated to fetch HK$35 to 49 million, this volume, published
seven years after Shakespeare's death, contains a total of 36
plays, 18 of which had never previously been printed, according to
Sotheby's English Literature Specialist and Senior Director, Peter
Selley. "Were it not for their appearance in this volume, they
might otherwise have been lost to posterity."
Some 750 copies of the folio were printed and only a third of
these survive, mostly incomplete, Selley said. This folio is
remarkably untouched and bound in a classic mid-17th century style
in plain brown calf leather, and contains extensive markings and
annotations.
Such copies very rarely come onto the market and there is only
one copy on record as remaining in private hands, Selley said,
adding that it is one of the two finest copies to appear at an
auction in London since the Second World War, comparable only to
the Houghton copy sold in 1980 and now held at Meisei University,
Japan.
The folio is on display in Hong Kong until tomorrow, May 27, at
the Asia World Expo.
An exclusive selection of Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary
masterpieces are also available for viewing at Sotheby's Hong Kong.
They will be offered for sale by Sotheby's London on June 19 and
21.
Among the highlights of this collection are an outstanding
Modigliani portrait, one of the finest pastels from Degas' Bather
series, and a selection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist
paintings from a private English collection. Also on exhibition are
works of famous contemporary artists including Lucian Freud, Andy
Warhol and Zhang Xiaogang.
The upcoming Impressionist and Modern Art sale at Sotheby's
London is expected to raise in excess of HK$950 million (US$121.79
million), the highest pre-sale estimate for any auction ever held
in London.
(Xinhua News Agency May 26, 2006)