This gold-tooled design comes from a 1990s binding crafted by Scott Husby, who used fragments from the early 1800s to create a beautiful new cover for this copy of Shakespeare s First Folio. Originally published in 1623, Mr. William Shakespeare s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (or, First Folio) is the only reliable text for nearly 20 of Shakespeare s plays, including The Tempest and Twelfth Night.Today, the First Folio is one of the most valuable books in the world, with one being sold in 2001 for over $6 million. There are only 235 surviving copies, from approximately 750 printed, and the Folger holds nearly one third of them, including the binding reproduced here.