Shakespeare's First Folio (35 plays)

The First Folio, originally titled Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies, was first published in 1623 by John Heminge and Henry Condell. Compiled seven years after Shakespeare's death, this landmark volume preserved thirty-six plays, half of which had never been printed before, and is widely considered the most important book in English literature. Without this collection, works such as Macbeth, Twelfth Night, and Julius Caesar might have been lost to history.

The 2000 digital edition provided by Project Gutenberg serves as an open-access resource, transcribing the text of the original 1623 folio for modern researchers and readers. By digitizing the First Folio, the project aimed to democratize access to these foundational texts, ensuring that the nuances of the Elizabethan language and the structural integrity of the original folio format remain available to a global audience regardless of their ability to access rare physical copies.