First Collection Of Shakespeare Plays Becomes Highest-Selling Non-Religious Literature At Auction

A rare book from 1623 which brought together William Shakespeare’s plays for the first time has sold for $9.97 million at auction, making it the first printed work of literature that is not religious to sell at a record price.

According to Reuters, the First Folio, which contains 36 of Shakespeare’s plays, was bought by American private collector Stephan Loewentheil, and marks a new world record at auction for a printed work of literature.

“It is an honor to purchase one of only a handful of complete copies of this epochal volume,” Loewentheil said in a statement. “It will ultimately serve as a centerpiece of a great collection of intellectual achievements of man.”

The collection, titled “Comedies, Histories and Tragedies” was compiled seven years after his death and includes 18 plays which had never been published before, and the sale was the first time in 20 years that a complete copy of the First Folio had gone to auction.

It currently ranks as the 14th most expensive book ever sold at auction, though it is the most expensive piece of literature. The other books are all of religious or historical significance. They include a copy of the Book of Mormon, which sold for $35 Million, a copy of the Magna Carta which sold for $21 Million, copies of the St. Cuthbert Gospel and Bay Psalm Book which sold for $14 million and the Waldseemüller Map, which sold for $10 million.

The next highest-selling piece of literature was a copy of “The Canterbury Tales,” which sold in 1998 for £4.6 million.