the First Folio
/ðə ˌfɜːst ˈfəʊliəʊ/
/ðə ˌfɜːrst ˈfəʊliəʊ/
- the first collection of Shakespeare's plays to be published. It consists of 36 plays and was published in 1623 by two actors who had worked with Shakespeare. Some of the individual plays had already been published, and were called quartos, but many of them contained mistakes. The First Folio is considered the first true and genuine written version of the plays. Copies of it are rare and very valuable.