--- description: A copy of Shakespeare's First Folio has been found in Scotland, a rare find that surprised academics who study the playwright title: Shakespeare Anniversary: Copy of First Folio Found image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltea387d11020b55fa/69888e1b428a9e3a39cd21e9/shakespeare-first-folio-scotland.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Copy of Shakespeare's First Folio Found in Scotland  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Apr 7, 2016 1:01 PM CUT  Remy Cordonnier, librarian in the northern town of Saint-Omer, near Calais carefully shows on Nov. 25, 2014 in Saint-Omer an example of a valuable Shakespeare "First Folio." Remy Cordonnier, librarian in the northern town of Saint-Omer, near Calais carefully shows on Nov. 25, 2014 in Saint-Omer an example of a valuable Shakespeare "First Folio."Denis Charlet—AFP/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Apr 7, 2016 1:01 PM CUT A copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio has been found in Scotland, a rare find that surprised academics who study the playwright, according to reports. Just over 230 copies of the compilation that includes 36 of Shakespeare’s plays are known to be in existence today, according to the [_Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/apr/07/shakespeare-first-folio-discovered-stately-home-scottish-isle-bute "undefined"). A [copy of the book sold](http://www.bbc.com/news/education-35973094 "undefined") for nearly £3.5 million in 2003. The book was found in the library at Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute and will be displayed there for the first time. The finding comes just before the 400th anniversary of the Shakespeare’s death. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4284917/shakespeares-first-folio-found-in-scotland/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4284917/shakespeares-first-folio-found-in-scotland/"},"headline":"Copy of Shakespeare's First Folio Found in Scotland","datePublished":"2016-04-07T13:01:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:32:32.242Z","description":"Just over 230 copies of the compilation are known to be in existence today","url":"https://time.com/4284917/shakespeares-first-folio-found-in-scotland/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltea387d11020b55fa/69888e1b428a9e3a39cd21e9/shakespeare-first-folio-scotland.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltea387d11020b55fa/69888e1b428a9e3a39cd21e9/shakespeare-first-folio-scotland.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"shakespeare first folio scotland","caption":"shakespeare first folio scotland","creditText":"Denis Charlet—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4284917/shakespeares-first-folio-found-in-scotland/","name":"Copy of Shakespeare's First Folio Found in Scotland"}}]}] ```