When William Shakespeare died in 1616, there were no authorized printed editions of his pieces; rather, his plays only existed as prompt books for the actors.
In 1623 Henry Condell and John Heminge, two actors who had been friends of Shakespeare’s, collected his theatrical pieces and had them published for the first time in a folio edition. This is known as the First Folio edition. It was followed by the Second Folio, the Third Folio and the Fourth Folio, which appeared up until 1685. They are especially significant in that they pass on plays of the author that are not available from any other source.
All editions include a portrait of Shakespeare by the engraver Martin Droeshout of London. Its accuracy is confirmed by the poem of Ben Jonson’s printed underneath it.