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LONDON - A rare complete copy of the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays, widely regarded as one of the most important books in the English language, sold for $5.2 million at auction yesterday.
London dealer Simon Finch Rare Books purchased the book - still in its original 17th-century calfskin binding - during a sale at Sotheby's.
The book is one of about 40 complete copies known to exist and one of the few in private hands.
Of some 750 copies of the First Folio, about a third have survived, though most of them have lost pages over the years, the auction house said.
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