The History of the Folio Society

The history of the Folio Society

Since 1947 The Folio Society have been celebrating books as aesthetic objects as well as being the medium of great writing. They publish thoughtfully crafted illustrated editions of the world’s most exceptional literature and believe that great books deserve to be displayed in a way worthy of their contents.

Great for collecting and gifting, Folio Society books are the perfect antidote to the modern digital age. With Folios you don’t just get the book, you get a truly special experience with extra content from celebrated writers and carefully commissioned beautiful illustration and design from emerging and celebrated artists. These modern classics will be the treasured copies and collectors’ items of the future.

For over 70 years The Folio Society has celebrated the unique joy that is derived from owning and reading a beautiful Folio edition.

‘A Folio Society edition is, I reckon, as excellent an accolade as any author can achieve these days’ – Stephen Fry

Each edition is a beautifully crafted version of the world’s greatest works of classic fiction and non-fiction books, poetry and children’s literature. The books selected for publication are all timeless and The Folio Society know and understand that they will be enjoyed and appreciated not only now but in the future. Each book is regarded as an individual object of value and there is variety, however, the only uniformity is in the quality of every single book.

A Folio edition features specially designed binding and includes artist-commissioned illustrations for most of the fiction titles or researched artworks in the non-fiction titles. Many editions will come with their own slipcase.

Joy who works closely with all our books here at World of Rare Books says: “Our best selling Folio Society book; ‘The Greek Myths’ retold by Robert Graves. These two volumes are based on the hugely popular editions originally published by Penguin in the 50s and 60s. The Greek myths are archetypal tales hugely influential in the history of society, culture, literature and art, and have truly stood the test of time. An essential addition to any reader’s library.”

Rediscover your favourite book in Folio form, or browse our collection to see which titles are waiting to be discovered at World of Rare Books.