Publishing literary works in folio was not unprecedented. Starting with the publication of Sir Philip Sidney's "The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia" (1593) and "Astrophel and Stella" (1598), both published by William Ponsonby, there was a significant number of folios published, and a significant number of them were published by the men who would later be involved in publishing the First Folio. But quarto was the typical format for plays printed in the period: folio was a prestige format, typically used, according to Fredson Bowers, for books of "superior merit or some permanent value".