Special display: Shakespeare’s First Folio

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Rare opportunity to see Shakespeare's First Folio, 400 years after publication

One of the great wonders of the literary world, Shakespeare’s First Folio, was published 400 years ago on 8th November 2023, seven years after the death of its author.

Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies, was the first printed edition of Shakespeare’s collected plays.  Without it, we would have lost half of his dramatic work. Of the 750 copies of the 1623 First Folio printed, 235 are known to have survived.

Eton College Library holds one of the UK’s 50 copies, which will be on public display in the Museum of Eton Life on Saturday 16 September: 11am - 4pm;  Sunday 17 September: 2.30pm - 5pm and Sunday 24 September: 2.30pm - 5pm. The museum is free to enter and the display forms part of national celebrations of the publication’s 400th anniversary.

Find out more about the 400th birthday of the First Folio here.