William Shakespeare’s First Folio

News subtitle

One of the 235 copies in existence calls Dartmouth Library home.

April is the month William Shakespeare was born, and the month he died, and a time when some institutions are marking the 400th anniversary of the First Folio—the first published collection of Shakespeare’s plays, seven years after his death.

Of the 750 copies of the First Folio printed in 1623, only 235 are known to survive. One, given to Dartmouth as part of a bequest from Allerton Hickmott, Class of 1917, and his wife, Madelyn, is housed in the Rauner Special Collections Library.

Plans are underway to celebrate the folio at Dartmouth in the fall. 

Photos
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Book binding says Shakespeare's First Folio

(Photo by Robert Gill)

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First Folio: 36 plays by Shakespeare

(Photo by Robert Gill)

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First Folio - 36 plays by Shakespeare

(Photo by Robert Gill)

Image
First Folio: 36 plays by Shakespeare

(Photo by Robert Gill)

Image
First Folio: 36 plays by Shakespeare

(Photo by Robert Gill)

Image
First Folio - 36 plays by Shakespeare

(Photo by Robert Gill)

Image
First Folio: 36 plays by Shakespeare

(Photo by Robert Gill)

Image
First Folio - 36 plays by Shakespeare

(Photo by Robert Gill)