In December we announced that King’s Library had been working with the University Library to digitise its copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio in order to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the book’s first publication in 1623. We are delighted to announce that a digitised copy of the whole book is now online on Cambridge University’s Digital Library.
Owing to the importance of the First Folio it has been necessary until now to allow only those Shakespeare scholars with a genuine need to consult the original. The digitisation, however, makes it possible for members of the public and scholars to freely consult the King’s copy wherever they are in the world and compare it with other surviving copies that have already been digitised.
The Library and Archives plan to put their Shakespeare holdings, including the First Folio, on display for the public as part of the Open Cambridge Festival in the autumn as well as showcasing aspects of the publication through periodic posts on its special collections blog throughout the year.
The digitisation was made possible thanks to a donation from Fanny Greber in memory of her husband, Lloyd D. Raines (KC 1972).
