Rare first edition of Shakespeare’s plays acquired by UBC now on display at Vancouver Art Gallery | CBC News
The University of British Columbia has added a very valuable book to its library, and you can bet students won’t be writing notes in the margins of this one.
The school has acquired a complete first edition of William Shakespeare’s Comedies Histories and Tragedies — a rare collection of 36 of the famous Bard’s known 38 plays. Also known as the First Folio, the book was published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death and is edited by his close friends and fellow writers and actors.
Katherine Kalsbeek, head of rare books and special collections at UBC Library, felt that, with so few copies left in private hands, the library needed to act when the opportunity to acquire one came up in 2021.
“The First Folio is a cornerstone of English literature and with this donation, we are able to bring this cultural treasure into public ownership,” Kalsbeek said in a statement.
From Jan. 12 to March 22, 2022, literary fans can see this treasure for themselves on display at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
The work is being shown along with three subsequent 17th-century Folio editions of Shakespeare’s plays, as part of a new exhibit called For All Time – The Shakespeare FIRST FOLIO.
WATCH | Learn more about the First Folio acquired by UBC:
Purchased through Christie’s auction house
According to a statement from the university, only 235 copies of the First Folio remain around the world, mostly in the U.K. and U.S. The nine copies in public collections on the West Coast are all in California.
“This is really a gift, not just to UBC, but also to the City of Vancouver and to the many people in the region who appreciate Shakespeare,” said Kalsbeek.
UBC purchased the First Folio, formerly owned by a private collector in the U.S., through Christie’s New York with funding provided by a consortium of donors from across North America and with the generous support of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
According to the university, the price tag for its newly-acquired copy cannot be shared as part of the purchase agreement with Christie’s.
An October 2020 statement from Christie’s shows the auction house sold a different copy of the First Folio at that time for just shy of $10 million US.
The Shakespeare FIRST FOLIO, will be on display in an exhibit that opens today and runs until March 20, 2022. UBC is thrilled to be collaborating with the Vancouver Art Gallery to share this cultural treasure with our fellow Vancouverites, British Columbians, and Canadians. <a href=”https://t.co/ld2YfqkYkb”>https://t.co/ld2YfqkYkb</a>
—@ubcprez
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