Extremely rare original copy of Shakespeare's First Folio found on Scottish island

Rare original copy of Shakespeare work found.

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published 7 April 2016

A copy of Shakespeare's First Folio — a book published in 1623 that brought together 36 of his plays and preserved the sole copies of works including Macbeth and The Tempest — has been discovered at a home on the Scottish Isle of Bute. Previously, only 233 copies of what the BBC dubs "one of the most sought-after books in the world" were known, marking this find both "rare and significant."

The book, owned by the seventh Marquess of Bute, Johnny Dumfries, was found at Mount Stuart House library, located about 60 miles west of Glasglow. The timing of the discovery was perhaps serendipitous, said Emma Smith, a Shakespeare expert at the University of Oxford who authenticated the Folio, as it comes shortly before the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death on April 23.