Folio 400 at Wadham College

Wadham's First Folio will be on display in College on 23 April, to mark the 400th anniversary of its publication. The first 250 visitors will receive a complimentary bookmark and everyone is invited to enjoy complimentary refreshments.

The First Folio is one of the most famous books in the world. Published in 1623, seven years after the death of its author, it was the first printed edition of Shakespeare’s collected plays.  Without this achievement, we would have lost half of his dramatic work, including 'The Tempest', 'Julius Caesar', 'Macbeth' and 'Antony and Cleopatra'.

Our First Folio was bequeathed by Richard Warner in 1775. A botanist and literary scholar, Warner had been a student at Wadham, graduating in 1734. He collected books avidly, finally leaving nearly 3,000 books in his will. Warner owned all four Shakespeare folios (four different editions, each one varying slightly, were published in 1623, 1632, 1663 and 1685). He left them all to Wadham College. You can find out more in the Shakespeare Room of our permanent online exhibition.
Many global celebrations are taking place to mark the anniversary, including those at which you can view the First Folio copies.

This map by our librarian, Tim Kirtley, shows some Shakespeare-related locations and events in Oxford, including Wadham's display on 23 April.