Sharing Shakespeare: Touring exhibit puts Bard’s words on display

A  first for the University of Iowa will showcase another first from a long (long) time ago.

First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare, a national traveling exhibition of the Shakespeare First Folio, one of the world's most treasured books, will be on display in 2016 at the UI Main Library.

This will be the first traveling exhibit in the new exhibition space, which is currently under renovation and will open later in 2015.

Exact dates will be announced in April for the tour, which will visit all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Many of Shakespeare's plays were not published during his lifetime. The First Folio is the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays. It was published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare's death. Two of Shakespeare's fellow actors compiled 36 of his plays, hoping to preserve them for future generations.

Without it, we would not have 18 of Shakespeare's plays, including 'Macbeth,” 'Julius Caesar,” 'Twelfth Night,” 'The Tempest,” 'Antony and Cleopatra,” 'The Comedy of Errors” and 'As You Like It.” All 18 appear for the first time in print in the First Folio.

'We are incredibly excited to have the opportunity to showcase one of the most important books ever printed,” says university librarian John Culshaw. 'How appropriate that the First Folio visit the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, the only UNESCO City of Literature in the United States. As the only stop on the tour in the state of Iowa, we welcome all Iowans to visit the libraries and experience this unique piece of history.”

When the First Folio arrives in Iowa City, its pages will be opened to the most quoted line from Shakespeare and one of the most quoted lines in the world, 'to be or not to be” from Hamlet. Accompanying the book will be a multi-panel exhibition exploring the significance of Shakespeare, then and now, with additional digital content and interactive activities.

'In addition to showcasing the First Folio, the Libraries will be highlighting other examples of English early printed materials in an expansive exhibition,” says Greg Prickman, head of special collections.

The Shakespeare First Folio is one of the most valuable printed books in the world; a First Folio sold for $6.2 million in 2001 at Christie's and another one for $5.2 million in 2006 in London. It originally sold for one British pound (20 shillings) - about $200 today.

'The First Folio is the book that gave us Shakespeare. Between its covers we discover his most famous characters,” says Michael Witmore, director of the Folger Shakespeare Library, which organized the tour in partnership with Cincinnati Museum Center and the American Library Association.

The Folger Shakespeare Library holds 82 copies of the First Folio, the largest collection in the world and more than a third of the 233 known copies. It is believed that 750 copies were originally printed.