This exhibition is now closed, Cosin's Library will reopen to the public in due course.

Please click on this link Shakespeare Recovered for a gallery of images of the exhibition.

Cosin's Library - Shakespeare Recovered

This year, our iconic book takes centre stage at Palace Green Library.

In December 1998, the Durham First Folio, a copy of William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies, was stolen along with six other items while on display in Cosin’s Library. For a decade, there was no news of the missing books and Durham University had to accept that the First Folio was lost. But the story didn’t end there…

In 2008, a badly damaged book was brought to the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. The book was presented to experts as a newly discovered copy of the First Folio that needed authentication for sale. Staff at the Folger quickly recognised the possibility that this book was in fact Durham’s missing copy and after verification it was returned to its rightful home on Palace Green.

This exhibition tells the story of what happened next, exploring the work of our conservation team to make the First Folio accessible again.