Today I visited the Singapore National Library and was able to see a Shakespeare First Folio.

The bound folio is on loan from the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford and was at one time owned by Edmond Malone.

When I entered the lobby of the library I saw information that the folio was on display, so made my way to the 1oth floor where it was located.

It was very interesting to see this book as it is a very important in the history of English literature.

You can see here the engraving by Droeshout which was made for the First Folio.

There were also some nice displays about the life of Shakespeare.

I really like this picture. You can see that the book was used quite a bit by the well worn pages. Malone used this folio in his studies of Shakespeare. He published several books about the works of Shakespeare in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The Singapore National Library Building is an impressive building. I took quite a few pictures of the building and will share some of them in a future post.

Have you seen a copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio?

Steven