One of the most sought-after books in the world is going on display in the library of Trinity College Dublin.
Ireland's only copy of the first edition of Shakespeare's collected plays - known as the First Folio - is the centrepiece of a new exhibition, entitled 'Shakespeare the Irishman'.
It is part of a series of global celebrations marking 400 years since the Bard’s complete works were first published.
Andy Murphy, Professor of English and curator of the exhibition, said: "Shakespeare died in 1616. And at the point when he died, only about half of his plays had been brought to print. So the other half would have been lost, had it not been for the fact that the First Folio appeared in 1623."
About 750 copies of the First Folio were printed. 235 copies are known to have survived, with 50 copies in the UK, 149 in the US and 36 in other corners of the world. A copy of the First Folio was sold in New York for $2.4m last year.
Trinity's copy was acquired at the auction of the library of the late academic Arthur Browne after his death in 1805.
"While in good condition, it's clear that it was a much beloved and read volume," Professor Murphy explained.
"From my point of view as a scholar, the great thing about the Trinity copy of the First Folio is that it has lived a life.
"Evidence of burn marks, drink stains and paw prints tell us that this is a book that has been used and abused, but always cherished. It's like travelling back in time, you are seeing the ghosts of the people who used the book."
The most intriguing aspect of Trinity's copy is a set of inscriptions on one of its blank pages.
"We don't really know what these are. At one point we thought they might be Persian, because Arthur Browne knew Persian. But we checked that out and discovered it's definitely not Persian.
"Our theory at the moment is that it might be shorthand, and maybe it's the system that was used by people like Samuel Pepys, the famous diarist. But we haven't yet deciphered them.
"So, we're very keen that perhaps someone who knows shorthand might come along and take a look at these marks and tell us what they might mean."
The new exhibition, which also explores how Shakespeare's plays were adopted and adapted in Ireland, comes at a pivotal moment for the Old Library.
A total of 700,000 books and manuscripts are being moved to special storage as part of a landmark conservation and redevelopment project.
"As librarians, we are also custodians," said Head of Research Collections, Laura Shanahan.
"We are here to care for the collections and look after them. But ultimately we want them to be accessible and available.
"So, through this exhibition we are creating a physical display, but we are also creating an online equivalent where anyone in the world can see the First Folio that belongs to Trinity. We have digitised it in full, to share it globally."
The exhibition, which is being launched this evening in the Old Library by author Anne Enright, runs until June.
