Original specimen stolen and recovered from a work by Shakespeare is the subject of a sample in the United Kingdom
London. The history of the theft and recovery of a copy of the first collection of works by William Shakespeare, of 1623, is the object of an exhibition at the University of Durham (England), where the book was stolen in 1998.
The specimen of First Folioof the famous British playwright, is one of the 235 existing of this work in the world, of the approximately 800 that were printed seven years after the death of the writer, which occurred in 1616.
The book, stolen 27 years ago from the Library of the University of the City of Northern England, which is valued at approximately 1.3 million dollars, includes, among others, works such as Macbeth y Kings night.
In 2008, 10 years after its subtraction, this work, considered one of the most important of English literature, reappeared in another library, Folger Shakespeare Library, in Washington, United States, when a man went there with the copy to authenticate it.
Fidel has the fault
Despite the absence of the roof and several missing pages, the experts identified the volume as the stolen in Durham and alerted the authorities, which arrested man, Raymond Scott, originally from Washington, a small English town near Durham.
During his trial in 2010 in the United Kingdom, Scott, who made an appearance in the court dressed as Fidel Castro, said he found the book while on vacation in Cuba, but was sentenced to eight years in prison for having stolen assets.
Raymond Scott committed suicide in prison in 2012 without ever admitting theft.
The public can now see the famous copy of First Foliowhich returned in 2010 to the Library of the University of Durham.
The exhibition Shakespeare Recovered (Shakespeare recovered), will last until November 2, review, among other things, the important work done by experts to restore the work.
“Having been the object of a robbery and an international operation to recover it, this First Folio It is really exceptional, ”said Stuart Hunt, a librarian at the University of Durham.