Shakespeare on loan

Amongst the Leeper Library's fine treasures lies a rare Second Folio of Shakespeare's collated works. The Folio was gifted to the College back in 1882 by George W Rusden – an educationalist, member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, and one of the College's early supporters.

Copies of the Second Folio are incredibly rare amongst Australian collections. Trinity's copy is something of an unknown rarity in Australian bibliographic circles.

This year, the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Arts is hosting 'Ten Great Books' as part of its Melbourne Masterclass. To a sold-out audience this month, Dr David McInnis – Gerry Higgins Lecturer in Shakespeare Studies in the English and Theatre Studies program – presented a talk on Shakespeare's King Lear.

To be presented in a display cabinet for the talk, Trinity loaned the Second Folio – forming a centrepiece of the masterclass.

For more information on the remaining talks of the Ten Great Books Masterclass series, click here.

For more information on the Leeper Library’s Special Collections, click here.