Published in 1632, the Second Folio is the second edition of William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. An important artifact for both scholars and enthusiasts alike, this copy was previously owned by John Burns, P.C., M.P., a noted book collector and politician. After Burns’ death, his copy of the Second Folio was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 1944, then eventually made its way to UBC Library in 1960, when it was donated by Walter C. Koerner, a great supporter of the both UBC and the library.

Following significant conservation work by the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) to rebind the book, reattaching the back cover and otherwise stabilize the binding, the Second Folio was digitized to join UBC Library's First Folio on Open Collections.

Further information
You can read more about this collection on our Digitizer's Blog:

A Closer Look at the Conservation and Digitization of Shakespeare’s Second Folio