The Shakespeare First Folio Returns to Durham

I spent too much time trying to re-tell the story, so here it is from Wikipedia.

On 11 July 2008 it was reported that a copy stolen from Durham University, England in 1998 had been recovered after being submitted for valuation at Folger Shakespeare Library inWashington, D.C., in the United States. The folio's value was estimated at up to £15 million.^[14] Although the book, once the property of John Cosins the Bishop of Durham, was returned to the library it has been mutilated and is missing its cover and title page.^[15] The folio was returned to public display on 19 June 2010 after its 12 year absence.^[16] Raymond Scott was jailed for eight years for handling stolen goods (he was acquitted of the theft of the copy).^[17] A July 2010 BBC programme about the affair, Stealing Shakespeare, portrayed Scott as a fantasist and petty thief.^[18]

Anyway, it's back, and I got to see it, among several other very old, old books. Bibliophiles, rejoice!

 Kipling on the left and an English hymnal on the right

Clockwise from top left... Oscar Wilde (Salome), Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice), Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist), Samuel Pepys (a personal diary) All are first editions.

Here's the first folio. The thieves ripped off the front cover and the binding to disguise its origins. Stupid!

You can click on this picture to make it bigger and read about how it was recovered. The deluded gentleman who tried to sell it is pictured on the top right, dressed with inspiration from Macbeth for his court date. A little kooky, if you ask me.