The Rare Book Department has some true treasures within its collections, but perhaps one of its most special collections is the First Folio of William Shakespeare.
What is the “First Folio”? It contains the collected works of Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies, printed on larger-than-normal size paper for the time, which was a process usually only used for documents containing theology, history, and royal proclamations. Of the 750 First Folios that were originally printed in 1623, only 235 remain, and the Free Library’s is one of about 40 complete copies in the world!
Making it even rarer is that this treasured tome originally belonged to John Milton and contains notes in the margins from the poet himself!
And in a proof-positive anecdote that everything and everyone in the universe is somehow connected, the Philadelphia 76ers have a Point Guard named… Shake Milton!
This, of course, got your humble blog author thinking about a fun trivia game we could play...
Post your guesses and answers in the comments! Highlight the area below each question to reveal the answer : )
- "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind."
Shakespeare - "Lace 'em up, it's gonna be a long night."
Shake Milton - "Thou canst not touch the freedom of my mind."
Milton - "Better to reign in Hell, than to serve in Heaven."
Milton - "Everybody wants to play, everybody wants to be in the rotation at all times."
Shake Milton - "If music be the food of love, play on."
Shakespeare - "Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties."
Milton - "Brevity is the soul of wit."
Shakespeare - "He who destroys a good book kills reason itself."
Milton - "It’s a lot of fun when you are out there hooping!"
Shake Milton
Want to learn more about William Shakespeare, John Milton, or even about basketball? Browse our catalog for many more great books, ebooks, audiobooks, movies, music, and even podcasts about all of these topics!
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