Exeter Deconstructed: the Shakespeare folios

With nearly 400,000 books in its collection, the Class of 1945 Library boasts a trove of literary treasures. But some books stand out.

The library is the grateful steward of two folios of William Shakespeare’s printed works: the second, which dates to 1632, and the fourth, which was published in 1685.

“The story of Shakespeare’s remarkable rise to global prominence begins with his promotion in the 17th century in a series of large, handsome folio volumes,” writes Lara Bovilsky, associate professor of English at the University of Oregon. “‘Folio’ was the name of the largest books in this period.  Due to their size, cost and careful printing, folios were the 17th century’s most prestigious format. They marked their author and contents as important.”

The second folio was printed 16 years after Shakespeare’s death. Of the roughly 1,000 copies of the second folio printed, about 200 are still known to exist. Exeter’s edition was a gift of the Rev. Rip Noble ’58, who told The Exeter Bulletin in 2008 that he was inspired to make his generous donation in gratitude to his Academy English teachers “who taught me to love and respect the English language.”

The folio had belonged to Noble’s grandmother. “My grandmother let me pick a book from her collection for every birthday and graduation,” Noble explained. Following Exeter, he went on to Princeton and to Union Theological Seminary. “I picked it when I graduated from seminary. I was thinking of Exeter and those teachers when I selected it.”

Editor's note: This article was originally published in the Summer 2024 issue of The Exeter Bulletin.