A remarkable collection

8th October 2004, 1:00am
Shakespeare fans can now view some of the earliest copies of his plays free on the British Library’s website. Ninety-three copies of the 21 plays Shakespeare printed in quarto before 1642 are featured. Each can be viewed in the form of a high-resolution jpg. Drop-down menus allow you to select the play, quarto and copy you would like to look at. You can even view two versions at the same time to compare them. On another page, a table shows all the entries and you can rearrange them to view by title, quarto date, provenance or shelfmark. This is a fantastic way to access an extraordinary collection. www.bl.uktreasuresshakespearehomepage.html