Secret Shakespeare library turns the page
The State Library of NSW has delighted booklovers and avid library-goers across Australia - and beyond - with a long-awaited announcement: their secret library celebrating the late playwright William Shakespeare is throwing its doors open again, and welcoming visitors.
The news comes ahead of Shakespeare’s birthday on World Book Day - April 23 - and promises seven days of fun each week, a move that serves as an historic first for the establishment.
As State Librarian John Vallance explained, “The Shakespeare Room is one of Sydney’s true hidden gems. After being closed for three years due to COVID, we are pleased to be able to again welcome Shakespeare fans and visitors alike to this unique slice of Tudor England.”
“Inside you’ll find hundreds of books by and about Shakespeare, as well as stained-glass windows that depict the seven ages of man from his play As You Like It. The intricate design of the plaster ceiling is modelled on Cardinal Wolsey’s closet at Hampton Court Palace.”
Once known as The Shakespeare Memorial Library, the room was built to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the renowned bard’s passing. To raise funds for the endeavour, the Shakespeare of NSW held a ball in 1916, with the intention of building the room on the State Library’s Mitchell wing’s ground floor. From there, the First World War saw work delayed, and it wasn’t until the 1940s that the project was brought to completion.
Now, the room boasts hundreds of books by - and about - Shakespeare, and stunning stained-glass windows depicting the seven ages of man from As You Like It. And for those who happen to look up, visitors have the honour of checking out the intricately designed plaster ceiling, one modelled on Cardinal Wolsey’s closet at Hampton Court Palace.”
“The Shakespeare Room, along with the Mitchell Reading Room of course, will no doubt become a popular attraction for ‘library tourists’ as we prepare for global celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio,” Vallance noted.
The library is in possession of the only known copy - in Australia - of the 1623 First Folio, otherwise known as Mr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories, & tragedies. It’s the book in which 18 of the bard’s original plays were first published, and will be part of the library’s For All Time: Shakespeare in Print exhibition alongside the Second, Third, and Fourth folios.
“There are no original manuscripts in the Bard’s hand,” the library’s rare book expert Maggie Patton explained, “so this volume [the First Folio] is the closest a reader can get to the original source of many of Shakespeare’s most loved plays.”
Thousands have had the opportunity to admire all that the room has had to offer over the years, from the general public to Shakespeare fanatics, and even some well-known faces - the likes of Nick Cave, Kasey Chambers, Thelma Scott, Paul Kelly, and Sir Laurence Olivier have all stopped by for a visit.
And thousands more are set to, with the Shakespeare Room opening on Monday 24 April 2023, inviting guests seven days a week to explore, to learn, and to reflect.
To find out more, and to check out the opening hours to plan your next visit, head on over to the State Library’s website: www.sl.nsw.gov.au
Images: State Library [supplied]