Love's Labour Sold
Oriel has sold the 1623 First Folio of Shakespeare's works for a purported £3.5 million. The landmark of English literature was sold to Sir Paul Getty, in a bid to raise money for building repairs and modern books.
The sale has led to concerns that Oxford's precarious financial position could lead to a drop in library and academic standards. One Oriel student, who did not wish to be named, said to The OxStu: "I understand why they needed to do this, but it still leaves a sour taste in the mouth."
Dr Alex Hardie, Oriel's bursar, maintained that "we have had to do what we can to raise money... to provide for students from the widest range of backgrounds... The sale of the First Folio will help us to do that."
The sale does highlight continuing financial hardship among the colleges. Exeter's development webpage, for example, complains that "without new sources of support to augment those we expect to retain we will be forced to compromise the central features for which Exeter College and Oxford University stand out".
There is some relief, however, that the Folio will not leave England, but will be kept in Getty's Oxfordshire estate. It is one of the 'crown jewels' of English literature, representing the first time all of Shakespeare's plays were collated into one text, and was donated to Oriel in 1786.
27th Feb 2003