• Home
  • Search
  • Browse Collections
  • My Account
  • About
  • DC Network Digital Commons Network™
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • FAQ
  • My Account
Digital Commons at Buffalo State State University of New York College at Buffalo - Buffalo State College

Home > SAS > English > English Special Projects > Marginalia

Something Surely Hidden: Conspiracies and Codes in the Margins of a First Folio Facsimile
William Shakespeare, First Folio, marginalia, book history, Francis Bacon, cryptography, Baconian theory of Shakespeare authorship

SUNY Buffalo State Special Collections is home to a nineteenth-century reproduction of the First Folio, one released to celebrate the three hundredth anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth in 1864. Many identical facsimiles were published in the 1860s, but SUNY Buffalo State’s copy is unique. Why? Because it contains extensive, handwritten notes in the margins (called “marginalia”) that do not appear in any other copy.

Using secret codes, mathematics, and close readings of the plays’ text, an unknown scribbler believed there was “something surely hidden” within the First Folio: that it could be used to prove Francis Bacon was the true author of the plays, and not William Shakespeare.

But who was this mysterious marginaliast? When did s/he write? And is it possible Francis Bacon was the true author of Shakespeare’s famous plays?

By studying the notes and theories left behind by the marginaliast, we can try and solve these historical mysteries. Click on the images of below to explore SUNY Buffalo State’s unique First Folio facsimile and help solve the mystery of the marginaliast.

Exhibit Credits
This exhibit was researched and curated by Corey Fabian Borenstein under the supervision of Daniel DiLandro (College Archivist) and with technical assistance from Joshua Rakower (Information Commons Librarian).

Printing is not supported at the primary Gallery Thumbnail page. Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing.

Follow

Switch View to List View Slideshow
 
  • Introduction

    Introduction

  • Day & Son's First Folio Facsimile

    Day & Son's First Folio Facsimile

  • Marginalia and Baconian Theories

    Marginalia and Baconian Theories

  • Lingua Franca

    Lingua Franca

  • Typos

    Typos

  • Baconian Acrostics

    Baconian Acrostics

  • Print, Not Cursive

    Print, Not Cursive

  • The Marginaliast's Colored Pencils

    The Marginaliast's Colored Pencils

  • Hidden Letters

    Hidden Letters

  • "Look in dictionary"

    "Look in dictionary"

  • When 67+33 = Francis Bacon

    When 67+33 = Francis Bacon

  • Cribbing Conspiracy Theories

    Cribbing Conspiracy Theories

  • An Inserted Clue

    An Inserted Clue

  • Who are you?

    Who are you?

  • Conclusions

    Conclusions

 
 
 

Browse

  • Collections
  • Disciplines
  • Authors

Links

  • Buffalo State
  • E. H. Butler Library
  • Buffalo State Archives

Search

Advanced Search

  • Notify me via email or RSS

Author Corner

  • Author FAQ

Gallery Locations

  • View gallery on map
  • View gallery in Google Earth
Butler Library Buffalo State College
 
Elsevier - Digital Commons

Home | About | FAQ | My Account | Accessibility Statement

Privacy Copyright