Video: Much ado about a Bard book in Stratford on Craven

But from next spring, visitors to the Craven Museum in Skipton will be able to see an original copy of Shakespeare's First Folio which was published by his friends just seven years after his death.

The museum and gallery, which traditionally houses artefacts of local history, will now be home to the only display copy of the book in the region and one of fewer than 50 anywhere in the country.

The printed text, which dates back to 1623, has been in the museum's possession for decades but its importance was only realised when a Shakespeare expert confirmed they had an original First Folio, one of just 230 remaining copies across the world. The book is the first complete collection of Shakespeare's plays to be published.

The museum's acting curator Amy Ball said: "At some point I think people have assumed it was a Second Folio of Shakespeare's work which is much less rare but when Anthony West, who is the world's leading expert on Shakespeare, came he confirmed it was a first edition of all Shakespeare's plays together.

"Staff here are very excited. There is a copy in Durham and at Leeds University but they are not on display as ours will be.

"It is fantastic for us because you would expect a book like this to be on display at places like the British Library but we will have it here for people to see in Skipton."

The book, which is now almost 400 years old, was left to the museum in the 1930s by the daughter of 19th century industrialist John Wilkinson, who established Primrose Mill in Embsay, near Skipton, and is thought to have bought the First Folio as a collector.

Museum archives show it was initially recorded as a First Folio but over the years staff had decided that it was not as copies of the book, regarded as the most important in the English language, are so rare.

A pristine copy of the First Folio is expected to raise more than 1m in a sale at Sotheby's later this year. However, the copy at Craven Museum is not in the same condition and is missing all of Shakespeare's comedies.

Although staff have declined to put a valuation on it, the work will still be the most valuable asset the museum has held and will require new security measures before it can be put on display in March next year.

Funding from Renaissance Yorkshire, which provides state money for museum projects, and a donation bequeathed from a private citizen, is allowing the museum to develop a new room with low lighting which will house the book and include audio visual displays for visitors to learn more about it.

The museum is also considering working with local schools to use the text as part of their English literature lessons.

Mrs Ball said: "It is not being kept at the museum now but when it does it will be incredibly secure. We will begin to display it in March and we have plans to regularly turn a page – perhaps once a month – which will be good for the folio's preservation and will also mean visitors have a reason to keep coming back to see it. We hope it will mean more visitors will come to our museum.

"The First Folio is a compilation of his 36 plays. They were printed seven years after Shakespeare's death and it took two years for them to print 750 copies."

Craven Council's lead member for culture Coun Ken Hart said: "It's wonderful that we are going to be able to display this national treasure to the public again thanks to Yorkshire Renaissance funding. You'd have to travel hundreds of miles to see it's like elsewhere in the UK, and here it is on our doorstep."

Friends' tribute to shakespeare

The book Mr William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories & Tragedies has become known as the First Folio.

It was prepared by his colleagues John Heminges and Henry Condell and published in 1623, seven years after the Bard's death.

Both men had been members of the King's Men acting company for which Shakespeare wrote.

The collection included many plays which were being published for the first time.

The copy which is set to go on display in Skipton is one of just 750 printed over a two-year period.