There are subtle clues such as the eight examples where it is claimed he practised the letters W and S. There isn't one smoking gun, rather their case rests on the sheer accumulation of examples that Shakespeare could only have found in Baret.

This can be found in the dictionary under Stare: His haire Stareth or standeth on end.

From the beginning, they reached out to scholars. Wechsler explains: "They were extremely helpful giving advice, but it was also clear that they weren't about to jeopardise their reputations with such a claim."

Shakespeare biographer and scholar Stephen Greenblatt is enthusiastic about the dictionary as an unheralded Shakespeare source book. "It would reinforce, in a fascinating way, Shakespeare's passion for language. We know that Shakespeare had an eye out for unusual words – but we have only limited knowledge of where he went to find them," he said. However, he'd "not had time to weigh the evidence" of it being Shakespeare's copy.

Wechsler is prepared for the fact that no matter how strong the evidence, some people simply won't believe them. As such, they've just published Shakespeare's Beehive, a 300-page book outlining their case, which proves, at least, that the Alvearie was vital to the composition of many of Shakespeare's plays and poems. And at most, it shows that this is one of the most significant finds in the history of literature.

He feels that by opening up the dictionary to scholars, it will only reveal further evidence. "If George and I can see this, what will they find?"

Dan DeSimone at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC, said they would release an official statement on Monday.