The Folger’s collection is vast and varied, including printed books; manuscripts; prints, drawings, photographs, paintings, and other works of art; and a wealth of performance history, from playbills to films, recordings, and stage costumes.
In addition to the rare material collection, the Folger holds a collection of over 100,000 monographs, periodicals, and electronic resources published between the 1830s and the present, related to the understanding and interpretation of Shakespeare, his works and impact, and to the early modern world.
Printed Books
Manuscripts
Works of Art
Performance History
History of the collection
Henry Clay Folger and his wife, Emily Jordan Folger, began amassing the collection of rare books that would become the Folger Shakespeare Library in 1889. They spent decades gathering the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, as well as associated works from Shakespeare’s time. The Library itself opened in 1932, and continues to expand its holdings today.
Caring for our collections
Related blog posts
Explore some of the scholarly work being done with, in, and around our collections.
Buds, Bugs, and Birds in the Manuscripts of Esther Inglis
Flowers, bugs, birds, frogs—all and more are found in the manuscripts of Esther Inglis (1570?–1624) now on display in Little Books, Big Gifts, a special Folger exhibition highlighting her artistry with pen and brush.
Even them?! Loving the neighbour in Shakespeare and early modern England
Fellow Roberta Kwan discusses Shakespeare and loving thy neighbor
Anthony Trollope reads Christopher Marlowe
Explore the (often biting) commentary that Victorian novelist Antony Trollope left in a copy of Marlowe’s plays.
Convivial Cleopatra
An examination of Cleopatra’s racialized and sexualized queenship through the twinned theoretical frameworks of indigenous and queer conviviality
Covering Esther, or What Happens When Renaissance Woman Esther Inglis Exchanges Her Brush and Pen for a Needle: Examining Embroidery Through Reproduction
A behind the scenes look at the creation of a reproduction of one of the embroidered bindings on display in Little Books, Big Gifts: The Artistry of Esther Inglis.