Welcome to the Folger
Enjoy great stories | Explore what makes you curious | Share the best in art, history, and literature with friends and family at the world’s largest Shakespeare collection.
Opening June 21: New exhibition galleries, café, and shop
What’s on
Join us for in-person and virtual events: theater, poetry, music, and more.
Early Music Seminar: Music of Medieval Spain
Engaging All Students Across the Humanities
Eudora Welty Lecture: Natasha Trethewey
Music of Medieval Spain
Folger Book Club: Immortal Longings
Early Music Seminar: Ovid's Metamorphoses
Ovid's Metamorphoses
About us
How did the world’s largest Shakespeare collection end up one block from the US Capitol? Explore the Folger’s origin story.
The latest from our blogs and podcast
Writing Native Stories in DC
A virtual conversation around writing Native stories in DC, featuring Suzan Shown Harjo and Dr. Elizabeth Rule in conversation with Mary Phillips.
What's onstage at Shakespeare theaters in March
Find out what’s happening at Shakespeare theaters across the US this month, including Caesar, Merchant, Macbeth, and more.
Charles T. Grilley and the Garrick letter
How Henry Folger acquired a David Garrick letter in our collection
Michelle Ephraim on Discovering Shakespeare and Reevaluating The Merchant of Venice
Michelle Ephraim’s memoir Green World refracts The Merchant of Venice through the changing dynamics of her own family, as her Holocaust-survivor parents age and she becomes a mother herself.
Interview and excerpt: Jessica Goethals, Margherita Costa, Diva of the Baroque Court
An interview with Dr. Jessica Goethals and an excerpt from her 2023 book Margherita Costa, Diva of the Baroque Court.
'Daughters of the Deer' Resource Guide
Resources related to Daughters of the Deer by Danielle Daniel.
About the Folger's Search for a New Director
The Folger is seeking a seasoned and strategic director with energy and vision to lead the organization into its second century. Learn more about the search process.
Our collection
The First Folio
The Folger has the world’s largest collection of First Folios. Learn more about the book that gave us Shakespeare.
A majestic portrait
The Folger collection includes about 200 paintings. This portrait of Queen Elizabeth I by George Gower is dated 1579 making it the oldest painting in our collection. Two years after he completed this portrait, Gower became Serjeant Painter to the Queen, making him the most important artist in England.
Our other Elizabeth I holdings include hand-signed letters, books, and even New Year’s gift rolls detailing her holiday gifts. It is the largest collection of Elizabeth I materials in North America.
Shakespeare’s works
View the full list of plays and poems to read, search, and download our bestselling editions of Shakespeare’s works.
Shakespeare’s most popular plays
Explore
What was Shakespeare's theater like?
Learn about the Globe and other London playhouses where Shakespeare’s company performed. What was it like to be an actor there, or an audience member?
Teach
How can Shakespeare help 21st-century students be stronger readers?
Our Folger Method is revolutionizing how not just Shakespeare but all literature is taught using strategies that allow all students to own – and enjoy – complex texts.
Research
If we are what we eat, what can recipes from the past tell us?
Projects like Before ‘Farm to Table’ unite scholars and practitioners in investigations into the past to shed light on what matters to us today.
Support the things you love
Your gifts make access to our collection, learning opportunities, and exciting experiences happen.