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All 69 posts by

Heather Wolfe

is Curator of Manuscripts at the Folger. She loves convincing people that they can read English secretary hand and sharing quirky and unexpected collection finds and stories.
Two versions of Thomas Cromwell's very urgent letter conveying Henry VIII's impatience over his impending marriage to Anne of Cleves
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Two versions of Thomas Cromwell's very urgent letter conveying Henry VIII's impatience over his impending marriage to Anne of Cleves

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Heather Wolfe

A suggested solution to May’s Folger Mystery about two almost identical letters regarding Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne of Cleves in the Folger’s Collection.

Marmalade boxes, Lenten fasts, and love
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Marmalade boxes, Lenten fasts, and love

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Heather Wolfe

Heather Wolfe discovers the true intentions behind Jane Skipwith’s marmalade box

Remembering Laetitia Yeandle, Curator of Manuscripts (1930-2024)
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Remembering Laetitia Yeandle, Curator of Manuscripts (1930-2024)

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Heather Wolfe

Heather Wolfe remembers Laetitia’s influence on scholars and staff, as a curator, paleographer, editor, and friend.

Venice paper, bacon, and quiet luxury
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Venice paper, bacon, and quiet luxury

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Heather Wolfe

Why is there a picture of cooking bacon on this blog? Read on to find out what Heather Wolfe learned about Venice paper, early modern experimentation, and bacon.

George Saunders in happier times
signature of George Saunders
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George Saunders in happier times

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Author
Heather Wolfe

The tale of George Saunders and his hopes for a wife.

FAST FACTS about our FAST ACCS (early modern manuscript edition)
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FAST FACTS about our FAST ACCS (early modern manuscript edition)

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Author
Heather Wolfe

Curator of Manuscript, Heather Wolfe, shows off some of the recent manuscript acquisitions.

The book thief
page of Elizabeth Parris's deposition
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The book thief

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Heather Wolfe

Response of James Tabor, public notary, July 10, 1604, in Henry Cotton vs. William Windle. Cambridge University Archives, Comm.Ct.II.11, fol. 57v. Today’s post is about a woman, Margaret Cotton, who allegedly stole a book in 1602. The book might have…

Malicious teaseling: or how a simple reference question got complicated
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Malicious teaseling: or how a simple reference question got complicated

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Author
Heather Wolfe

We had seven excellent answers to the Crocodile, which included an image titled “Malice,” but not the text below it. The general consensus was that the cowering man was winding thread or wool off of a drop spindle. One of…

Pre-pandemic phone photo fails
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Pre-pandemic phone photo fails

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Author
Heather Wolfe

As we hit the one year mark of special collections reading rooms closing around the world because of the pandemic, “primary source research” for many of us now consists of scrolling through our phones in search of photos of collection…

Pandemic Paleography
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Pandemic Paleography

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Heather Wolfe

“I may be losing what are left of my marbles, but in L.b.21 look at the middle wiggly bits of the brackets on the right hand side of 5r (second & third brackets), 5v (1st bracket) 6v (1st & 2nd…

A Wyncoll's Tale
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A Wyncoll's Tale

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Elizabeth DeBold Heather Wolfe

Let’s face it, every special collections library has at least a few mystery items in the vault that are quietly passed down over the decades from curator to curator (or cataloger to cataloger, or acquisitions librarian to acquisitions librarian). These…

Early modern straws; or, quills are not just for writing
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Early modern straws; or, quills are not just for writing

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Author
Heather Wolfe

This post is brought to you by John Ward, who observed in the 1660s that a good way to “avoid drinking too much Beer” is to “suck itt in with a quill.” John Ward’s sage advice, given him by Dr.…

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