The Collation
“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: March 2018
This month’s Crocodile mystery is about an engraving. What do you think are the wavy lines on this print?
“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: February 2018
This month’s crocodile mystery is an example of one of our favorite things: Shakespeare portraits! What kind of item is this portrait of Shakespeare from, and what is significant about the item?
"What manner o'thing is your crocodile?": January 2018
Happy Boxing Day! We’ve brought you another crocodile mystery to open with your holiday goodies. This month’s mystery comes in two forms and appears in two places. Tell us, if you would, what these mysterious numbers suggest to you? …
“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: December 2017
For December’s Crocodile Mystery, tell us, if you will, what’s happening in the images below. Leave your guess in the comments and we’ll be back next week with the answer!
“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: November 2017
For November’s Crocodile Mystery, tell us, if you will, what’s going on in the image below. Leave your guess in the comments and we’ll be back next week with the answer!
“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: October 2017
This month’s Crocodile Mystery is a caption contest: Option A: Provide a factually accurate title for this portrait. Option B: Provide an amusingly inaccurate title for this portrait. Option C: Provide both A and B.
In memoriam: Betsy Walsh
Elizabeth “Betsy” Walsh (1953-2017) We are devastated to announce that Betsy Walsh, our beloved head of reader services here at the Folger, passed away on Friday, September 22, 2017. Betsy was an inseparable part of the Folger—indeed, for many of…
“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: September 2017
For this month’s Crocodile Mystery, tell us, if you will, what the image below depicts. Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and we’ll be back next week with the answer!
“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: August 2017
We’re in the heat of summer (at least here in Washington D.C.) as we approach the end of July. So to help everyone cool off (or at least provide a distraction), we’ve pulled another Crocodile Mystery from our vaults. Tell…
“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: July 2017
For the July 2017 Crocodile Mystery, have a look at this detail from a printed play. What’s up with the strangely uneven tone of the page? Check back next week to learn more….
"What manner o’thing is your crocodile?": June 2017
Welcome to the end of another month and another Crocodile Mystery. This month’s Crocodile is brought to you by Folger manuscripts! Here’s a detail from a bifolium that is part of a collection of papers described at the item-level in…
"What manner o'thing is your crocodile?": May 2017
For the Crocodile Mystery this month, peer into the handwriting of this manuscript and let us know what word or words you see and/or what they mean. Leave your thoughts and guesses as a reply in the Comments section. Check…