The Collation
Research and Exploration at the Folger
The Collation is a gathering of useful information and observations from Folger staff and researchers. Read more about this blog
Visualizing Shakespeare’s Birds
a guest post by Missy Dunaway Greetings! I was the Folger Shakespeare Library’s artist-in-residence in November of 2021. I dedicated my Folger Institute Fellowship to a painting project entitled Birds of the Bard. This growing collection of paintings will catalog…
18th-century watchpapers
Thanks for the great guesses about the March 2022 Crocodile Mystery! All were different, all were plausible, and all were incorrect. It would have been easier if I’d included other examples of the same type of print, because they’re always…
“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: March 2022
As you’re waiting for the interminable month of February to finally expire, distract yourself with the following thought: Prints like this one were useful as well as decorative. What use did they serve? Leave your thoughts and guesses in the…
A Folger Original: Edwin Eliott Willoughby
a guest post by Stephen Grant “Until he finally reached retirement age, Willoughby was a problem,” penned Louis B. Wright in Of Books and Men (University of South Carolina Press, 1976, p.135), looking back on two decades as Folger Director,…
Interview and excerpt: Paul Dover, The Information Revolution in Early Modern Europe
At the Folger, we are proud to sponsor research inquiry within a vibrant and intellectually generous community. Periodically, as that research is published, we circle back to talk with recent authors to showcase the role of collections-based inquiry on their…
Alcohol, Armies, and Contested Sovereignty in Early Modern Ireland
a guest post by Lila Chambers The association between Ireland and excessive drinking is a pervasive one, from fifteenth century texts detailing treacherous feasts held by Irish opponents to Henry II, to Edmund Spender’s A View of the Present State…
Slurrop! An ode to soup
In 1595, English writer William Fiston (or Phiston) produced a translation of a French book of manners for children. Topics included proper behavior that was important for Church and school, but also a section on table manners. Here, Fiston admonishes…
“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: February 2022
For this month’s crocodile mystery, please examine these words from different manuscript recipe books from our collections, and tell us what they have in common. We’ll be back next week with the answer.
Q & A: Ashley Buchanan, Associate Director for Fellowships, Folger Institute
The Folger Institute is pleased to introduce Dr. Ashley Buchanan, our new Associate Director for Fellowships. Dr. Buchanan received her Ph.D. in early modern history in 2018 from the University of South Florida and comes to the Folger with experience…
George Goodwin, neo-Latin poet, identified as George Goodwin, rector of Moreton, Essex
Today’s Collation post is short and sweet, and courtesy of Heather Wolfe, the Folger’s Curator of Manuscripts. Heather is currently on sabbatical in the UK, having been awarded the 2021–22 Munby Fellowship at Cambridge University Library, but she still occasionally…
Trappings of the stage
Thanks to those who registered your guesses on our most recent Crocodile Mystery. All of the guesses gazed upward, when the answer actually lay underfoot. While these strange designs resemble theatrical lighting effects, they are, in fact, designs for stage…
"What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: January 2022
This image sets the stage for this month’s theatrical Crocodile Mystery. What type of stage mechanics is represented in these designs? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and come back next year for the big reveal!