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The Collation

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

The Production of Whiteness in the Anglo-French Match (1625)
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The Production of Whiteness in the Anglo-French Match (1625)

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Mira 'Assaf

A guest post by Mira Assaf Kafantaris Meghan Markle’s incorporation into the British monarchy, and her subsequent departure from it, has thrown into high relief the ideologies of whiteness at the heart of royal European traditions. Even though the symbolism…

When Blog History Meets Book History
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When Blog History Meets Book History

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Sarah Werner

When I was starting my transformation from a theater scholar to a book historian around 2006, the world of social media, as we now call it, was not only a source of community and information about the field, but a…

Book History, Manuscript Studies, and Navigating Special Collections During COVID-19
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Book History, Manuscript Studies, and Navigating Special Collections During COVID-19

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Breanne Weber Tamara Mahadin

A guest post by Breanne Weber and Tamara Mahadin In the midst of a pandemic, participants of the Folger Institute’s “Orientation to Research Methods and Agendas” gathered in a virtual seminar space this summer. The co-directors and some of the…

The Collation by the numbers
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The Collation by the numbers

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The Collation

Happy Anniversary to us! This blog was started on August 18, 2011, making it ten years old. That’s pretty old in dog years and absolutely ancient in internet years. For this, our 661st post, we would like to take you…

An Experiment in Following a Worm Through a Folded Letter
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An Experiment in Following a Worm Through a Folded Letter

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William Davis

A guest post by William Davis Folger staff have long been interested in folding early modern letters for mailing. It comes up periodically when someone finds a letter with unusual folds. Both Heather Wolfe and Erin Blake have written Collation…

The Pirates of H.M.S. Pinafore
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The Pirates of H.M.S. Pinafore

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Rachel B. Dankert

The mystery man in the Crocodile Mystery image is the Englishman W.S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert, the librettist and playwright, in costume as King Claudius. Gilbert, along with composer Arthur Seymour Sullivan, created during the 19th century some of the most…

“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: August 2021
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“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: August 2021

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The Collation

This month’s Crocodile post brings to mind the classic board game Guess Who? (19th century edition!). Does your person have a giant mustache? Yes. Are they wearing a crown? Yes… Do they look annoyed? YES! For those of who you might struggle with this one, here’s a clue:…

Postcards in the (home) archive: Folger postcards, 1936
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Postcards in the (home) archive: Folger postcards, 1936

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Stephen H. Grant

A guest post by Stephen Grant Figure 1. Left: Folger Shakespeare Library from northwest 1936. Right: Address side of same card. Author’s collection, photos by Stephen Grant Printed on picture side: FOLGER SHAKESPERIAN LIBRARY, WASHINGTON, D. C. 4A-H1791  Printed on…

2021-2022 Folger Research Fellows
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2021-2022 Folger Research Fellows

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Leah Thomas

The Folger Institute is pleased to announce the 2021-2022 cohort of Folger Institute Research Fellows! With the Folger Shakespeare Library building renovation project well and truly underway, the Folger collections remain unavailable for in-person consultation. However, the Folger Institute is…

A Conservation Intern’s Observations on STC 2608
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A Conservation Intern’s Observations on STC 2608

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Kevin Cilurzo

A guest post by Kevin Cilurzo (with particular thanks to Adrienne Bell) For a conservator, to disbind and rebind a book is a rare chance to study and understand its binding structure. With broken sewing and loose detached leaves, Folger…

Reading Anatomy Texts Like Poetry (and why we should do it more often)
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Reading Anatomy Texts Like Poetry (and why we should do it more often)

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Whitney Sperrazza

A guest post by Whitney Sperrazza Thomas Bartholin, Bartholinus anatomy (London, 1668), page 76. Folger B977, image from Luna. When we look at this page from Thomas Bartholin’s 1668 anatomy text (Folger B977), it’s easy to think of it as…

Decoding Early Modern Gossip
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Decoding Early Modern Gossip

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Alicia Petersen

A guest post by Alicia Petersen What comes to mind when you think of a coded letter? Political intrigue? Espionage? As the Folger Shakespeare Library’s 2014-5 exhibition Decoding the Renaissance: 500 Years of Codes and Ciphers highlighted, these guesses are…

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