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
About that frontispiece portrait of Hannah Woolley....
I was delighted by the range of responses we got for last week’s Crocodile post on the identity of the woman in the engraving: Catherine of Braganza, Cleopatra, Lady Frances Egerton, Elizabeth Nash nee Hall (Shakespeare’s grand-daughter), Hannah Woolley, and…
“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: September 2018
For this month’s mystery, we have a pretty straight-forward question: Who is this woman? Leave your guesses in the comments below, and we’ll be back next week with more information!
Early Modern Digital Texts: a link roundup
The early modern textual landscape is broad and varied online, from full-text collections focused on a single genre or area of research, to in-depth examinations of the history of a famous text. In this post, we’ll explore a few of…
A "lost" drawing by Ellen Terry
Is it possible to lose something you never had? The other day I managed to “lose” a 1905 sketch of a theater interior by actress Ellen Terry (1847-1928). I had caught a glimpse of it when sorting through a small…
The Drury Lane printshop
Jeffrey Meade’s guess is correct: this type inventory includes a great variety of large sized type. It belongs to a longer document made in June 1819 recording the furniture of the Theatre Royal at Drury Lane when the theater was…
“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: August 2018
This month’s Crocodile Mystery is about an inventory of typefaces found in a printshop. Can anyone guess in what type of printing business they would have been used? As always, leave your guesses and thoughts in the comments below, and…
Under Cover: Forged Bindings on Display at the Folger
Our latest exhibition, Form and Function: the Genius of the Book, provides visitors with a true visual feast. Offering a wide array of different types of bindings from the Folger collections, exhibition attendees will learn about the techniques and materials historically…
Announcing a New Fellowship for Before "Farm to Table": Early Modern Foodways and Cultures
The Folger Institute is excited to announce a fellowship as part of Before Farm to Table: Early Modern Foodways and Cultures, the inaugural project of the Folger Institute’s Mellon initiative in collaborative research. Each Before “Farm to Table” fellow will…
Dancing Skeletons and Human Hair: Remembrance, Memento Mori, and Material Culture
A guest post by Catherine Elliott Tisdale How do you remember loved ones who have passed away or family members who have scattered across the four winds? Today if we lose someone, we turn to photos, family films, emails, texts,…
What is Lost is Found Again: the Lost Plays Database
We had one answer right on the money for this July’s Crocodile Mystery—each of the images featured evidence of lost plays. The first image is a scrap from the Henslowe papers, recording a payment for John Day for the third…
"What manner o'thing is your crocodile?": July 2018
This month’s Crocodile Mystery is a group affair. Share your thoughts on what these items have in common in the comments section! (Answers of “on paper” or “beige,” although true, don’t count).
Written in the Margent: Frances Wolfreston Revealed
A guest post by Sarah Lindenbaum “And what obscured in this fair volume lies / Find written in the margent of his eyes” (Romeo and Juliet, 1.3.87–88) Recently, two Shakespeare quartos held by the Folger Shakespeare Library were determined to…