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
A print pricked for transfer
So, what’s up with the crocodile mystery for March? As I said in the comments, Tom Reedy was verrrrry close with “It looks like some sort of device using punctures along a line to allow powder or ink to pass through…
“What manner o’ thing is your crocodile?”: March 2014
Another month, another Crocodile Mystery. What might this be? As always, please use the Comments section for wild guesses, brilliant insights, etc.
Acquiring and adopting books
Each year around this time, the Folger hosts Acquisitions Night benefiting the Library’s Acquisitions program. Showcasing some of the most interesting, beautiful, and rare items we’ve purchased for the collection in the past year, the event invites donors to “adopt” selected…
Where do family trees come from?
Why is a tree coming out of this dozing man’s belly, you may ask. When I began working on the Folger’s next exhibition, Symbols of honor: Family history and genealogy in Shakespeare’s England (July 1 to October 26, 2014), I wondered…
An Introduction to Web Archiving at the Folger
As a resident Digital Archivist at the Folger, I’ve been tasked with the management of Folger web archiving efforts. The Folger Shakespeare Library web collecting mission. Now, you might be asking: what is web archiving exactly? The International Internet Preservation…
u/v, i/j, and transcribing other early modern textual oddities
When you’re encountering early modern texts for the first time, you might be surprised not only that they use such variable spelling (heart? hart? harte?) but they seem to use the wrong letters in some places. And then there are…
V and U in 17th-century Flemish book titles
For many years bibliographers in Flanders have been speculating about the use of “V” in the place of “U” on title pages of early modern hand-press books. For the occasion of this blog post, I decided “TO TAKE VP THE GAVNTLET” in…
An example of early modern English writing paper
The crocodile posted on Friday was correctly identified by Philip Allfrey as a watermark of Queen Elizabeth’s arms encircled by the Garter. In his comments, Mr Allfrey provided a useful account of how he identified the watermark and the letter…
“What manner o’ thing is your crocodile?”: February 2014
Today’s crocodile mystery comes from the manuscript collection. What is it? What does it depict? Why might it be interesting or significant? Answers to any or all of these questions most welcome. What am I? Click to enlarge.
See the 1960s Royal Shakespeare Company, now at the Folger!
Want to see Patrick Stewart in his mid-20s? How about photos of set design models for Peter Hall’s 1959 Coriolanus, starring Laurence Olivier? Come see the Folger’s newly acquired Gordon Goode Collection of Royal Shakespeare Company photographs. Left: Ian Holm…
An evolution of cataloging at the Folger, from 1932 to today
Although the Folger Shakespeare Library officially opened on Shakespeare’s birthday in 1932 and readers began arriving at the Library in early 1933, it wasn’t until later that the idea of a proper card catalog for readers’ use was introduced. For…
The use of paragraph marks in early 16th-century Flemish editions
(UPDATE January 23: In editing this post, I inadvertently inserted an inaccurate use of “Dutch” as a modifier in the post title; I’ve now updated it to the correct “Flemish”. SW.) The Folger Shakespeare Library has very strong Continental holdings.…