Watch | A look at early modern "selfies" by calligrapher, artist, and writer Esther Inglis

In November 2016, our blog published Studying early modern women—in Shakespeare’s plays and in his time, an excerpt from an intriguing interview with Georgianna Ziegler, Louis B. Thalheimer Associate Librarian and Head of Reference Emerita. In a wide-ranging discussion about early modern women, both fictional (in Shakespeare’s works) and nonfictional, Ziegler highlighted some special items at the Folger: miniature books by calligrapher, artist, and writer Esther Inglis (1570?—1624) that she said are among “my favorite things in the collection.”

Marking the 400th anniversary of Inglis’s death, the special exhibition Little Books, Big Gifts: The Artistry of Esther Inglis brings together 12 of Inglis’s books from the Folger collection and Harvard University’s Houghton Library—two libraries that, together, hold the largest selection of Inglis’s works in the United States. Curated by Ziegler, Curator of Manuscripts Heather Wolfe, and Ashley Buchanan, Associate Director of Fellowships for the Folger Institute, the exhibition not only displays the glories of Inglis’s works but brings a fresh perspective to her achievements.

That includes some parallels to modern-day life, including Inglis’s use of self-portraits—the “selfies” of her day—at the start of many of her books, making her the first British woman to include self-portraits as a preface to her work. Watch the video below, created for the exhibition by Studio A in Alexandria, Virginia, to see how the self-portraits trace the history of how she presented herself, from changing fashions to her growing professional role.

Join us at the Folger Shakespeare Library to explore the world of Esther Inglis, as well as all of our exhibitions, gardens, events, and public programs. Also on view in the Research case in the Out of the Vault gallery are two embroidered books by Folger Institute Artist Fellow Suzanne Coley: Born of Love, inspired by Shakespeare’s Sonnet 151 and Gracious Light, inspired by Shakespeare’s Sonnet 7, along with a linocut used to produce Gracious Light.