Folger Finds
Collection Connections: 'A Bright Ray of Darkness'
Dr. Emma Poltrack shares the items she presented on April 1, 2021 as an introduction to ‘A Bright Ray of Darkness’ by Ethan Hawke.
Collection Connections: ‘Hag-Seed’
Dr. Emma Poltrack shares the Folger collection items she presented on March 4, 2021 as an introduction to ‘Hag-Seed’ by Margaret Atwood.
Up Close: The voodoo Macbeth that generated jobs for Black Americans during the Great Depression
A spectacular 1936 Federal Theatre Project production of “Macbeth” in New York City employed hundreds of black actors and theater technicians. It was financed by the Federal Theatre Project, a controversial part of the federal government’s New Deal programs to…
Collection Connections: ‘The Moor’s Account’
Rachel B. Dankert, Learning and Engagement Librarian, shares the Folger collection items she presented on February 4, 2021 as an introduction to ‘The Moor’s Account’ by Laila Lalami.
Up Close: Three scenes from Hamlet
Can you identify what’s happening in each of these three scenes from Hamlet? The drawings by British illustrator John Jellicoe are part of the Folger collection.
Collection Connections: ‘Hamnet’
Dr. Emma Poltrack shares the Folger collection items she presented on December 3, 2020 as an introduction to ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell.
Top 5 Folger Finds of 2020
Revisit the bright spots of 2020 by taking a look at some of our most popular #FolgerFinds posts on Instagram from the past year. Highlights from the Folger collection include a beautiful book binding, a striking costume design, and a…
Early modern sleep care: Recipes for restful sleep
Thomas Sheppey devoted several densely written pages of his 17th-century manuscript to the topic of sleep — how to trigger it, how to interrupt it, how to influence its depth and length, and even how to stop people talking in…
Collection Connections: ‘License to Quill’
Rachel B. Dankert, Learning and Engagement Librarian, shares the Folger collection items she presented on November 5, 2020 as an introduction to ‘License to Quill’ by Jacopo della Quercia.
Up Close: A poll book from the 1710 election in London
Voting was not a secret process in early modern England. The poll book shown here published the names of all the voters in London and which candidates and party they voted for in 1710.
Collection Connections: ‘I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem’
Dr. Emma Poltrack shares the Folger collection items she presented on October 1, 2020 as an introduction to ‘I, Titubam Black Witch of Salem’ by Maryse Condé.
Up Close: An 18th-century caricature of the Shakespeare-forging William Henry Ireland and his family
This hand-colored caricature from 1797, “The Oaken Chest or the Gold Mines of Ireland, a Farce,” satirizes William Henry Ireland and his family in their forgery of the “Shakespeare Papers.” The print is full of delightful details that will make…