Folger Collections

Thanks to those who registered your guesses on our most recent Crocodile Mystery. All of the guesses gazed upward, when the answer actually lay underfoot. While these strange designs resemble theatrical lighting effects, they are, in fact, designs for stage…

a guest post by Yann Ryan As well as its terrible consequences for health and mortality, plague in early modern England had a major impact on the communication and circulation of information. Movement was restricted, towns with suspected cases were…

Elizabeth DeBold, Assistant Curator of Collections, shares items she presented on December 6, 2021 as an introduction to ‘All’s Well’ by Mona Awad.

Response of James Tabor, public notary, July 10, 1604, in Henry Cotton vs. William Windle. Cambridge University Archives, Comm.Ct.II.11, fol. 57v. Today’s post is about a woman, Margaret Cotton, who allegedly stole a book in 1602. The book might have…

a guest post by Jennie Youssef When the term of my Folger fellowship began, I had made some headway in my research for a dissertation chapter on the foodway of strawberries. The strawberry’s symbolic significance in medieval art and early…

While merchant Humphrey Walcot’s May 8, 1601 shopping list is unique for some of its items, writing lists of items and prices was very common. Packed with accounts, bills, and receipts, the Folger collection shows how people from all walks of life used numbers every day.

The Folger collection includes approximately 250,000 playbills, the single-sheet precursors of today’s multi-page theater programs.Many theater programs in the United States have a striking yellow banner with PLAYBILL in black letters on the front cover. These aren’t playbills, they’re free…

Marking the anniversary of actor Edwin Booth’s birth on November 13, 1833, we explore a stunning historical costume from the Folger collection: an embroidered-velvet tunic that Booth wore onstage as King Richard III.

Rachel B. Dankert, Learning and Engagement Librarian, shares items she presented on November 4, 2021 as an introduction to ‘The Porpoise’ by Mark Haddon.

Folger Public Programs is pleased to present ENCORES, a bi-weekly online series highlighting past performances and recalling the rich history of programming on the historic Folger stage. This week, Learning and Engagement Librarian Rachel B. Dankert presents collection items related…

In answer to this month’s Crocodile Mystery, Abbie Weinberg explores 17th century vicar John Ward’s use of both Latin and Greek in his notebooks.

A look at the virtual community of volunteer paleographers who work together to transcribe manuscripts in the Folger’s collection.