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Abbie Weinberg

was the managing editor of The Collation from 2015-2023. As a reference librarian and archivist, she spends a lot of her time assisting others with their research. When she has a few moments for her own, she can be found exploring book history, theatre history, the history of science, and the interesting ways those crash together sometimes.
A window on the (Ward) world
Handwritten page in a dark ink on cream colored paper.
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A window on the (Ward) world

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Abbie Weinberg

Jump into the rabbit hole of the world of John Ward.

How to ask a reference question
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How to ask a reference question

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Abbie Weinberg
Warwick Castle Shakespeare Library
handwritten catalog entry with additional notes in another handwriting
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Warwick Castle Shakespeare Library

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Abbie Weinberg

Whoof, it looks like the numbers and letters in this month’s Crocodile Mystery were a bit too cryptic! In this case, the alphanumeric collections are shelf marks. In particular, they are shelf marks from the Warwick Castle Shakespeare Library, ca.…

Small Latin and Less Greek
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Small Latin and Less Greek

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Abbie Weinberg

with many thanks to Sara Schliep, Bob Tallaksen, Emily Wahl, Nicole Winard, and Heather Wolfe for their generous and careful assistance with this post. They are just a few of the folks who have been working on this project. Thank…

Liverpool delft transfer-printed tiles; or, theatrical tiles explain’d
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Liverpool delft transfer-printed tiles; or, theatrical tiles explain’d

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Abbie Weinberg

Thank you for all of your guesses on last week’s Crocodile Mystery! As several folks correctly surmised, this image is pigment on ceramic! Specifically, it is on a Liverpool delft transfer-printed tile, seen here in full:  Jane Lessingham as Ophelia,…

Thoroughly Modern Helena
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Thoroughly Modern Helena

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Abbie Weinberg

What do Robert Browning, Anna Maria Hall, Geraldine Jewsbury, John Ruskin, and Anna Swanwick, have in common? Quite a bit, actually. But in the Folger’s collection, they were the five “recipients” of Helena Faucit’s essays that formed the volume On…

Heraldic Colors
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Heraldic Colors

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Abbie Weinberg

Yes, indeed. The letters in this month’s mystery image are B, O, and G, and they represent what is missing from the image: color!  The mystery image is a detail of a coat of arms in Folger MS V.b.256, which…

Mellow Yellow and 50 Shades of Grey: the challenges of bi-tonal images
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Mellow Yellow and 50 Shades of Grey: the challenges of bi-tonal images

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Abbie Weinberg

Well, I’m afraid our mystery image might have been a little too mysterious. For those of you still playing along, the mystery image from last week is an image from a microfilm of Folger MS D.a.6 that seems to show…

Let there be light! Kliegl lights on the New York Stage
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Let there be light! Kliegl lights on the New York Stage

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Abbie Weinberg

Once again, I seem to have underestimated the level of esoteric knowledge held by our readers. Y’all are delightful (and I’m guessing have worked technical theater at some point…). Yes, yes, indeed. The Crocodile Mystery posted last week does seem…

Snakes! on a ... book?
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Snakes! on a ... book?

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Abbie Weinberg

“What is that?” someone asks, pointing to the corner of one of the books open for display. “This? Oh, it’s a book snake. Most useful object in the library!” I reply. This conversation happens once in nearly every book display…

To bind: Ligatures in Aldine Type
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To bind: Ligatures in Aldine Type

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Abbie Weinberg

Yes, indeed. As many of you quickly identified, each of the images in this month’s mystery post contain at least one ligature. In fact, all of the images are from a single set of type: the Aldine italic that was…

Theatrical Bills and Receipts
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Theatrical Bills and Receipts

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Abbie Weinberg

Folger manuscripts W.b.110 and W.b.111 are an oddly mis-matched pair. W.b.110 is nearly 46cm tall (almost 18 inches, for those playing along at home) and nearly 160 leaves, while W.b.111 is a good 10cm shorter and about a third the…

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