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Erin Blake

is currently the Senior Cataloger responsible for art and manuscripts at the Folger Shakespeare Library. From 2000 to 2014, Erin served as the Folger's Curator of Art and Special Collections. In 2014, she became Head of Collection Information Services. After a four-year tour of duty in senior management, she happily returned to working hands-on with the collection in 2018. In addition to her Folger work, Erin teaches The History of Printed Book Illustration in the West at Rare Book School, and is a member of the RBMS Bibliographic Standards Committee.
The "Greco Deco" Folger Shakespeare Library
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The "Greco Deco" Folger Shakespeare Library

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Erin Blake

The About page for this blog declares that The Collation “seeks to present bite-sized glimpses of the materials found within our walls.” That’s a bit tricky at the moment: like most of the rest of the Folger staff, I haven’t…

A late 15th-century tapestry fragment with visible restorations
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A late 15th-century tapestry fragment with visible restorations

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Erin Blake

Yes, indeed, the Folger collection item the March 2020 Crocodile Mystery is two-toned because of fading (and yes, indeed, it is a tapestry). Congratulations and thanks to Elisabeth, Ed, and Carolyn for their comments. The mystery wasn’t quite solved, though:…

What are ancient coins doing at the Folger Shakespeare Library?
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What are ancient coins doing at the Folger Shakespeare Library?

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Erin Blake

Thanks for the great guesses at the identity of the November 2019 Crocodile. It’s tempting to pick one at random and just run with it (“Why yes, it is King Lear’s lost button!”) but in fact, Robin Swope’s guess that…

Printed Elizabethan poetry now included in Union First Line Index
1 closed and 2 open books
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Printed Elizabethan poetry now included in Union First Line Index

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Erin Blake

As of September 2019, researchers have 35,261 more reasons to use the Union First Line Index of English Verse, hosted by the Folger Shakespeare Library. The database now contains all first lines, not just manuscript first lines, from Elizabethan poetry:…

Drawn by Hayman, etched by Gravelot, preserved in Folger ART Vol. b72
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Drawn by Hayman, etched by Gravelot, preserved in Folger ART Vol. b72

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Erin Blake

For the June 2019 “Crocodile Mystery” we asked you to spot the differences between these two pictures: Frontispiece illustration for Two Gentlemen of Verona from Thomas Hanmer’s 6-volume edition of Shakespeare’s plays, published 1743-44: original drawing (A) and published print…

Untangling Lady Day dating and the Julian calendar
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Untangling Lady Day dating and the Julian calendar

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Erin Blake

Folger X.c.92 (3) is my new favorite manuscript: it’s a letter written in Paris that single-handedly demonstrates the fact that “new style” dates refer to two different calendar modernizations. One modernization has to do with the Christian calendar’s reckoning of…

The key to removing a card catalog rod (literally)
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The key to removing a card catalog rod (literally)

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Erin Blake

Thanks for all the great guesses at the identity of the December Crocodile! In fact, the mystery object is a tool for removing the rod from a particular type of card catalog drawer (see Folgerpedia’s Card catalogs article for information…

A "lost" drawing by Ellen Terry
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A "lost" drawing by Ellen Terry

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Erin Blake

Is it possible to lose something you never had? The other day I managed to “lose” a 1905 sketch of a theater interior by actress Ellen Terry (1847-1928). I had caught a glimpse of it when sorting through a small…

Proof print from the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery
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Proof print from the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery

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Erin Blake

As a couple of you guessed correctly last week, the June Crocodile Mystery is a proof for the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery print of Lady Macbeth illustrating Macbeth, act 1, scene 5.See the Collation post “Proof prints, part one” for more on the meaning of “proof”…

Drawing for photographic reproduction
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Drawing for photographic reproduction

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Erin Blake

This month’s crocodile mystery asked what’s going on with the odd-looking painting technique in an original work of art, shown in a detail. Here’s a view of the whole thing: Charles Sheldon, “Ellen Terry as Hermione in ‘The Winter’s Tale’…

Twentieth-century illustration technique revealed in a "snow Globe"
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Twentieth-century illustration technique revealed in a "snow Globe"

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Erin Blake

While looking through the Folger collection for snow scenes (it’s that time of year!) I stumbled across this image of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, drawn in the 1960s by C. Walter Hodges: C. Walter Hodges (1909-2004). The Second Globe Under Snow.…

Dryden's Virgil, Ogilby's Virgil, and Aeneas's nose job
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Dryden's Virgil, Ogilby's Virgil, and Aeneas's nose job

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Erin Blake

First, a confession: this month’s Crocodile Mystery was originally going to pose a question along the lines of “What’s weird about this image?” or “What makes this picture especially interesting?” but I gave up. I couldn’t figure out how to…

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