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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.
So how do you find symbols in signature marks?
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So how do you find symbols in signature marks?

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Erin Blake Sarah Werner

Sarah: In my last post, I showed some examples of books that use symbols in signature marks. But how did I find these books and how might you find more examples? It’s one thing to search for books printed in…

Hidden notes, "bibliographic nightmares," and STC call numbers
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Hidden notes, "bibliographic nightmares," and STC call numbers

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Erin Blake

Sometimes when keyword searching Hamnet, the results include mystery matches: when you Ctrl-V to find the word you’re looking for on the page, it’s not there. That’s because some fields only display on the “MARC view” tab. Usually the information isn’t worth…

Timon of Athens: nine not-actually-lost drawings by Wyndham Lewis
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Timon of Athens: nine not-actually-lost drawings by Wyndham Lewis

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Erin Blake

In 1998, modernist art and literature scholar Paul Edwards wrote about “a set of watercolours and (apparently) ink drawings on the theme of Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens” by Wyndham Lewis that had been published as a portfolio in 1913. Paul Edwards, “Wyndham…

Cataloging questions: How should we display variant titles?
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Cataloging questions: How should we display variant titles?

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Erin Blake

Do you use Hamnet, the Folger’s online catalog? Do you want to help make it better? Of course you do! This is the first in what I hope will be an ongoing series of conversations designed to keep me from…

V, u/v, and library transcription rules
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V, u/v, and library transcription rules

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Erin Blake

You know the saying, “the great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from?” You know Sarah’s post about the transcription practices used in The Collation, and Goran’s posts about V and U in titles and…

A print pricked for transfer
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A print pricked for transfer

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Erin Blake

So, what’s up with the crocodile mystery for March? As I said in the comments, Tom Reedy was verrrrry close with “It looks like some sort of device using punctures along a line to allow powder or ink to pass through…

See the 1960s Royal Shakespeare Company, now at the Folger!
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See the 1960s Royal Shakespeare Company, now at the Folger!

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Erin Blake

Want to see Patrick Stewart in his mid-20s? How about photos of set design models for Peter Hall’s 1959 Coriolanus, starring Laurence Olivier? Come see the Folger’s newly acquired Gordon Goode Collection of Royal Shakespeare Company photographs. Left: Ian Holm…

Happy New Year's "E"
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Happy New Year's "E"

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Erin Blake

Perpetual calendars in the early modern period relied on knowing a given year’s “dominical letter” or  “Sunday letter”—the letter corresponding to the date of the first Sunday in January where A=1, B=2, C=3, and so on. This New Year’s Eve, we’re…

Mr. Folger's most expensive painting
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Mr. Folger's most expensive painting

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Erin Blake

There’s a persistent rumor that “Mr. Folger never paid more than x for a painting.” The value of x depends on who’s telling the story, but it’s generally around $2,000 and is used as evidence that he wasn’t interested in paintings.…

Can you spot the differences?
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Can you spot the differences?

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Erin Blake

Have a look at the coat of arms worn by Edwin Booth (1833–1893) in the title role of Shakespeare’s King Richard III. Notice something wrong? Richard III tunic worn by Edwin Booth in the 1870s. Hint: The conventions Victorian aesthetics…

Picture cataloging: new rules for old
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Picture cataloging: new rules for old

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Erin Blake

Ta daaaa! I’m happy to introduce to you Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Graphics)—DCRM(G) for short—the latest publication in a suite of manuals that provides descriptive cataloging rules for primary source materials in special collections libraries. The official announcement will be made…

Folger Exhibition Hall, circa 1935
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Folger Exhibition Hall, circa 1935

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Erin Blake

With the Exhibition Hall closed for needed repairs this summer, I got to thinking about the various displays it has held over the years. Folger Shakespeare Library Exhibition Hall, circa 1935 in 1931, before the library opened (click to enlarge…

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