The Collation

As October draws to a close, we bring you a new Crocodile Mystery. (If you’re new around these parts and totally confused as to why we refer to our monthly mystery post as a “Crocodile”, this post will explain it.)…

For this month’s mystery, we’d like your thoughts on this image: what’s going on here with the design appearing in different spots on these two books? What is it, what does it mean, why might it appear here? Share your…

For this month’s mystery, we have a pretty straight-forward question: Who is this woman? Leave your guesses in the comments below, and we’ll be back next week with more information!

This month’s Crocodile Mystery is about an inventory of typefaces found in a printshop. Can anyone guess in what type of printing business they would have been used? As always, leave your guesses and thoughts in the comments below, and…

This month’s Crocodile Mystery is a group affair. Share your thoughts on what these items have in common in the comments section! (Answers of “on paper” or “beige,” although true, don’t count).

This month’s Crocodile Mystery illustrates a scene from Shakespeare, but seems more suited to Sir John Suckling: “Why so pale and wan fond lover?” Share your thoughts on why it looks the way it does by leaving a reply in…

This week, we at the Folger welcome members of the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) community to Washington for an annual conference together with our fellow hosts, the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress. The IIIF community is a profoundly…

For this month’s mystery, take a look at the image below and tell us, if you will, what this glyph is and what it’s doing on our collection? Leave your guesses in the comments and we’ll be back next week…

The April crocodile mystery involves an original work of art, shown here in a detail. What’s going on with the odd-looking painting technique? 

This month’s Crocodile mystery is about an engraving. What do you think are the wavy lines on this print?

This month’s crocodile mystery is an example of one of our favorite things: Shakespeare portraits! What kind of item is this portrait of Shakespeare from, and what is significant about the item?

Happy Boxing Day! We’ve brought you another crocodile mystery to open with your holiday goodies. This month’s mystery comes in two forms and appears in two places. Tell us, if you would, what these mysterious numbers suggest to you?    …