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The Collation

The Collation

Research and Exploration at the Folger

The Collation is a gathering of useful information and observations from Folger staff and researchers. Read more about this blog

Folger Tooltips: The limits of "Set Limits" in Hamnet
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Folger Tooltips: The limits of "Set Limits" in Hamnet

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Author
Erin Blake

Following up on last month’s post about the new-and-improved “Limit location” in Hamnet, the one that lets you quickly limit your search to one of four locations, including just Vault material, I thought I should say a few words about the limits…

Dalí as you like him
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Dalí as you like him

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Author
Sarah Werner

The change of pace in this month’s crocodile mystery is thanks to Salvador Dalí. Surely you, like our commenters, recognized those elongated legs. And if I’d shared the companion image, you’d have guessed that immediately as well. Dalí’s backdrop for…

"What manner o' thing is your crocodile?": November 2014
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"What manner o' thing is your crocodile?": November 2014

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Author
The Collation

Perhaps the question for this month’s mystery is less about crocodiles and more about elephants: What manner of thing is this and what is it doing at the Folger Shakespeare Library? It’s been a while since we’ve done a mystery…

Ohel or Dod? Ideal copies and messy print
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Ohel or Dod? Ideal copies and messy print

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Author
Kathleen Lynch

When is a repair to a title page more like a clue to a bibliographical puzzle? detail of an altered title page This question has intrigued me since, some years ago, I first consulted a Folger copy of John Rogers’s…

A carousel of tragedy
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A carousel of tragedy

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Author
Sarah Werner

We are used to thinking of productions of Shakespeare’s plays as creating new works of art that demonstrate the vitality of the centuries-old drama. But in the right hands, books can achieve the same effect. Emily Martin’s The Tragedy of…

19th-century faces in a 16th-century manuscript
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19th-century faces in a 16th-century manuscript

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Author
Heather Wolfe

A mother and her two daughters unexpectedly greet you when you open the binding of Folger MS V.a.174. albumen print of a mother and two daughters affixed to the front pastedown of Folger MS V.a.174, a 1576 manuscript of the…

Shorthand and snark: An unexpected journey through Virgil
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Shorthand and snark: An unexpected journey through Virgil

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Author
Abbie Weinberg

I joined the Folger just over two months ago, and one of the most delightful things about my new job as the Reference and Outreach Specialist (aside from the fact that I get to work at the Folger!) is that…

Finding women in the printing shop
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Finding women in the printing shop

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Author
Sarah Werner

Today is Ada Lovelace Day, a day that celebrates not only the achievements of Ada Lovelace—the 19th-century mathematician and computing pioneer—but the achievements of all women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and maths. It’s a chance not only…

Folger Tooltips: New Hamnet URL and search limit
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Folger Tooltips: New Hamnet URL and search limit

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Author
Erin Blake

We’ve recently made two small but significant improvements to Hamnet, the Folger’s online catalog—not enough to be worth a fanfare of “New and improved!” but probably at least worth pointing at while saying “Still old, but less irksome!” The first change is so obvious…

When is an inscription not an inscription?
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When is an inscription not an inscription?

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Author
Sarah Werner

Two folks identified the key elements of this month’s crocodile mystery in their comments: Misha Teramura correctly noted that the inscription in the middle of the page—“pp. 184-190 refer to the progress of religion westward toward America”—refers to George Herbert’s…

"What manner o' thing is your crocodile?": October 2014
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"What manner o' thing is your crocodile?": October 2014

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Author
The Collation

What might we say about this month’s crocodile mystery? October crocodile (click to enlarge) As always, the mystery is not only what this thing actually is, but why it might be of interest. Leave your guesses in the comments below…

What to eat after a long morning's work in the Star Chamber
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What to eat after a long morning's work in the Star Chamber

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Author
Heather Wolfe

Well, if it’s fish Friday, the menu consisted of… fish! Fish, glorious fish. Thirty or more courses of fish, including oysters, ling, green fish, salt white herring, salt salmon, salmon, great pike, smaller pike, crayfish, roach, great carp, smaller carp, roasting…

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