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Shakespeare the player: a new discovery sheds light on two Folger manuscripts
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Shakespeare the player: a new discovery sheds light on two Folger manuscripts

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Author
Heather Wolfe

The reference to a coat of arms belonging to “Shakespeare the Player by Garter” in a manuscript at the Folger, V.a.350, has garnered much attention over the years. Folger MS V.a.350 is currently on loan to the British Library for their exhibition Shakespeare…

The Earliest Recorded Shakespeare in America?
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The Earliest Recorded Shakespeare in America?

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Author
Georgianna Ziegler

We know that a number of the founding fathers (and mothers) in 18th-century America knew their Shakespeare. John and Abigail Adams frequently quoted from Shakespeare in their letters; Thomas Jefferson recommended reading Shakespeare in a course of private study; and…

An unfinished gold-tooled binding
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An unfinished gold-tooled binding

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Erin Blake

July’s Crocodile mystery asked: why is this binding interesting? There are any number of answers, but the one I had in mind was: it’s unfinished. Last week’s picture shows the front cover of Folger call number STC 13051.3, the 1630 edition of A helpe…

Music Manuscripts
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Music Manuscripts

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Author
Abbie Weinberg

Recently, I have found myself answering a number of reference questions concerning our musical holdings (a reference librarian manifestation of the frequency illusion perhaps?). Whatever the reason, it has been a nice reminder that some of our manuscript holdings contain…

Investigating a Bull's Head Watermark
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Investigating a Bull's Head Watermark

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Author
Caroline Duroselle-Melish

What would draw an eighteenth-century reader to an early sixteenth-century book, written in Latin, on venereal disease? The Folger Shakespeare Library’s copy of Ulrich von Hutten’s book De Guaici medicina et morbo gallico liber unus printed in 1531 by Johann…

A Pictorial Table of Contents
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A Pictorial Table of Contents

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Author
Heather Wolfe

Last week’s Crocodile was a jumble of household instruments with numbers next to them. As our first commenter, Katie Will, correctly guessed, the detail was from the table of contents of a type of heraldic manuscript known as an Ordinary.…

The Elizabethan Garden: 11 plants Shakespeare would have known well
Elizabethan Garden
Shakespeare and Beyond

The Elizabethan Garden: 11 plants Shakespeare would have known well

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Author
Esther French

The text for this blog post is adapted from an article in the Summer 2009 issue of Folger Magazine. Shakespeare, who grew up in a riverside country town and was the grandchild of prosperous farmers, refers with familiarity to an extraordinary number of plants…

Signature statements in book cataloging
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Signature statements in book cataloging

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Author
Erin Blake

Today’s post returns to the cliffhanger at the end of Tuesday’s Physical description in book cataloging overview: if , CXXII leaves : ill. ; 31 cm (fol.) forms a complete physical description in a library catalog, then what’s up with a4 A-O8 P10 and where does it fit…

Physical description in book cataloging
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Physical description in book cataloging

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Author
Erin Blake

Does a4 A-O8 P10 make perfect sense to you? If so, please read on anyway. This isn’t a post on how to decode a collational formula. It’s a post about what to expect (and what not to expect) in the “physical description”…

District Merchants Costume Design
Folger Spotlight

District Merchants Costume Design

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Folger Theatre

District Merchants costume designer Meghan Raham previously designed the sets for the Folger Theatre productions of The Conference of the Birds and Romeo and Juliet. Learn about her design process for this “Uneasy Comedy” below, and join us for District Merchants starting May 31. Research and design sketches…

Unlocking An Early Modern Account Book
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Unlocking An Early Modern Account Book

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Author
Paul Dingman

The answer to last week’s Crocodile mystery is, as some of you guessed, £135 15s 0d (or 135 pounds, 15 shillings). This amount is a snippet of one entry made on a page in Folger MS V.b.308, the account book of…

Building a Replica of the John Wilkes Booth Diary
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Building a Replica of the John Wilkes Booth Diary

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Author
Austin Plann Curley

Guest Post by Folger conservator Austin Plann Curley “You can’t always get what you want.” So said the Rolling Stones in 1969. Such was the case for the Folger Shakespeare Library in our recent request to borrow the Diary of…

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