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The Folger is open today. For Thursday, January 29, and Friday, January 30, the Folger will open to researchers and the public at 11:00am.

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Ray Schrire

is a lecturer in the History Department at Tel Aviv University. He spends his days studying early modern manuscripts to uncover traces of past cognition and encouraging his students to enter rare book rooms to expand their own cognitive worlds.
Dots and Slashes in Early Modern English Account Books: A Window into the Material Practices of Reckoning
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Dots and Slashes in Early Modern English Account Books: A Window into the Material Practices of Reckoning

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Heather Wolfe Peter Stallybrass Ray Schrire

The solution to this month’s Folger Mystery reveals the purpose of dots and slashes drawn in early modern account books

The mystery of Humphrey Walcot’s grocery bill and early-modern popular numeracy
detail of 17th century handwrittne document showing roman and arabic numerals
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The mystery of Humphrey Walcot’s grocery bill and early-modern popular numeracy

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Author
Ray Schrire

While merchant Humphrey Walcot’s May 8, 1601 shopping list is unique for some of its items, writing lists of items and prices was very common. Packed with accounts, bills, and receipts, the Folger collection shows how people from all walks of life used numbers every day.