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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

Postcards in the (home) archive: Meriden Gravure Co. postally unused postcards with messages
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Postcards in the (home) archive: Meriden Gravure Co. postally unused postcards with messages

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Author
Stephen H. Grant

A guest post by Stephen Grant Gentle readers, we are now somewhat familiar with Meriden Gravure Co. postcards. Perhaps we had never paid attention to them before. In this post we will look at five Meriden postcards which contain interesting…

24,000 “preliminary” catalog records are better than nothing!
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24,000 “preliminary” catalog records are better than nothing!

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Author
Erin Blake

At least, we hope the approximately 24,000 “preliminary records” added to the Folger’s online catalog yesterday are better than nothing, which is what Hamnet had for most of these books since going live in 1997. Today’s Collation post explains where…

Balancing information and expertise: vernacular guidance on bloodletting in early modern calendars and almanacs
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Balancing information and expertise: vernacular guidance on bloodletting in early modern calendars and almanacs

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Author
Mary Yearl

A guest post by Mary Yearl The first calendar printed as a book in Europe was also the first to contain a printed image of a bloodletting man.1 This point alone is indicative of the importance bloodletting played in medieval…

Fortune’s Fools: early tarot cards
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Fortune’s Fools: early tarot cards

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Author
Elizabeth DeBold

As several of you guessed last week, this month’s crocodile mystery showed an early tarot card. When treating a copy of a 1673 edition of Vincent Reboul’s “Le Pelerinage de S. Maximin,” Folger conservators discovered two tarot cards used to…

“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: February 2021
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“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: February 2021

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Author
The Collation

Welcome back to another crocodile mystery. For February, please take a look at this image (strategically cropped for maximum mystery); tell us what you think it is, and/or what it represents. We’ll be back next week with the answer!

This Post Stinks, or, ‘I hope that the stuff will not smell too vilely’
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This Post Stinks, or, ‘I hope that the stuff will not smell too vilely’

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Author
Rachel B. Dankert

John Masefield has a burning question he needs answered. Literally. Writing from his home Hill Crest in Boar’s Hill, Oxford, the Poet Laureate asks theater production veteran Allan Wade a crucial question about staging his home theatrical production of Macbeth.1…

Touching Tusser
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Touching Tusser

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Author
Andy Crow

A guest post by Andy Crow “As to the bindings, the plain crushed levant looks all right, but when you send me my copy, I would like it, please, in sheep—about the tint of a ripe chestnut. That is fittest…

Using cardboard spacers to fill gaps on the shelf
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Using cardboard spacers to fill gaps on the shelf

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Author
Erin Blake

Sometimes the simplest tools are the best. This post is a tribute to the humble hunk of folded cardboard.1 Cardboard spacer filling the gap on the shelf while two large volumes are in use. All photos are by me, Erin…

The Art of the Prompt Book
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The Art of the Prompt Book

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Author
Elizabeth DeBold

Most library visitors to the Folger expect us to have books in our collections. Some know that we also have art, manuscripts, and even objects. Yet, any exploration into our collections means that researchers will inevitably encounter an item that…

Postcards in the (home) archive: Brenda Putnam and Puck
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Postcards in the (home) archive: Brenda Putnam and Puck

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Author
Stephen H. Grant

a guest post by Stephen Grant This post, Dear Readers, is divided into three parts:  3 Kodak AZO postcards of Puck statue 3 Meriden Gravure Co. postcards of Puck statue 1 photograph of Brenda Putnam, Puck sculptor We start with 2 cards printed on Kodak AZO paper, similar…

A Cacique By Any Other Name
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A Cacique By Any Other Name

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Author
Valeria López Fadul

… Or, Etymologies in Translation, from the Caribbean to London A guest post by Valeria López Fadul The word “cacique”—a leader or lord among the people of the Caribbean islands—first appeared in an English book in 1555.1 Richard Eden’s translation…

Liverpool delft transfer-printed tiles; or, theatrical tiles explain’d
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Liverpool delft transfer-printed tiles; or, theatrical tiles explain’d

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Author
Abbie Weinberg

Thank you for all of your guesses on last week’s Crocodile Mystery! As several folks correctly surmised, this image is pigment on ceramic! Specifically, it is on a Liverpool delft transfer-printed tile, seen here in full:  Jane Lessingham as Ophelia,…

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