Skip to main content
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

Lost at Sea
Collation

Lost at Sea

Posted
Author
Elizabeth DeBold

Shakespeare liked shipwrecks, including one in at least five of his plays. Sea storms and shipwrecks were a convenient way to separate characters or bring them into conflict, as well as stranding them in a strange place. In the “Age…

Report from the field: network analysis
Max Schich presenting at the EMDA institute
Collation

Report from the field: network analysis

Posted
Author
Ruth Ahnert

A guest post by Dr. Ruth Ahnert In July 2017 the Folger Institute welcomed participants and faculty to the third of its Early Modern Digital Agendas (EMDA) gatherings—an NEH-funded Institute for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities. The EMDA institutes…

Dryden's Virgil, Ogilby's Virgil, and Aeneas's nose job
Collation

Dryden's Virgil, Ogilby's Virgil, and Aeneas's nose job

Posted
Author
Erin Blake

First, a confession: this month’s Crocodile Mystery was originally going to pose a question along the lines of “What’s weird about this image?” or “What makes this picture especially interesting?” but I gave up. I couldn’t figure out how to…

“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: October 2017
Collation

“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: October 2017

Posted
Author
The Collation

This month’s Crocodile Mystery is a caption contest: Option A: Provide a factually accurate title for this portrait. Option B: Provide an amusingly inaccurate title for this portrait. Option C: Provide both A and B.

In memoriam: Betsy Walsh
Collation

In memoriam: Betsy Walsh

Posted
Author
The Collation

Elizabeth “Betsy” Walsh (1953-2017) We are devastated to announce that Betsy Walsh, our beloved head of reader services here at the Folger, passed away on Friday, September 22, 2017. Betsy was an inseparable part of the Folger—indeed, for many of…

A nineteenth-century family circus
Collation

A nineteenth-century family circus

Posted
Author
Sarah Hovde

A few months ago, I wrote about the process of creating brief catalog records for the Folger’s playbill collection. Since then, I’ve completed records for playbills from London and all of Scotland, and have begun working my way through playbills…

Consuming the New World
Commonplace book
Collation

Consuming the New World

Posted
Author
Misha Ewen

A guest post by Misha Ewen William Petre (1575-1637) was a typical gentleman of his time. He was 22 years old and newly married when he began keeping an account book of his household expenses. Between 1597 and 1610 Petre…

"Whose least part crackt, the whole does fly": early views on Prince Rupert's Drops
Collation

"Whose least part crackt, the whole does fly": early views on Prince Rupert's Drops

Posted
Author
Abbie Weinberg

Honor is like that glassy Bubble That finds Philosophers such trouble, Whose least part crackt, the whole does fly, And Wits are crack’d to find out why. Samuel Butler, Hudibras, Part II, Canto II, lines 385-89. In the second part…

“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: September 2017
Collation

“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: September 2017

Posted
Author
The Collation

For this month’s Crocodile Mystery, tell us, if you will, what the image below depicts. Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and we’ll be back next week with the answer!

Black Monday: the Great Solar Eclipse of 1652
Collation

Black Monday: the Great Solar Eclipse of 1652

Posted
Author
Elizabeth DeBold

In all the excitement of yesterday’s solar eclipse, you may have learned that eclipses are common: most calendar years have four eclipses (two solar and two lunar), with a maximum of seven eclipses (though this is rare).According to Time &…

A New Era: The Folger Now Uses Aeon!
Collation

A New Era: The Folger Now Uses Aeon!

Posted
Author
Rachel B. Dankert

Arrive at the Folger and grab a locker. Check in at the Registrar desk. Find that perfect spot in the Reading Room—not too cold, with just the right amount of light. Say hello to the wonderful staff and pick up…

How to Make a Librarian Panic
Collation

How to Make a Librarian Panic

Posted
Author
Adrienne Bell Austin Plann Curley Elizabeth DeBold Renate Mesmer

Co-authored by Elizabeth DeBold (Curatorial Assistant), Renate Mesmer (Head of Conservation), Austin Plann Curley (Book Conservator), and Adrienne Bell (Book Conservator). With special thanks to Kevin Cilurzo (Conservation Intern).   As some of our respondents observed in their comments on…

1 32 33 34 35 36 69