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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

"I see it feelingly": a raised-type King Lear
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"I see it feelingly": a raised-type King Lear

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Author
Sarah Hovde

For many of the books in our collection, an unassuming cover can turn out to protect a fascinating text block. What makes this one unusual is the discovery, upon opening the cover, that this book is meant to be read not with the…

Pi(e) day, represented
Pi given as a ratio
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Pi(e) day, represented

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Author
Abbie Weinberg

March 14th is Pi(e) Day, and this year we get an extra two digits (this year’s date being, in the American style, 3/14/15, taking us through the first 5 digits of pi). While many people (including our culinarily-inclined staff here…

Early modern eyebrow interpretation, or what it means to have a unibrow
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Early modern eyebrow interpretation, or what it means to have a unibrow

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Author
Heather Wolfe

While showing the Researching the Archive seminar some examples of manuscript receipt books a couple of weeks ago (randomly selected after doing a quick “form/genre” in Hamnet on the genre terms “Medical formularies” and “Cookbooks”), I was tickled to come across a section…

"This Play I Red" and other marginal notes on reading
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"This Play I Red" and other marginal notes on reading

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Author
Claire M. L. Bourne

A guest post by Claire M. L. Bourne As a long-term fellow at the Folger Shakespeare Library this year, I have been surveying all the English playbooks in the collection—from 1500 to 1709—in order to understand changing conventions of dramatic…

EMMO: advancing and expanding
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EMMO: advancing and expanding

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Author
Paul Dingman

During the last few months, the Early Modern Manuscripts Online (EMMO) project has been gathering strength and reaching farther both inside the Folger Shakespeare Library and outside to individuals and organizations. These actions have translated into the passing of several…

Knowing your Adams from your Adams: decoding library catalog citations
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Knowing your Adams from your Adams: decoding library catalog citations

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Author
Erin Blake

Picture, if you will, a 16th-century Continental edition of Ovid, an 18th-century illustrated history of London, and a 19th-century book about the American west. Now picture which one of the three might be “in Adams.” Which one did you pick? Years ago,…

Research round-up: February 2015
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Research round-up: February 2015

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Author
Abbie Weinberg

The theme of this month’s post, which features two questions regarding 19th-century sources, is “We have materials beyond the early modern period!” As our collection development policy states, in addition to seeking primary source material on English and continental civilization…

Unwanted doodles in a Shakespeare quarto
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Unwanted doodles in a Shakespeare quarto

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Author
Heather Wolfe

Our new curator of early modern books and prints, Caroline Duroselle-Melish, and I were up in the conservation lab a few days ago, consulting with book conservator Adrienne Bell on the optimal opening for safely digitizing a quarto edition of…

Another peek into the Conservation Lab
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Another peek into the Conservation Lab

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Author
The Collation

This month, the Conservation Lab is working on items that reflect a wide range of Folger activities and holdings. Some of the most beautiful books in the Folger’s collections are those with embroidered bindings. But such books are also among the…

Acquisitions Night: February 5, 2015
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Acquisitions Night: February 5, 2015

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Author
Erin Blake

Got your tickets yet? Acquisitions Night is just over a week away! This once-a-year event directly supports the growth of the collection by giving people the chance to “adopt” selected items acquired over the past year—that is, reimburse the purchase price to the library so…

A brief introduction to RDA
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A brief introduction to RDA

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Author
Sarah Hovde

Below are four copies of Hamlet. They’re four editions of a French translation by Carlo Rusconi, and at first glance look fairly similar. However, they have some significant differences, such as publisher, date, and inclusion in a series. In order…

An early modern color guide
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An early modern color guide

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Author
Heather Wolfe

As I was answering a reference question yesterday relating to heraldic funeral processions in Folger MS V.a.447—a heraldic miscellany written by John Guillim shortly after he was made Portsmouth Pursuivant of Arms—my eyes snagged on a subsection near the end titled, “The names of…

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