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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

Capital News from the Low Countries
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Capital News from the Low Countries

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Author
Goran Proot

What from a distance may look like a pasture, perhaps with oddly shaped poppies or some other flowers on the foreground and two buildings in the background, is actually much less pleasant. (Click any image in this post to enlarge…

Myth-busting early modern book illustration, part one
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Myth-busting early modern book illustration, part one

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Author
Erin Blake

There’s a common core of misconceptions that many readers of this blog will be accustomed to dispelling thanks to their interest in Shakespeare and Early Modern Europe. “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” doesn’t mean “Where’d you go, Romeo?!” Historic…

A letter from Queen Anne to Buckingham locked with silk embroidery floss
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A letter from Queen Anne to Buckingham locked with silk embroidery floss

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Author
Heather Wolfe

No, it’s not Lady Gaga’s hairline or the frizz on one of those creepy troll dolls. These were not real guesses from our readers, but the musings of Collation editorial staff when faced with an absence of comments to our…

"What manner o' thing is your crocodile?": January 2013
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"What manner o' thing is your crocodile?": January 2013

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Author
The Collation

To welcome you all into 2013 and back to The Collation’s regular posting schedule, we offer this crocodile mystery for you to ponder: As always, leave your thoughts below and the answer will be revealed next week!

Teaching and collaborating
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Teaching and collaborating

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Author
Sarah Werner

Last weekend, the Folger Institute and the Folger Undergraduate Program held a 3-day workshop on Teaching Book History. 50 librarians and faculty gathered from a wide range of institutions—small liberal arts colleges to regional schools to highly selective research universities—bringing…

Folger Tooltips: Changes to the Digital Image Collection
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Folger Tooltips: Changes to the Digital Image Collection

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Author
Jim Kuhn

Dear Readers: Our Digital Image Collection has had a bit of a make-over. The purpose of today’s post is to introduce you to new fields and field names and to explain a bit of background that lead to these changes. Background:…

A Geek-Peek at Folger "ART File" and "ART Box" Classification
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A Geek-Peek at Folger "ART File" and "ART Box" Classification

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Author
Erin Blake

One of the most fascinating books I read while working on my dissertation had nothing to do with the topic as such: It’s the 189-page “user’s guide” to the British Museum’s Department of Prints and Drawings, published in 1987. In it,…

Volvelles
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Volvelles

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Author
Sarah Werner

As three of you immediately identified in your comments, last week’s crocodile mystery was the fastening in the center of a volvelle, holding the various layers in place and allowing them to turn: volvelle from Cortes’s Breve compendio, leaf 37r…

A third manuscript by Thomas Trevelyon/Trevilian
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A third manuscript by Thomas Trevelyon/Trevilian

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Author
Heather Wolfe

The author’s name in the Trevelyon Miscellany of 1608 (Folger MS V.b.232, fol. 264v); click image to enlarge in Luna. Many Collation readers are already familiar with the Folger’s Trevelyon Miscellany of 1608 (Folger MS V.b.232), and the fabulous Trevilian…

"What manner o' thing is your crocodile?": December edition
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"What manner o' thing is your crocodile?": December edition

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Author
The Collation

If it’s a new month, it must be time for a new crocodile mystery, and so: click to enlarge As always, we invite your your thoughts below on what this might be and what we might learn from it!

Winning the lottery
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Winning the lottery

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Author
Goran Proot

On Saturday 4 November 1617, the archdukes of the Southern Netherlands, Albert and Isabella, granted permission to the “gentil homme Lucquois” Matthias Micheli to organize a lottery for the foundation of the “Bergen van Barmhartigheid” or “Monts de piété.” First…

Cataloging at the Folger: a Primer
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Cataloging at the Folger: a Primer

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Author
Deborah J. Leslie

When I meet people for the first time and they hear that I am a rare book cataloger, I can expect one or both of these questions: “What’s a rare book,” and “What is cataloging?” This crowd doesn’t need my…

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