Undergraduate Research at the Folger: The Birth of Mankinde
In this mock exhibition catalog entry for a writing class, Gabi, an undergraduate student at GWU, takes a closer look at early modern midwifery using The Birth of Mankinde.
Undergraduate Research at the Folger: Picturing the Plotters
In this exhibition catalog entry for a writing class, Eleanor, an undergraduate student at GWU, examines a Dutch print portraying the Gunpowder Plotters and their fate.
Undergraduate Research at the Folger: Pain in the Teeth
A GWU undergraduate student shares their experience working at the Folger for their class project on Shakespeare and early modern dentistry an Art in the Age of Shakespeare course.
"A mote it is to trouble the mind's eye": An Unnamed Fairy in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
This solution to February’s Folger Mystery looks at how editors of A Midsummer Night’s Dream have dealt with the ambiguous presence of one its fairies.
Lingua Latina Medica Accessabilis Facta, or, Medical Latin Made Accessible
Lingua Latina Medica Accessabilis Facta, vel Febrem Habeo et Præscriptio Sola Campanæ Bovinæ Plus Est or Medical Latin Made Accessible, or I Have a Fever and the Only Prescription is More (of) Cow Bell. A look into John Ward’s Latin list, a glossary of the medical Latin terms used by the 17th century vicar in his diaries.
Folger Faves: January 2026
Senior Photography Associate William Davis shares his five favorite collection items in our new series: Folger Faves.
Top five Collation blog posts of 2025
Take a look at our top five Collation posts from 2025. Thanks for a great year!
“Greetings from Jamaica”
Seventeenth century resonances in a twentieth century postcard sent from Jamaica.
How to be a true widow in early modern England
“Do not seek pleasure in music and singing” and other advice for widows from an early 17th-century manuscript.
Third Time’s a Charm: W. Blount Reads Sidney’s Arcadia
An examination of marginalia in the Folger’s 1593 The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia
Miscellaneous Race
Looking at enslaved Black workers and the 1588 Spanish Armada’s afterlives in a 17th-century English miscellany
A Closer Look at Paste Papers with Folger Conservators
Have you ever noticed a decorated paper on a volume in our collection and wondered how it was made?