Collection Development Policy

The Folger’s collection focuses on 16th- and 17th-century material from the British Isles and Europe, and on Shakespeare from all time periods and around the world. The library acquires books, manuscripts, and prints from ca. 1500 to ca. 1700, with particular emphasis on the late Tudor and early Stuart periods. The scope of the Shakespeare collection is much wider: not only books, manuscripts, and prints, but also paintings, photographs, film, sound recordings, ephemera, and objects relating to the cult of Shakespeare and Shakespearean performance. Below are some examples of items acquired in recent years. 

More information about the collection development policy can be found in Folgerpedia. If you would like to make a financial contribution to support the collection, please contact the development department.

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Letter from 1617 by Queen Anne (wife of James I) to George Villiers
Letter from 1617 by Queen Anne (wife of James I) to George Villiers, future Duke of Buckingham. Acquired in 2012
Item Title: 
Autograph letter signed "Anna R" [manuscript] : to the future Duke of Buckingham "My king dog", the letter addressed "To the Earle of Buckingham".
Item Call Number: 
X.c.153
Luna Link: 
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Item Creator: 
Anne, Queen, consort of James I, King of England, 1574-1619.
Item Date: 
[1617]

Manuscript letter from 1617 by Queen Anne (wife of James I) to George Villiers, future Duke of Buckingham. Acquired in 2012

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Page from the book A Pleasant History of the Life and Death of Will Summers
Printed book from 1676, A Pleasant History of the Life and Death of Will Summers. Acquired in 2006.
Item Title: 
Pleasant history of the life and death of Will Summers. How he came first to be known at court, and by what means he got to be King Henry the Eight's jester.
Item Call Number: 
261- 355q
Luna Link: 
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Item Date: 
1676

Printed book from 1676, A Pleasant History of the Life and Death of Will Summers. Acquired in 2006.

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17th-century engraving of English Protestant martyrs
17th-century engraving of English Protestant martyrs. Acquired in 2010.
Item Title: 
Faiths victorie in Romes crueltie [graphic]
Item Call Number: 
ART 265- 962 (size M)
Luna Link: 
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Item Date: 
[1670s? first printed ca. 1630.]

17th-century engraving of English Protestant martyrs. Acquired in 2010.

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Playbill from 1821 advertising William Macready as Hamlet
Playbill from 1821 advertising William Macready as Hamlet. Acquired in 2009.
Item Title: 
The Last Time of acting before the Holidays Mr. Macready’s Night. Theatre Royal, Covent-Garden. This present Friday, June 8, 1821 will be acted Shakspeare’s Tragedy of Hamlet
Item Call Number: 
PLAYBILL 265591
Luna Link: 
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Item Date: 
1821

Playbill from 1821 advertising William Macready as Hamlet. Acquired in 2009.

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Copy of Richard III altered for performance by Sir Laurence Olivier
Copy of Richard III altered for performance by Sir Laurence Olivier. Acquired in 2011.
Item Title: 
King Richard III / by William Shakespeare ; [edited by M.R. Ridley].
Item Call Number: 
266587 Sh.Col.
Luna Link: 
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Item Creator: 
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.
Item Date: 
1935

Copy of Richard III altered for performance by Sir Laurence Olivier. Acquired in 2011.

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Midsummer Night’s Dream lithograph by Jiří Trnka, 1961
Midsummer Night’s Dream lithograph by Jiří Trnka, 1961. Acquired in 2013.
Item Title: 
Sommernachtstraum [graphic] : 5 Originallithographien in farbe / Jiří Trnka.
Item Call Number: 
ART Flat d14 no.1-5
Luna Link: 
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Item Date: 
[1961]

Midsummer Night’s Dream lithograph by Jiří Trnka, 1961. Acquired in 2013.