The Folger’s collection is vast and varied, including printed books; manuscripts; prints, drawings, photographs, paintings, and other works of art; and a wealth of performance history, from playbills to films, recordings, and stage costumes.
In addition to the rare material collection, the Folger holds a collection of over 100,000 monographs, periodicals, and electronic resources published between the 1830s and the present, related to the understanding and interpretation of Shakespeare, his works and impact, and to the early modern world.
Printed Books
Manuscripts
Works of Art
Performance History
History of the collection
Henry Clay Folger and his wife, Emily Jordan Folger, began amassing the collection of rare books that would become the Folger Shakespeare Library in 1889. They spent decades gathering the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, as well as associated works from Shakespeare’s time. The Library itself opened in 1932, and continues to expand its holdings today.
Caring for our collections
Related blog posts
Explore some of the scholarly work being done with, in, and around our collections.
Collection Connections: 'Year of Wonders' by Geraldine Brooks
Beatrice Bradley revisits her September 2024 presentation on Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.
Drinking with Shakespeare: Early Modern Tavern Tokens
Artistic Fellow Leah Hampton showcases the Folger’s collection of Early Modern bar tokens
Folger Deep Dives: Memory, marginalia, and the art of reading, V.b.32 and beyond
Folger fellow Amy Cooper explores the relationship between memory and the doodles of faces, dragons, and people in the margins of books.
Announced in 1622: A Book Now Known as the First Folio
Greg Prickman explains how news of the 1623 book we now call the First Folio appeared a year earlier, on the occasion of a trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany.
