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Out of the Vault: Into the Heart of the Folger

Ongoing exhibition of key items from the Folger collection and the people who use them

exhibition gallery with colorful curtains separating glass cases with books

Booking and details

Plan your visit

Dates Ongoing, with rotating objects on display

Venue The Robin and Roger Millay Gallery in the Stuart and Mimi Rose Rare Book and Manuscript Exhibition Hall

Tickets Free; timed-entry pass recommended

The Folger at work

What is the Folger, and what do people come here to do? A rotating selection of rare books and manuscripts offer intriguing windows on the Folger’s remarkable collection, multifaceted work, and passionate community.

Signature objects and Folger voices

See signature objects from the collection Shakespeare, and beyond and learn how they connect with various aspects of the Folger’s work, through the voices of scholars, teachers, curators, conservators, and others.

Research, performance, learning, and more

Whether it’s transcribing centuries-old handwritten texts, making new discoveries in the Reading Room, or editing our best-selling editions of Shakespeare’s works, you’ll gain a fuller picture of what happens at the Folger.

 

On display now

  • Personal records from Emily Folger, co-founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library
  • A manuscript that records all the registered deaths in London in 1563, during England’s deadliest plague epidemic, in which nearly one out of four Londoners are thought to have died
  • A 1687 map of Jamaica used in research by a Folger Fellow for developing a new play
  • And more

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A guest post by Dr. Kristin Heitman The Folger’s rare holdings let us glimpse aspects of Renaissance and early modern practices otherwise lost to us. For example, while many European cities and towns had well-documented methods for monitoring the health…

How often will collection items rotate in this exhibition?

In order to preserve our collection items and limit their exposure to damaging light, we will rotate objects every 3-5 months. This means that you could visit the exhibition several times over the course of a year and see different objects each time.