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
Booking and details
Plan your visitDates 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
- An illustrated manuscript created by professional spy Hugh Alley in 1598, offering a unique view of Shakespeare’s London
- Scripts and photographs from 1947 performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by two all-female Japanese theater troupes
- A hand-colored map of the “Empire of Mexico,” first published in 1648 and included inside a 1702 travelogue by a British Dominican friar in Mexico and Guatemala
- An ornately decorated, handwritten version of the Book of Common Prayer from 1576
- An early architectural drawing for the Folger’s Elizabethan-style theatre, the first permanent replica of a Shakespearean playhouse in North America
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.