21 May 2013
by
Sarah Werner
0 comments
Last month I wrote about a book—nay, a leaf of a book—and the secret histories it reveals about how it was made, from the growth of the tree that became the woodblock to the valleys and hills that formed during … Continue reading
6 May 2013
by
Sarah Werner
3 Comments
As the commenters on last week’s crocodile guessed, the mystery image showed writing masquerading as print or, to use the more formal term, a pen facsimile (click on any of the images in the post to enlarge them): It’s telling … Continue reading
22 April 2013
by
Sarah Werner
8 Comments
I imagine that you’re all thinking the same thing I’m thinking in the lead-up to April 23rd, Shakespeare’s birthday/deathday: Where can I find a good online facsimile of the First Folio? And I’m here to tell you the answer: In … Continue reading
12 April 2013
by
Sarah Werner
2 Comments
This month’s crocodile mystery was a bit more challenging than recent ones (perhaps not helped by my cryptic “suitable for April” introduction), but Aaron Pratt guessed the gist of it: the image was a detail of a page printed in … Continue reading
5 March 2013
by
Sarah Werner
0 comments
In my last post, I described this month’s crocodile mystery as more of a rhetorical device than a question to be answered: what does this box prompt us to imagine what might be?1 And what does it contain? Both a … Continue reading
26 February 2013
by
Sarah Werner
3 Comments
I’m a bit early with the March crocodile, but sometimes it’s hard not to wish February done. And so here’s another variation on our crocodile mystery theme, this time asking you not what an item is, but what it might … Continue reading
7 February 2013
by
Sarah Werner
7 Comments
So the short answer to last week’s crocodile mystery is that this is a picture of Gwen Lally in the role of Henry V: How did I know that’s who this was? Well, click on the image and you’ll be … Continue reading
21 December 2012
by
Sarah Werner
0 comments
Last weekend, the Folger Institute and the Folger Undergraduate Program held a 3-day workshop on Teaching Book History. 50 librarians and faculty gathered from a wide range of institutions—small liberal arts colleges to regional schools to highly selective research universities—bringing … Continue reading
11 December 2012
by
Sarah Werner
7 Comments
As three of you immediately identified in your comments, last week’s crocodile mystery was the fastening in the center of a volvelle, holding the various layers in place and allowing them to turn: Volvelles are paper wheels that are fastened … Continue reading
4 December 2012
by
Sarah Werner
5 Comments
If it’s a new month, it must be time for a new crocodile mystery, and so: As always, we invite your your thoughts below on what this might be and what we might learn from it!