The Collation
Research and Exploration at the Folger
The Collation is a gathering of useful information and observations from Folger staff and researchers. Read more about this blog
Balancing information and expertise: vernacular guidance on bloodletting in early modern calendars and almanacs
A guest post by Mary Yearl The first calendar printed as a book in Europe was also the first to contain a printed image of a bloodletting man.1 This point alone is indicative of the importance bloodletting played in medieval…
Fortune’s Fools: early tarot cards
As several of you guessed last week, this month’s crocodile mystery showed an early tarot card. When treating a copy of a 1673 edition of Vincent Reboul’s “Le Pelerinage de S. Maximin,” Folger conservators discovered two tarot cards used to…
“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: February 2021
Welcome back to another crocodile mystery. For February, please take a look at this image (strategically cropped for maximum mystery); tell us what you think it is, and/or what it represents. We’ll be back next week with the answer!
This Post Stinks, or, ‘I hope that the stuff will not smell too vilely’
John Masefield has a burning question he needs answered. Literally. Writing from his home Hill Crest in Boar’s Hill, Oxford, the Poet Laureate asks theater production veteran Allan Wade a crucial question about staging his home theatrical production of Macbeth.1…
Touching Tusser
A guest post by Andy Crow “As to the bindings, the plain crushed levant looks all right, but when you send me my copy, I would like it, please, in sheep—about the tint of a ripe chestnut. That is fittest…
Using cardboard spacers to fill gaps on the shelf
Sometimes the simplest tools are the best. This post is a tribute to the humble hunk of folded cardboard.1 Cardboard spacer filling the gap on the shelf while two large volumes are in use. All photos are by me, Erin…
The Art of the Prompt Book
Most library visitors to the Folger expect us to have books in our collections. Some know that we also have art, manuscripts, and even objects. Yet, any exploration into our collections means that researchers will inevitably encounter an item that…
Postcards in the (home) archive: Brenda Putnam and Puck
a guest post by Stephen Grant This post, Dear Readers, is divided into three parts: 3 Kodak AZO postcards of Puck statue 3 Meriden Gravure Co. postcards of Puck statue 1 photograph of Brenda Putnam, Puck sculptor We start with 2 cards printed on Kodak AZO paper, similar…
A Cacique By Any Other Name
… Or, Etymologies in Translation, from the Caribbean to London A guest post by Valeria López Fadul The word “cacique”—a leader or lord among the people of the Caribbean islands—first appeared in an English book in 1555.1 Richard Eden’s translation…
Liverpool delft transfer-printed tiles; or, theatrical tiles explain’d
Thank you for all of your guesses on last week’s Crocodile Mystery! As several folks correctly surmised, this image is pigment on ceramic! Specifically, it is on a Liverpool delft transfer-printed tile, seen here in full: Jane Lessingham as Ophelia,…
“What manner o’ thing is your crocodile?”: December 2020
Ack! Nearly December already? Wasn’t it just March? (Isn’t it still March?) Guess that means it’s time for another Crocodile Mystery. Take a look at the image below. It’s not pencil on paper. It’s not oil on canvas. What is…
Creating John Gregory’s Bas Reliefs at the Folger
Who carved the John Gregory’s bas reliefs on the facade of the Folger? Readers of last week’s Collation post will know that the apparently obvious answer—John Gregory—is incorrect. Sculptor John Gregory (1879–1958) definitely created the works of art, but professional…