Posts Categorized: Uncategorized

Postcards in the Folger Archives: British Sea Captain John Robinson and Henry Folger

June 23, 2020 | By Guest Author

A guest post by Stephen Grant Rosy-cheeked and white-bearded poet, painter, and shipmaster John Robinson of Watford, Hertfordshire was a commanding presence on the bridge of the steamship Minnehaha from 1900 until he retired from the American-owned Atlantic Transport Line due to poor eyesight in 1907. His seafaring career spanned a half-century, starting as cabin boy at a shilling a month.… Continue Reading

Inside the Folger Archives: Uncle Henry’s Pipers

May 19, 2020 | By Sara Schliep

As we all adjust to social distancing and teleworking, I have been reflecting on similar disruptions at the Folger during World War II. And in that vein, I would like to share with Collation readers the story of Uncle Henry’s Pipers—a short-lived recorder quartet—as revealed by ephemera and correspondence in the Folger’s Institutional Archives. The recorder was a popular instrument with minstrels and the upper class in the early modern world.… Continue Reading

First Folger Director: William Adams Slade, Part III

May 12, 2020 | By Guest Author

A guest post by Stephen Grant Similar to First Folger Director William Adams Slade, Part II, Part III will be deltiological in only one instance, as we continue to examine connections between Folgers and Slades (for readers seeking more deltiological content, Part I should fulfill those wishes). Closing this series on William Adams Slade, we are able to present a kaleidoscopic picture of the little-known first director of the Folger by drawing from a variety of sources: Mr.… Continue Reading

The “Greco Deco” Folger Shakespeare Library

April 21, 2020 | By Erin Blake

The About page for this blog declares that The Collation “seeks to present bite-sized glimpses of the materials found within our walls.” That’s a bit tricky at the moment: like most of the rest of the Folger staff, I haven’t had a glimpse within those walls since March 13, when we began teleworking to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The District of Columbia is now under a stay-at-home order so I can’t even glimpse the outside of those walls.… Continue Reading

Hooked on Book Furniture…

April 14, 2020 | By Guest Author

… corners, clasps (and other interesting metal parts of a book)! A guest post by Dawn Hoffmann What makes these little (and some not so tiny) metal parts so intriguing? Why were they put on these books and who might have made them? How did the artisans get the materials and tools to make them? What kinds of metal are the pieces made of?… Continue Reading

Subscribing to the blog

April 10, 2020 | By The Collation

As some of you have noticed (and kindly reached out to us about!), we’re having a little bit of technical difficulties with the built-in blog subscription module. (You may have noticed that the lovely “subscribe here!” box that usually lives on the right-hand side of the page has vanished…) We’re working on getting that sorted out, but in the interim, we do have a backup solution.… Continue Reading

First Folger Director: William Adams Slade, Part II

March 24, 2020 | By Guest Author

A guest post by Stephen Grant Part I of the William Adams Slade saga was largely deltiological, that is having to do with picture postcards. Part II will be deltiological in one instance. Let’s now pick up with chronological references linking Folgers and Slades. It’s interesting to note that in the 1930s two Shakespeare scholars are presidents of two of the Seven Sisters: Henry N.… Continue Reading

First Folger Director: William Adams Slade, Part I

February 20, 2020 | By Guest Author

A Guest Post by Stephen H. Grant Dear Collators, at a Fall 2019 reception in the Great Hall, I captured a rare historic moment in the Library’s history. We contemplate the personification of more than a third of a century of recent Folger leadership, side by side, in flesh and blood. Werner Gundersheimer was Folger director from 1984 to 2002. Gail Kern Paster succeeded Werner as Folger director in 2002 and stepped down in 2011.… Continue Reading

Ben Greet: “Thank God for Henry Clay Folger”

January 21, 2020 | By Guest Author

A guest post by Stephen Grant First, a most Happy New Year to you all! I’m sure that 2020 is the beginning of a big decade for the Folger!! And I can’t wait until the Folger Centennial in 2032!!! For the first 2020 post in the series “Postcards in the Folger Archives,” dear Collators, we’ll try something new. We’ll pick a friend of both Henry and Emily Folger and follow a timeline.… Continue Reading

Happy New Year (by one calendar anyway)

December 31, 2019 | By The Collation

We’re well aware that around the world, and across time, there are many calendars (boy howdy do we know that), but if the calendar that you use is about to change over to January 1, 2020, we wish you a wonderful and happy new year! We’ll be back next week with our regularly scheduled content!… Continue Reading