Postcards in the (home) archive: Folger postcards, 1935

June 8, 2021 | By Guest Author

A guest post by Stephen Grant Editor’s Note: Stephen’s previous post covers postcards of the Folger from 1934. Printed on picture side: Statue of Puck Folger Shakespeare Library Printed on address side: FIGURE OF PUCK, BY BRENDA PUTNAM FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY, WASHINGTON, D.C. ©RIDEOUT STUDIO POST CARD CORRESPONDENCE Written message: “Perhaps with a magnifying glass you can read what Puck is saying.… Continue Reading

Malicious teaseling: or how a simple reference question got complicated

June 2, 2021 | By Heather Wolfe

We had seven excellent answers to the Crocodile, which included an image titled “Malice,” but not the text below it. The general consensus was that the cowering man was winding thread or wool off of a drop spindle. One of the great things about being a curator is that you get to meet all kinds of people doing all kinds of interesting research in areas that you know little about.… Continue Reading

“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: June 2021

May 25, 2021 | By The Collation

We’re back! Whew! After a few technical difficulties last month, we return to bring you another Crocodile Mystery. We’ll pause while the wild cheering dies down. Please consider the image below and tell us, if you can, what’s going on here? What is the person sitting on the basket doing? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and we’ll be back next week with the answer!… Continue Reading

A recipe for brioche (knitting)

May 18, 2021 | By Rachel B. Dankert and Emily Wahl

…a Collation KAL (knit-along). Cast on We built our friendship with knits and purls over coffee in the Folger Tea Room. Sharing patterns, exchanging techniques, and giving fiber recommendations are still staple conversation topics for us seven years after we first met. It seemed a natural fit, then, for us to co-author a post about a knitting surprise we found in the Folger collection (and not this kind).… Continue Reading

Facial Misrecognition

May 11, 2021 | By Guest Author

A guest post by Wan-Chuan Kao Oliver Sacks, who brought to popular awareness many cognitive conditions that are simultaneously debilitating and fascinating—such as visual agnosia, of which face blindness is one type—observes that “our faces bear the stamp of our experiences and our character”; and “it is with our faces that we face the world, from the moment of birth to the moment of death.”… Continue Reading

Birds, Beasts, Maps, and Books: The Search for Richard Daniel, Esquire

May 4, 2021 | By Guest Author

A guest post by Danielle Skeehan Even before research libraries shut down in March 2020, digitization efforts had already changed how we access archives and how we can do research. From the comfort of my home, I can do a keyword search in Readex, EEBO, Shaw-Shoemaker, and other databases, and access thousands of results in seconds. But, of course, digital archives cannot replace the valuable feedback and support provided by archivists, library staff, your fellowship cohort, and often the fellow sitting next to you in the reading room.… Continue Reading