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The Collation

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

"To Madame Sarah"
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"To Madame Sarah"

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Author
Elizabeth DeBold

Sarah Bernhardt is, for many, synonymous with the melodramatic. One of the most well-known and celebrated actresses of the late-19th and early-20th centuries, she was described by contemporaries as “indefatigable;” “an actress without a rival;” and “a queen of art.”The…

Inside the Folger Archives: Uncle Henry's Pipers
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Inside the Folger Archives: Uncle Henry's Pipers

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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…

First Folger Director: William Adams Slade, Part III
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First Folger Director: William Adams Slade, Part III

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Stephen H. Grant

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…

Following the Trail of Counterfeits in the Folger’s Reformation Collection
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Following the Trail of Counterfeits in the Folger’s Reformation Collection

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Drew Thomas

A guest post by Drew Thomas Among the many collections at the Folger, besides its magnificent Shakespeare Collection, is the Stickelberger Collection of Reformation Tracts. This valuable collection, purchased by the Folger in 1977, was compiled by the Swiss writer…

A red proof sheet used as printer's waste
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A red proof sheet used as printer's waste

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Caroline Duroselle-Melish

Thank you for your guesses on this month’s crocodile mystery. The leaf pictured here shows text from the Litany printed in red. The blank space is where the text in black would have been printed in a second press run.…

“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: May 2020
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“What manner o’thing is your crocodile?”: May 2020

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Author
The Collation

Welcome to the May Crocodile Mystery! Take a look at this image: This sheet has been used as endpaper in a book (the image has been rotated to make the text more legible) but can you guess to what it…

The "Greco Deco" Folger Shakespeare Library
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The "Greco Deco" Folger Shakespeare Library

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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…

Marks in Manuals
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Marks in Manuals

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Bénédicte Miyamoto

A guest post by Bénédicte Miyamoto Are these manuals I spy in the workshop? It is impossible to read the spines of the books in the illustration of an artist’s workshop in Salomon de Caus’s 1612 La perspectiue: auec la…

Hooked on Book Furniture...
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Hooked on Book Furniture...

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Dawn Hoffmann

… 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…

Subscribing to the blog
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Subscribing to the blog

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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…

The Many Different Ways to Make a Lacemaking Pattern Book: The Case of Vinciolo's Book
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The Many Different Ways to Make a Lacemaking Pattern Book: The Case of Vinciolo's Book

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Caroline Duroselle-Melish

Folger Shakespeare Library, NK9405.V5 1592 Cage. Photo by Caroline Duroselle-Melish Early modern lacemaking pattern books are ‘eye catching’ picture books with pages after pages of intricate designs. Unlike most modern pattern books, they generally include very little instructions on…

All the Purposes of a Library: a piece of blue ephemera
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All the Purposes of a Library: a piece of blue ephemera

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Author
Elizabeth DeBold

Thanks to all of you who participated in guessing for this month’s Crocodile Mystery! As some of you noted, it is a book bound in eighteenth-century waste paper, particularly waste paper related to a late eighteenth-century edition of the Cyclopaedia:…

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