I think Miranda will forgive the paraphrase when we say it’s a strange new world out there right now. For many of us, our lives have been turned upside down in the last week (has it really only been a week?), and we suddenly find ourselves needing to rapidly figure out how to work, teach, and study in a remote/virtual environment. … Continue Reading
Let’s face it, every special collections library has at least a few mystery items in the vault that are quietly passed down over the decades from curator to curator (or cataloger to cataloger, or acquisitions librarian to acquisitions librarian). These items exist in a liminal space of low-level awareness and quietly dissipating institutional knowledge, awaiting the elusive day when they can be remembered and identified.… Continue Reading
A guest post by Kathleen Long
In 1605, a satirical novel, now known under the title L’Isle des Hermaphrodites (The Island of Hermaphrodites) was circulating on the streets of Paris. It was very popular at the time, according to contemporary accounts, and it was republished several times in the eighteenth century. Since its first publication, it has been read as being a criticism of the excesses of the French court during the reign of Henri III.… Continue Reading
Yes, indeed, the Folger collection item the March 2020 Crocodile Mystery is two-toned because of fading (and yes, indeed, it is a tapestry). Congratulations and thanks to Elisabeth, Ed, and Carolyn for their comments. The mystery wasn’t quite solved, though: the darker areas were not protected from light by being folded under or covered by something opaque, as was proposed in the comments.… Continue Reading
It’s said that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. The Collation‘s March 2020 Crocodile Mystery, however, comes in with a unicorn and stag, and the following questions: what is this object, and why is it two-tone?… Continue Reading
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
A guest post by Sasha Handley
Take ye yolks of 14 Egs & six whites & boyle them very well strain them into
a pewter Bason put a quarte of a pint of Sack to them a grated nutmeg a little
senemond [cinnamon] as much white shuger as you thinke fitt sett them upon a chafin dish
of charcoles keep it stiring till it is prety hot lett a quart of milke boyle up
upon the fier put a peece of butter and two sponefulls of shuger in
it when the egs are hott power in the milke upon them then cover
it up presently close and lett it stand a quarter of an hower then sett it
upon a cold stone
This recipe for “sack posset,” dating to c.1672, can be found in the recipe book of Constance Hall in the Folger Shakespeare Library.… Continue Reading
Well, I’m afraid our mystery image might have been a little too mysterious. For those of you still playing along, the mystery image from last week is an image from a microfilm of Folger MS D.a.6 that seems to show multiple pages on top of each other. Here is the full double page opening for context:
Doesn’t help much, does it?… Continue Reading
Welcome back to our monthly Crocodile Mystery! For those of you (ahem) mystified by this designation for our reoccurring series of posts, take a look at the post where it was named! For the question this month, we’re returning to our roots and asking “what manner of thing is this?” aka what is going on here? what do you notice about the image below?… Continue Reading
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
