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Virtual Events

Not Just Another Day Off (Jan 18)
Critical Race Conversations: Race and the Archive (Jan 28)
Words, Words, Words: The Moor’s Account (Feb 4)
O.B. Hardison Poetry: Tracy K. Smith and Maurice Manning (Feb 11)
O.B. Hardison Poetry: Michael Collier and Monica Sok (Apr 13)

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Home to the world's largest Shakespeare collection. Advancing knowledge and the arts. Explore our collection with #FolgerFinds.

I am once again asking you if it's time for tea ye

I am once again asking you if it's time for tea yet.
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Reading room photo by @davidhuffcreative, with Senator Sanders digitally added. #FolgerShakespeareLibrary #LibrariesOfInstagram #FolgerLibrary #IGLibraries #Brrrnie #GrumpyBernie #Bookstagram #FolgerFellows

For Inauguration Day, here's some Shakespeare from

For Inauguration Day, here's some Shakespeare from a past president! President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave the Folger this his set of the Temple complete works of Shakespeare in 1943. He inscribed this volume: "For the Folger Shakespeare Library from Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This set was given by me to my Mother - Sara Delano Roosevelt about 1900 - and was in her room at Hyde Park until her death in 1941, when it came back to me. FDR 1943." (Folger PR2752 1894-1896 copy 2 Sh.Col.) #InaugurationDay #FolgerFinds

Did you have to memorize and recite a speech from

Did you have to memorize and recite a speech from Shakespeare for a English or theater class in school? What speech did you memorize? What year were you in? And how did your presentation go? Tell us in the comments!
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From our collection, here's an 1881 copy of "Shakespeare for the Young Folk," edited by Robert Raikes Raymond. Raymond was the founder and principal of the Boston School for Oratory. According to an 1894 issue of "Werner's Magazine: A Journal of Expression—Vocal and Physical," the school was still operating in 1894, six years after Raymond's death. It had six departments: Gymnastics, Pantomime, the Voice, Dramatic Presentation, Literature, and the Philosophy of Expression. A complete course of study took two years to complete. The school year was 29 weeks long; students attended classes six days a week and paid $150 a year in tuition. #FolgerFinds #PublishersBindingThursday
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Sh.Misc 299 #PublishersBinding #GoldPublishersBinding #Shakespeare #WilliamShakespeare #ShakespeareLove #Elecution #Oratory #Book #Bookstagram #Booklover #Bookworm #Books #Bookstagrammer #Library #LibrariesOfInstagram #IGLibrary

Tap the link in our bio to try out this 17th-centu

Tap the link in our bio to try out this 17th-century pirate's hot chocolate recipe from our collection, adapted for modern kitchens by Cooking in the Archives (@rare_cooking). This recipe comes from pirate and botanist William Hughes, who brought it back to England after he picked it up on a privateering ship sailing in the Caribbean. He published it in a lengthy section about chocolate preparation in his book "The American Physitian" (1672), in which he calls hot chocolate the "American Nectar." The book includes a long list of ingredients that indigenous Americans and European colonizers added to their hot chocolate: "chocolate, milk, water, grated bread, sugar, maiz [corn flour], egg, wheat flour, cassava, chili pepper [hot and sweet varieties], nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, musk, ambergris, cardamom, orange flower water, citrus peel, citrus and spice oils, achiote [annatto seed], vanilla, fennel, annis, black pepper, ground almonds, almond oil, rum, brandy, [and] sack." @Rare_cooking's version includes chili flakes, bread crumbs, and vanilla. #LinkInBio
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📸: Hot chocolate photo by Teresa Wood Photography @teresawoodphotography William Hughes, "The American Physitian," 1672. Folger 160- 266q. #Recipe #HistFood #HotChocolate #HotCocoa #Chocolate #ChocolateLovers #FolgerFinds #BeforeFarmToTable #FirstChefs #RecipeOfTheDay #FoodHist

Makes us miss stepping into the warm lights of Fol

Makes us miss stepping into the warm lights of Folger Theatre on a cold, dark night. From our collection: a late 19th-century watercolor of the Drury Lane Theatre by artist Paul Braddon, from a series called "The Haunts of Sarah Siddons." A manuscript note on the sketch's backing says, "Drury Lane Theatre It was here that Sarah Siddons made her debut, the result being rather disappointing to Garrick—the character being ill chosen—her next appearance Oct 10, 1782 was a triumphant success." #FolgerFinds
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#Watercolor #SarahSiddons #Watercolorist #WatercolorsOfInstagram #DruryLane #DruryLaneTheatre #painting #Art #artist #Sketch #Sketchbook

If these plays don't look familiar to you, don't w

If these plays don't look familiar to you, don't worry. This is the Third Folio, the third printed edition of Shakespeare's collected works, following the books we call the First Folio and the Second Folio. The Third Folio (1663) and Fourth Folio (1685) include a number of plays we no longer believe that Shakespeare wrote, including the "Tragedy of Locrine." Tap the link in our bio to read Alexandra E. LaGrand's new blog post all about the history of "Locrine" and how it came, for a time, to be attributed to Shakespeare.
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Fun (sad?) fact: there are actually fewer copies of the Third Folio today than there are of any of the other editions, making it the rarest of the Folios. Because the Third Folio was published in 1663, many copies were still in London when the Great Fire of London occurred in 1666. @ShakespeareBTrust writes: "The Stationer’s shops and print shops were lost in the fire. Many booksellers placed their stocks in the crypt of St. Faith’s beneath the choir of St. Paul’s—the flaming roof of the cathedral broke through the sealed vault and the books are said to have burned for a week." #Shakespeare #LinkInBio
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From our collection: "Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies" (Third Folio), 1663. Folger S2914 Fo.3 no.13.

A Statement from Michael Witmore, Director of the

A Statement from Michael Witmore, Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library, January 7, 2021:
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Like so many who are privileged to work on Capitol Hill, we at the Folger are saddened and shaken by what happened in our neighborhood yesterday. The violent breach of the US Capitol to thwart the election and peaceful transfer of power is an affront to our American democracy and our District community.
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This is a moment of great division in American life, in part because of the pandemic. But there are deeper underlying divisions, about culture, about freedom, about racial justice, and about who gets to enjoy the benefits of our democratic society. These conflicts are real and they define our moment.
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We do not know what the coming days and months will bring. But as an institution representing the arts and humanities, part of our role in civic life is to take deep questions and deep disagreements and meet them with a knowledge of history and a passion for greater understanding.
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To all who have reached out to us, the Folger—our staff, collection, and landmark building— remains safe. What’s also safe is our commitment to engaging more and more of our fellow Americans in challenging conversations that elevate our shared humanity and strengthen our democracy.
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Tap the link in our bio to read this statement on our website.

What do you want to see more of on our Instagram i

What do you want to see more of on our Instagram in 2021? Tell us in the comments! From our collection: A beautiful goatskin binding, possibly by bookbinder Richard Balley, on a 1691 copy of William Walsh's "A Dialogue Concerning Women: Being a Defence of the Sex." #FolgerFinds
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Folger W645. #Bookbinding #Book #Bookstagram #Booklover #Books #Binding #SpecColl #SpecialCollections #LibrariesOfInstagram #IGLibrary

Today is Twelfth Night, so from our collection, he

Today is Twelfth Night, so from our collection, here are three costume renderings for a production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" by Henry Hawes Craven, one of the 19th-century's greatest British scenic painters and designers. Which of these costumes is your favorite? We're huge fans of Maria's dramatic collar. #FolgerFinds
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Folger ART Box G796 nos. 4, 5, and 6. #TwelfthNight #Shakespeare #WilliamShakespeare #ShakespeareLove #Theatre #TheatreLife #TheatreKid #HenryHawesCraven #HenryHawesCravenGreen #Costume #Costuming #Costumer #CostumeRendering #Watercolor

Happy New Year from the Folger! Here are a few of

Happy New Year from the Folger! Here are a few of our most popular posts from 2020, the year when we shared our Shakespeare together... even though we had to be apart. We're looking forward to sharing even more Shakespeare with you in 2021!

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#Top9 #TopNine #TopNine2020 #Top9of2020 #Shakespeare #FolgerShakespeareLibrary #FolgerFinds #ShareYourShakespeare #WilliamShakespeare #Theatre #TheatreKid #ActorLife

Have a holly jolly Christmas! From our collection,

Have a holly jolly Christmas! From our collection, here's a pattern from the 1608 Trevelyon Miscellany. What is the Trevelyon Miscellany? The curators of our 2004 exhibition "Word & Image" wrote that this 600-page manuscript, created by Thomas Trevelyon, is best be described as a prototype coffee table book, created for the entertainment, education, and edification of his friends and family. The subject matter leaps from mundane to mythical, poetic to practical. Familiar scenes of domesticity and husbandry are intertwined with epic religious and political epitomes.

Trevelyon trawled chronicles, almanacs, broadsides, emblem books, and the Bible for his source material, appropriating texts and images from an unknown number of books, woodcuts, and engravings. But one could hardly accuse him of lacking an imagination. While most of the drawings are amusingly primitive, the overall effect is extraordinary. Viewing the pages individually, one loses the impact of his use of repeated visual imagery and ornamental borders. The manuscript is an attempt to create order and calm out of a disorderly and chaotic world. #FolgerFinds

📯🎼 Spend Christmas Eve with the Folger Conso

📯🎼 Spend Christmas Eve with the Folger Consort. Our virtual holiday concert is available on-demand now, and features gorgeous seasonal melodies from J.S. Bach, Michael Praetorius, and 18th-century American choral composer William Billings. Tap the link in our bio for tickets from $25. 🎵🎶🎻
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#LinkInBio #VirtualConcert #Music #EarlyMusic #ClassicalMusic #Christmas #ChristmasConcert #Holidays #HappyHolidays #FolgerConsort #ChristmasMusic #ChristmasCarol #Carolling #Carol

Happy holidays from all of us at the Folger! Wishi

Happy holidays from all of us at the Folger! Wishing you joy this holiday season, and a very, very happy new year. Tap the link in our bio to check out our Holiday Joy Kit, featuring historical recipes from our collections, Spotify playlists from Folger Consort, and more fun ways to celebrate the season!
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#happyholidays #merrychristmas #happynewyear #shakespeare

Miss this space! We can't wait to return to the Fo

Miss this space! We can't wait to return to the Folger's Gail Kern Paster Reading Room after our renovation is complete. 📸: @DavidHuffCreative, 2019.

Jane Austen was born #OnThisDay in 1775, so here's

Jane Austen was born #OnThisDay in 1775, so here's a #WaybackWednesday to 2016, when The Shirt—the one Colin Firth wore as Mr. Darcy for the "lake swim" scene in the 1995 BBC mini-series of "Pride and Prejudice"—appeared at the Folger in our exhibition "Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity," curated by Janine Barchas and Kristina Straub. The exhibition examined the ways that Austen and Shakespeare ascended to literary superstardom in the 200 years after their respective deaths and the cultural mechanisms that make people celebrities. 📷: Lloyd Wolf #WillandJane

From our collection: "The Seven Ages of Man," a se

From our collection: "The Seven Ages of Man," a series of prints illustrating the famous speech from Shakespeare's "As You Like It." Comment with the Age of Man you were at the start of 2020 vs. the Age of Man you feel like you are now. #FolgerFinds
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Walter Launt Palmer, printmaker, after drawing by Henry Stacey Marks, 19th century. Folger ART File S528a4 no.49. #AsYouLikeIt #Shakespeare #WilliamShakespeare #ShakespeareLove #7AgesOfMan #SevenAgesOfMan #Jaques #TheSevenAgesOfMan #2020 #Aging #AgingGracefully #AgesOfMan

Did you memorize the prologue from "Romeo and Juli

Did you memorize the prologue from "Romeo and Juliet" for 9th grade English? If you did, you won't have any problems with our latest quiz. Tap the link in our bio to see if you can put the lines from the prologue in the correct order. Tell us your score in the comments! #LinkInBio #Quiz
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Before it was published in the First Folio of 1623, "Romeo and Juliet" was published in numerous quarto editions (small books made by folding printed sheets twice to create four double-sided leaves or eight pages). Did you know that most modern editions of the play, including The Folger Shakespeare edition, are based primarily on the second quarto from 1599? In fact, the First Folio does not include the play's famous prologue at all. This image comes from one of the Folger's copies of the 1599 second quarto. #FolgerFinds #RomeoandJuliet

🌩️⚡ Wednesday, December 16, at 5 pm ET, Fol

🌩️⚡ Wednesday, December 16, at 5 pm ET, Folger Director Michael Witmore joins us for the final Shakespeare Lightning Round of 2020! How will he answer our thirty lightning-fast Shakespeare questions? What Shakespeare play does he think is overrated? Which Shakespeare character would he choose to be stranded on a desert island with? Tune in Wednesday, right here on Instagram, to find out! #ShakespeareLightningRound 🌩️⚡

Give a gift, get a mask! Support the Folger with a

From our collection: a 1923 gouache, watercolor, a

From our collection: a 1923 gouache, watercolor, and pen illustration of Hamlet's meeting with the ghost of his father, by the prolific Bohemian artist Artuš Scheiner (ART 270651). #FolgerFinds
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#Shakespeare #ListListOList #WilliamShakespeare #ShakespeareIllustrated #Watercolor #Gouache #Painting #PaintingsOfInstagram #Illustration #Hamlet

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