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Virtual Events

Words, Words, Words: I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem (Oct 1)
Critical Race Conversations: We Are What You Eat: Conversations on Food and Race (Oct 15)
Words, Words, Words: License to Quill (Nov 5)
Shakespeare Lightning Round: John Tufts (Nov 18)
Critical Race Conversations: Race and the Archive (Nov 19)
Words, Words, Words: Hamnet (Dec 3)
Critical Race Conversations: Shakespeare and Race in Performance (Dec 10)

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

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"As Holly Dugan explains in 'The Ephemeral History of Perfume: Scent and Sense in Early Modern England,' the aromatic damask rose was introduced to England during Henry VIII’s reign and 'by the end of the sixteenth century, rosewater was retroactively imagined as a fully English commodity'... eliding the Syrian origins of the damask rose and the Egyptian, Arabic, and Middle Eastern innovations of distillation. That imagined history of the Englishness of the rose continues to this day in popular perfumes. Elisabethan Rose 2018 claims: “Behold the famous Tudor rose – the flower of England."

Tap the link in our bio to read a new blog post by Colleen Kennedy about two 21st-century perfumes that try to bottle Tudor England.

From our collection: a hand-colored 1597 copy of John Gerard's "Herbal" (Folger STC 11750 copy 6). #FolgerFinds

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"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name,
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet."

Did you know you can read, download, and search all of Shakespeare's works online for free with The Folger Shakespeare? Tap the link in our bio to start with "Romeo And Juliet."

From our collection: "Study for Miss O'Neill as Juliet," by George Dawe. Oil on canvas, ca. 1816 (Folger FPb19). #FolgerFinds

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We can't wait to see you (virtually) tonight at @theatrewash's online #HelenHayesAwards! Folger Theatre's "Nell Gwynn" is nominated for two awards this evening: Outstanding Ensemble in a Play (Hayes) and Outstanding Production in a Play (Hayes). We're so excited to gather with Washington, DC's theater community to celebrate all of the year's incredible productions and artists!
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📸s: The cast of Folger Theatre’s “Nell Gwynn,” directed by Robert Richmond. Original music by Kim Sherman. Scenic Design by Tony Cisek. Costume design by Mariah Anzaldo Hale. Lighting Design by Andrew F. Griffin. Sound Design by Matt Otto. Photo by Brittany Diliberto @beetwosweet #Theatre #TheatreKid #TheatreLover #DCTheatre #onstage #production #costume #stage #actor #actorlife #icantihaverehearsal #FolgerTheatre #NellGwynn #JessicaSwale #AlisonLuff #HelenHayesAwards #HelenHayes #TheatreWashington

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Cryptologist William F. Friedman was born #OnThisDay in 1891. Friedman, whose team broke the Japanese diplomatic code before World War II, was once a junior staffer on a team seeking coded evidence that Francis Bacon wrote Shakespeare's plays (a then-popular theory that Friedman and his wife and fellow cryptographer Elizebeth debunked). This cryptographic Christmas card, which the Friedman family sent out in 1928, was loaned to us in 2014 by the George C. Marshall Foundation (@georgecmarshallmuseum) for display in our exhibition "Decoding the Renaissance: 500 Years of Codes and Ciphers."

Want more codes, ciphers, and secrets? Tap the link in our bio to listen to our Shakespeare Unlimited interview with scholar Bill Sherman, director of @the_Warburg_Institute and curator of "Decoding The Renaissance," about five centuries of codes and ciphers and how they influenced Friedman and modern cryptography.

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Grocery shopping these days can be nerve-wracking, so it's fun to escape into this exhaustive food budget from 342 years ago. From our collection, these are the household expenses of Thomas Osborne, Duke of Leeds, from September 18 – 23, 1678. Zoom in to take a closer look at the items the Duke's servants bought and their costs. #FolgerFinds
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#groceryshopping #groceryhaul #grocerylist #paleography #SpecColl #SpecialCollections #LibrariesOfInstagram #LookatthisBook #Book #Books #food #foodbudget #Bookstagram

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Today marks the autumnal equinox and the first day of fall! From our collection, here's a late 17th- or early 18th-century hand-colored copy of an early 17th-century print by Magdalena van de Passe. Any Latin students want to take a pass at the lines inscribed below this print? It reads: "En ego maturos Autumnus profero fructus. Efficio que me ne sit spes vana colom." #FolgerFinds #FirstDayOfFall
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#Fall #AutumnalEquinox #Autumn #Print #Printmaking #Latin #MagdalenaVanDePasse #AutumnVibes #FallVibes #SpecColl #SpecialCollections #LibrariesOfInstagram #Library

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As you walk past the Folger this week, you’ll start seeing more signs of our renovation project. On Friday, we moved the statue of Puck that stands on the west side of our building. We’re preparing to move one of our beloved (and very big) magnolia trees sixty feet south of where it currently stands. As our renovation continues, Puck will be placed next to the new western entrance to our building.

The statue of Puck that currently lives outside the Folger is an aluminum replica of the original statue designed by sculptor Brenda Putnam and carved by Robert Baillie in 1932. The original sits safely inside the building, next to the doors of our historic Elizabethan Theater. 📸: Lloyd Wolf. #FolgerRenovation

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“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed…” ("Merchant," 5.1)

Remembering Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933 – 2020), a towering jurist and lover of the arts. In 2016, that love brought her to Venice, where Justice Ginsburg watched a production of "Merchant" featuring her grandson (as Lorenzo), and adjudicated a mock-trial appeal of Shylock’s case (nullifying the terms of the verdict that require Shylock to convert and restoring his 3,000 ducats). And, as in this quotation, her life and work shine as an example to all of us. May her memory be a blessing.

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Remembering the late Dame Diana Rigg, of “The Avengers,” “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” “Game of Thrones,” and much. much more, pictured here with Sir Derek Jacobi at the 1997 Folger Gala. Rigg was an early member of the Royal Shakespeare Company—check out YouTube to find the entirety of the company’s 1969 film version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” featuring Rigg as Helena along with Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, and Ian Holm. What's your favorite of Dame Diana's performances?

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From our collection: "The Cabinet Gallery and Compendium of Shakespeare’s Dramatic Works..." by George A. Smith, 1890. Can you name the two characters on this book's cover? (To be fair: our social media manager is confident about who one of them is, but is mildly stumped by the other.) #FolgerFinds #PublishersBindingThursday

Update: check the comments for the correct identifications!
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#Shakespeare #WilliamShakespeare #Book #Books #Bookstagram #LookAtThisBook #Booklover #Bookstagrammer #SpecColl #SpecialCollections #LibrariesOfInstagram #PublishersBinding #BluePublishersBindingThursday #BluePublishersBinding

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"If anything really brings us together, it's the firm belief that to understand our present and to move into the future, we must know our past." As part of our virtual Folger Gala on Monday night, we visited celebrated chef and Gala Co-Chair José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) for a cooking demonstration and a conversation about history. José dug into his collection of historical cookbooks to show us how to make a gazpacho recipe from Mary Randolph's early 19th-century cookbook, "The Virginia Housewife." Tap the link in our bio to watch his demonstration and see the rest of our online gala, featuring performances from Kim Schraf, Craig Wallace, Soloman Howard, and Kevin Miller.

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During last night's Folger Gala, we broke ground on the Folger's historic renovation project with Folger Director Michael Witmore and Folger Board of Governors Chair J. May Liang. We can't wait to show you what's next.

This month, you'll start seeing signs of our construction project as you walk past the Folger... especially on the west side of our building, where we're moving Puck Fountain and preparing to shift one of our beloved magnolia trees 60 feet south of where it's currently planted.

Want to stay up to date on our renovation project? Visit folger.edu/renovation or tap the link in our bio.

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Join us tonight, September 14, at 7 pm ET for our virtual Folger Gala, featuring a performance from actors Kim Schraf and Craig Wallace, the musical stylings of pianist Kevin Miller and singer Soloman Howard, and a special appearance from celebrated chef and Gala Co-Chair José Andrés! Stream this year's Folger Gala for free on Facebook, YouTube, or folger.edu. Tap the link in our bio to learn more, watch live, and make a fully tax-deductible donation to support the Folger's ongoing work.

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From our collection: We love the weirdly-cut gold mattes around these watercolor illustrations of "Othello" by L. Marchetti. #FolgerFinds
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19th- or early 20th-century. Folger ART Box M317. #Shakespeare #WilliamShakespeare #Othello #Watercolor #Painting #Paintings #WatercolorIllustration #WatercolorArtist #Theatre #Literature #Illustration #ShakespeareIllustrated

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This Wednesday on the 🌩️Shakespeare Lightning Round⚡ we chat with Folger Director of Education Peggy O'Brien about about students, Shakespeare, and the start of a new school year. Plus, Peggy answers our 30 lightning-fast Shakespeare questions! Tune in on Instagram Live, Wednesday, September 9 at 5 pm ET! #ShakespeareLightningRound
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Photo: Satsun Photography / Beverlié Lord #engchat #teacher #teachers #TeachersOfInstagram #EnglishTeachers #Literature #edchat #educator #Shakespeare #WilliamShakespeare

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David Garrick's Shakespeare Jubilee took place #OnThisDay in 1769. The event was a sodden, poorly-organized mess (traffic jams, price-gouging, destructive flood, etc.) that, somehow, helped make Shakespeare a national literary hero. Tap the link in our bio to listen to our interview with Andrew McConnell Stott about this wet and weird weekend in 1769. From our collection: a ticket to the event signed by David Garrick's brother, George. #LinkInBio #FolgerFinds
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#DavidGarrick #Shakespeare #History #Literature #StratfordUponAvon #Stratford #Anniversary #OnThisDay #FolgerFinds #SpecialCollection #SpecColl #LibrariesOfInstagram

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Congratulations to the amazing Alison Luff @AlisonLuff on her Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Performer in a Play, for her performance as Nell Gwynn in Folger Theatre's "Nell Gwynn!"
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Alison Luff in Folger Theatre’s “Nell Gwynn,” directed by Robert Richmond. Original music by Kim Sherman. Scenic Design by Tony Cisek. Costume design by Mariah Anzaldo Hale. Lighting Design by Andrew F. Griffin. Sound Design by Matt Otto. Photo by Brittany Diliberto @beetwosweet #Theatre #TheatreKid #TheatreLover #DCTheatre #onstage #production #costume #stage #actor #actorlife #icantihaverehearsal #FolgerTheatre #NellGwynn #JessicaSwale #AlisonLuff #HelenHayesAwards #HelenHayes #TheatreWashington

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How do you learn about past and current rulers? Cardinal Mazarin commissioned four sets of playing cards to educate the young Prince Louis—the future Louis XIV of France—on this topic. The sets include etchings by the Italian Stefano della Bella, with moralistic text by the French dramatist Desmarets. This set combines cards of kings and queens, including Elizabeth I, who is described as a wise and skilled ruler. This book of etchings, from 1698, was featured in our exhibition "Beyond Words," curated by Caroline Duroselle-Melish. Swipe to see the beginnings of a straight-flush: the 3, 4, and 5 of hearts (Elizabeth is the 4❤️). #FolgerFinds
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"Jeux Historiques des Rois de France, Reines Renommées, Géographie et Métamorphose," Folger GV1487 .D4 1698 Cage. #Cards #DeckOfCards #PlayingCards #Etchings #Print #Printmaking #Bookstagram #RareBook #RareBooks #Book #Books #SpecColl #SpecialCollections #LouisXIV #QueenElizabethI #ElizabethI #CardGame #PokerNight #LookAtThisBook

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Check out these Folger editions from @amberiasbookstagram. Thanks for sharing Amberia!

Did you know that you can read the Folger editions of Shakespeare's plays, edited by Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine, online with The Folger Shakespeare? Tap the link in our bio to read, search, and download all of Shakespeare's works for free, in addition to critical introductions and textual notes. #TheFolgerShakespeare #FolgerEditions #repost

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#Bookstagram #Booklover #Booklovers #Booklove #Book #Bookstagrammer #Books #LookAtThisBook #Shakespeare #WilliamShakespeare #TheMerchantOfVenice #RomeoAndJuliet

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This Wednesday on the 🌩️Shakespeare Lightning Round⚡... it's @osfashland Artistic Director Nataki Garrett! We'll talk about the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's new streaming platform, O! Plus, we'll learn Garrett's favorite lines from Shakespeare, what she orders from concessions at the theater, and more. Tune in on Instagram Live, Wednesday, September 2 at 5 pm ET/2 pm PT. #LinkInBio #OregonShakespeareFestival
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#Shakespeare #WilliamShakespeare #OSFAshland #ShakespeareLightningRound

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