Folger Shakespeare Library
Posted by: Touchstone
N 38° 53.378 W 077° 00.169
18S E 326295 N 4306435
If there was ever a place that could be considered a Shakesperean Mecca in the United States, the Folger Library is it. Housing the largest collection of literature related to Shakespeare, this truly is the keeper of the Holy Relics.
Waymark Code: WMYRM
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 11/15/2006
Views: 112
His mind is the horizon beyond which, at present, we do not see.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
The Folger Shakespeare Library is a major center for scholarly research. It
houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works. In
addition, it contains other rare Renaissance books and manuscripts on all
disciplines. Perhaps the most famous work in the Folger Shakespeare collection
is the first collected edition of Shakespeare's works, printed in 1623 and known
as the First Folio. Out of a world supply of 238 First Folios, Folger
collected 79 copies, one of which is always on display in the Great Hall. He
also acquired 58 copies of the Second Folio of 1632, 24 of the Third
Folio of 1663-64, and 36 of the Fourth Folio of 1685. The library
also owns the world's largest collection of 18th and 19th century editions of
Shakespeare, including copies owned by Washington, Adams, and Lincoln. The
entire collection consists of approximately 280,000 books and manuscripts, and
27,000 paintings, drawings, prints, and engravings. The library's north wall
features nine elaborate bas reliefs of famous scenes from Shakespeare, by
sculptor John Gregory. The Reading Room is open to scholars and graduate
students only. During the Library's annual celebration of Shakespeare's birthday
in April, the public has access to this room. The Folder Shakespeare Library
also contains the Elizabethan Theater and Great Hall which offer continual
public programs such as theater productions, music performances, literary
readings, lectures and exhibits. The newest exhibit is the Shakespeare Gallery,
a multimedia computer installation which offers visitors a fascinating look at
over 250 treasurers from the Folger collections plus readings and excerpts from
Shakespeare's plays by noted actors, including Sir Derek Jacobi. There is also a
gift shop in the building.
Henry Clay Folger, a millionaire Standard Oil executive, devoted a great deal
of his life to the acquisition of the largest collection of Shakespearean
materials in the world. Folger purchased the land where the library stands today
a parcel at a time, and he acquired the entire property by 1928. Paul P. Cret,
the architect, designed the building in the modern classical style, to blend
with its neighbors on Capitol Hill including the Capitol, Library of Congress,
and the House and Senate Office Buildings. Construction began in November of
1929. Mr. Folger died two weeks after the cornerstone was laid in 1930. His will
appointed the Trustees of Amherst College to administer the library, and it
remains in their hands today.
Henry Folger’s interest in Shakespeare was sparked by a lecture given by
Ralph Waldo Emerson that he attended as a senior at Amherst College in 1879.
Throughout a long career in the oil industry, he built up, with his wife’s
assistance, the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare materials. Together,
Henry and Emily Folger then planned the library that would house their
collection.
References: Folger
Shakespeare Library , National
Register of Historic Places