After studying Shakespeare in our homeschool, we’ve wanted to visit the famous Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC. At last, that day came.
A 19TH CENTURY FAN
Henry Folger, who is related to the founder of Folger’s Coffee, became fascinated in Shakespeare during his college years.
By 1881, Folger was working at Standard Oil, where he came to know John D. Rockefeller.
Around that time Folger also met his future wife, Emily, at a literary group.
While attending a picnic with the literary club, Emily gave a toast from Othello while Henry gave his from As You Like It.
A DREAM
After marrying on October 6, 1885, Henry and Emily collected Shakespearean works, soon owning the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s First Folios.
Although Folger dreamed of building a library for his collection, he doubted that possibility, so he offered to sell his collection to Rockefeller, who had other interests.
By the end of WWI, the Folgers seriously considered various locations to house their collection: Amherst (Henry’s alma mater), Nantucket, Massachusetts, the University of Chicago, New York City, and Stratford-upon-Avon.
Taking annual vacations to The Homestead resort in Hot Springs, Virginia, the Shakespearean fans traveled through Washington DC, which became a contender.
Settling on a site on Capitol Hill, that were full of townhouses, Folger slowly bought them up as they came on the market.
Agreeing to Folger’s idea, Congress enabled his use of the land by passing a resolution.
Although the cornerstone was finally laid in 1930, Henry Folger never saw the completion of the library since he died before its completion.
Leaving his fortune in a trust for the library, Folger appointed his alma mater of Amherst College to be the administrator.
On April 23, 1932, the presumed anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, the library officially opened.
Today, scholars from around the world come to Washington DC to study from the massive collection of original Shakespearean works, as a result of Henry Clay Folger’s generosity.
VISITING THE FOLGER
The first thing we wanted to see was the reproduction of the Globe Theater.
The gorgeous ceiling of the Great Hall…
On display was a reproduction of the First Folio, which we got to handle. The one inside the glass case behind my daughter is the original.
Several of the paintings were of famed 18th century actor David Garrick, who revived Shakespeare on the 18th century stage.
We’ve seen a lot of his plays performed at Colonial Williamsburg.
Garrett’s informal style of acting Shakespeare is displayed in this rendering, which also reflects a similar pose of Shakespeare in Westminster Abbey’s Poets’ Corner.
Unfortunately the Reading Room was closed that day, but at least we managed to peak in.
Then we toured the Elizabethan garden, where we also enjoyed the bas reliefs on the back of the library.
Plants popular in Shakespeare’s time, especially herbs that were referenced in his plays, grow in the garden.
The epilogue from The Tempest is inscribed under the statue.
For more photos, check my Flickr set.
