Collecting Shakespeare: The Story of Henry and Emily Folger

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments The Folger Shakespeare Library generously offered me, an independent scholar, a fellowship in 2007 to delve into its Folger Collection and begin writing the first biography of the institution’s founders. I systematically went through what staff refer to as “Folger Coll,” dozens and dozens of gray or black archival boxes of correspondence and personal papers turned over to the Library by Emily Jordan Folger in 1931. In addition, many file cabinets in the vault contain “Folger case files,” folders marked with the number of one of 2,109 wooden cases and related to books and other material inside which arrived from New York and were unpacked in the library basement for classification and shelving. I suspected that most of my primary sources for the book lay in the bowels of the library. Escorted by the head of reader services, Betsy Walsh, and armed with a tape measure, I made my first descent into the low-temperature, low-humidity underground vault to assess what I was taking on. We calculated 166 linear feet of personal Folger papers. One could add 258 linear feet of book auction catalogs, the indispensable reference of the antiquarian book collector. This collection dwarfed the Folger papers I found in over thirty other archives in the United States and United Kingdom (see the bibliography for a full list). At the end of my research, the Folger kindly offered a stipend to the publisher to increase the number of illustrations in the book. Three Folger directors—Werner Gundersheimer, Gail Kern Paster, and Michael Witmore—plus two Folger librarians—Richard Kuhta and Steve Enniss—sat for interviews or gave feedback on draft chapters. Marifrancis Hardison, whose husband directed the Folger from the late 1960s, in several discussions spoke of developments at the institution during the 1970s. Their collective experience spans more than forty years, half the Folger’s life. Betsy Walsh and her staff, head of reference Georgianna Ziegler, curators Erin Blake and Heather Wolfe, and former curator Laetitia Yeandle responded promptly and with extensive expertise to my countless queries. xvi Acknowledgments Robert L. Harrison, cousin of Henry Folger’s mother, provided reams of documents on the Folger and Dimock familes and guided me on a visit to Folger and Pratt residences on Long Island. Cynthia Farrell Johnson took me to the Folger neighborhoods in Brooklyn. I am grateful for the opportunity to visit or conduct phone interviews with Folger or Jordan relatives: Emily Smith Carter, George Dimock , Peter Dimock, John Folger, Peter Folger, Lucy Lieberfeld, Caroline Smith Malmborg, Emmie Mattingly, Mary Susannah Robbins, and Suzanne Stahler. The Washington Biography Group, led by Marc Pachter, provided stimulation and support during its monthly meetings. The newer Biographers International Organization through its monthly newsletter, The Biographer’s Craft, and annual conferences presented a forum for biographers to share ideas and apply new skills, and it is a group in which I participate actively. My literary agent, Amanda Mecke, provided unfailing support and superb guidance . Freelance editor Judith Dollenmayer applied her vast knowledge and skill to the writing. Abigail B. Wiebenson and Mary Z. Gray carefully read every chapter and shared ideas for strengthening the narrative. Ralph Johanson, Deborah CurrenAquino , Richard Linenthal, Ken Jadin, and William Becker shared their expertise on specific chapters. Marcia Carter lent me works on book collecting. Elizabeth Pohland and Sylviane Grant assisted with digital photo management; Yonel Grant, with tables and data management. I thank my editor at the Johns Hopkins University Press, Greg Nicholl, who demonstrated confident and creative skill as he guided my manuscript through to publication, and my copy editor, Glenn Perkins, for his alert and precise attention to textual presentation. Collecting Shakespeare This page intentionally left blank ...