OK, I have SO MUCH material to share with you about my visit to the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C., but we'll just start with an overview of WHAT, exactly, the Folger Shakespeare Library is.
Visiting the Folger Shakespeare Library is TOTALLY FREE, as the Folgers gifted it to the public. There is a gift shop, though, stocked with all sorts of awesome Shakespeare stuff, so you're not liable to escape unscathed. There are different Shakespeare exhibits rotating through the Great Hall, so there's always something new to see.
There are several books about the Folgers' collecting adventures, but the only one I've read so far is The Millionaire and the Bard, by Andrea Mays. I recommend it.
Here are just a few of the VERY MANY photos I took at the Folger:
My first-ever glimpse of the Folger Library, waiting patiently for me to cross the street.
One of the nine reliefs decorating the front of the library. This one JUST HAPPENS to depict the "Good Tickle Brain" scene from Henry IV, part 1.
Inside the Folger Reading Room, featuring a bust of Shakespeare modeled on the one in Holy Trinity Church, portraits of Emily and Henry Folger, and the niche where their ashes are interred.
Top-quality merchandise in the Folger gift shop... *ahem*
Standard-issue windowless room where they put all the catalogers.
The stage of the Folger Theatre, designed as a replica of an Elizabethan playhouse.
Tune in again on Thursday for a SUPER SECRET* trip into the famous vaults of the Folger!
(*may not actually be super secret)