|
The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materials from the early modern period (1500–1750). The library was established by Henry Clay Folger in association with his wife, Emily Jordan Folger. It opened in 1932, two years after his death. The library offers advanced scholarly programs and national outreach to K–12 classroom teachers on Shakespeare education. Other performances and events at the Folger include the award-winning Folger Theatre, which produces Shakespeare-inspired theater; Folger Consort, the early-music ensemble-in-residence; the O.B. Hardison Poetry Series; the PEN/Faulkner Reading Series; and numerous other exhibits, seminars, talks and lectures, and family programs. It also has several publications, including the Folger Library editions of Shakespeare's plays, the journal ''Shakespeare Quarterly'', the teacher resource books ''Shakespeare Set Free'', and catalogs of exhibitions. The Folger is also a leader in methods of preserving rare materials. The library is privately endowed and administered by the Trustees of Amherst College. The library building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ==History== Standard Oil of New York executive Henry Clay Folger, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Amherst College, was an avid collector of Shakespeareana, beginning in 1889 with the purchase of a 1685 Fourth Folio.〔Grant 2014, page 82.〕 Toward the end of World War I, he and his wife Emily Jordan Folger began searching for a location for a Shakespeare library based on their collection. They chose a location adjacent to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The land was then occupied by townhouses, and Folger spent several years buying the separate lots. The site was designated for expansion by the Library of Congress, but in 1928, Congress passed a resolution allowing its use for Folger's project.〔Ziegler, Georgianna: "Duty and Enjoyment: The Folgers as Shakespeare Collectors in the Gilded Age", ''Shakespeare in American Life,'' Virginia and Alden Vaughan (eds.). Washington, D.C.: Folger Shakespeare Library, 2007, pages 108-109.〕〔''Infinite Variety: Exploring the Folger Shakespeare Library,'' Esther Ferington (ed.). Washington, D.C.: Folger Shakespeare Library (distributed by University of Washington Press, Seattle), 2001, page 16.〕〔Also see ("Founding the Library" ) on Folger website.〕 The cornerstone of the library was laid in May 1930, but Folger died soon afterward. The bulk of Folger's fortune was left in trust, with Amherst College as administrator, for the library. Early members of the board included Amherst graduate and former president Calvin Coolidge, second chairman of the Board of Trustees. Because of the stock market crash of 1929, Folger's estate was smaller than he had planned, although still substantial. Emily Folger, who had worked with her husband on his collection, supplied the funds to complete the project. The library opened on April 23, 1932, the anniversary of what is believed to be Shakespeare's date of birth. Emily Folger remained involved in its administration until shortly before her death in 1936.〔Lynch, Kathleen, "Folger, Emily Jordan", ''American National Biography,'' John Garraty and Mark Carnes (editors). New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, volume 8, pages 167-168.〕〔''Infinite Variety,'' pages 16-17.〕 In 2005, the Folger Board of Governors undertook administration of the Folger under the auspices of the Amherst Board of Trustees, though the Amherst board continues to manage the Folger's budget.〔Grant 2014, page 201-202.〕 The Folger's first official reader was B. Roland Lewis, who later published ''The Shakespeare Documents: Facsimiles, Transliterations, Translations, and Commentary'' based on his research. The first fellowships were distributed in 1936.〔Grant 2014, pages 188-189.〕 Early Folger exhibitions featured enticing items in the collection, including Ralph Waldo Emerson's copy of Shakespeare's works, an Elizabethan lute, and Edwin Booth's ''Richard III'' costume.〔Grant 2014, page 191.〕 Current practices for Folger exhibitions did not begin until 1964, when the first exhibition curated on site opened.〔Grant 2014, page 197.〕 During the Second World War, 30,000 items from the Folger collection were transported under guard to Amherst College's Converse Library, where they were stored for the duration of the war in case of an enemy attack on Washington, D.C.〔Grant 2014, page 193.〕 Many of the Folger's current public events and programs began in the 1970s under the leadership of director O.B. Hardison. Under his direction, the Folger's theater was brought up to Washington, D.C. fire code, permitting performances by the Folger Theatre Group, the library's first professional company. The Folger Poetry Series also began in 1970. Hardison formed the Folger Institute, which coordinates academic programs and research at the Library. Folger Consort, the Library's early music ensemble, began performances in 1977.〔Grant 2014, page 195.〕 The first Director of the Library, from 1940 to 1946, was Joseph Quincy Adams, Jr. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Folger Shakespeare Library」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|