Hidden Slavic and Eastern European Materials at the Folger Shakespeare Library

Abstract

This is a brief sampling of the various types of Slavic and Eastern European materials “hidden” in the Folger Shakespeare library. Not widely considered a source for such materials, there are treasures to be found in this collection. Beyond translations of Shakespeare's works into Slavic and Eastern European languages, the Folger houses diverse slavic materials including etchings by Wenceslaus Hollar, early books and manuscripts, and modern prompt books and theatrical memorabilia.

Keywords:

• Shakespeare
• Folger Shakespeare Library
• manuscripts
• theater productions
• theatre
• bookplates
• travel books
• histories
• political works
• English
• classical works

The Folger Shakespeare Library may seem an unlikely place to find Slavic materials, but the library's holdings are more diverse than its name may suggest. Henry Clay Folger and his wife, Emily, had a great passion for collecting books, manuscripts, art, and other materials relating to Shakespeare and his time. Due to their efforts, the Folger houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeareana. Since the library was founded in 1932, its holdings have grown far beyond the Folgers' original collecting scope. The acquisition of Sir Robert Leicester Harmsworth's collection of over 8,000 books printed in England or in English between 1475 and 1640 defined the Folger as a library of early modern England. Over the decades, the acquisitions scope expanded to Continental materials, redefining the Folger as a library of early modern Europe. Although most of the Continental resources come from Western European countries, the Folger's expansive approach to collection development has led to the acquisition of materials from Slavic countries.

SEARCHING FOR SLAVIC MATERIALS

Unfortunately, searching for Slavic materials at the Folger can be thorny. Hamnet, the library's online catalog, is not complete. ¹ The majority of Continental books can be found primarily through the Folger's card catalog. Art and manuscripts are similarly underrepresented in Hamnet, but a grant project in progress will enter Folger manuscripts into the online catalog. At a distance, researchers can begin searching for Continental books, art, and manuscripts through printed catalogs of the Folger's collections printed by G. K. Hall in the 1980s. ² Although these catalogs are dated, they are still an important point of access for many researchers. Another resource for finding Folger materials is the Folger's Digital Image Collection. Housing over 30,000 images, this online image database is openly accessible to the public. ³

WHAT IS IN THE COLLECTION?

The most obvious Slavic books found at the Folger are translations of Shakespeare's works into languages such as Croatian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, and Ukrainian. These translations came to the Folger as a part of a greater mission to collect Shakespeare in translation. An ongoing conservation project at the Folger is the treatment of Stefan Falimierz's popular 1534 herbal, O ziolach y o moczy gich [About herbs and their might]. ⁴ One of the most copiously illustrated books of its era, the Folger's copy was nearly read to death by centuries of owners, but is being slowly restored to usable condition. Probably the most famous Slavic collection at the Folger is the collection of over 2,000 etchings by Wenceslaus Hollar, discussed by Rachel Doggett in an article that follows our own.

To help provide a sense of what other types of Slavic materials researchers may find at the Folger, we offer the following list of items, each followed by its call number:

Manuscripts

• Correspondence, account books, prompt books, and theatrical memorabilia of Helena Modjeska (1840–1909). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: Y.c.1471 for correspondence.

• Reports from Venetian ambassadors to Germany (temp. Leopold I), Spain (temp. Philip IV), and Poland (1575); the Luccan ambassador to Spain (1662); the Imperial ambassador to Spain (1662); the Imperial ambassador to Moscow (1579); and the Austrian ambassador to Tunis (1573). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: W.b.132 (80).

• Authorization signed by Henry Bolingbroke to reimburse Charles Whitworth, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Czar of Muscovy, for traveling expenses incurred in 1712, dated July 4, 1713. Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: Y.d.88.

Theater Productions

• Teatrul Naţional (Bucharest, Romania). Photographs of various Shakespeare productions after 1947. Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: See Hamnet for individual call numbers.

• Craiova Shakespeare Festival, November15–20, 1994. Brochure. Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: 247–648

Bookplates

• A bookplate for J. Rijsterborgh by M. de Jong. Formerly in the collection of Réthy István, Budapest. Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: ART 262177 (size XS).

• Collection of Shakespeare-related bookplates, primarily Eastern European. Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: 264–087.1–.20.

Travel Books

• Edward Brown, 1644–1708, Brief Account of Some Travels in Hungaria, Servia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Thessaly, Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, and Friuli (London, 1685). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: B511.

• Jonas Hanway, 1712–1786, An Historical Account of the British Trade Over the Caspian Sea, With a Journal of Travels From London Through Russia into Persia… (London, 1753). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: DS257.H2 Cage.

• Krzysztof Warszewicki, 1543–1603 Christophori Varseuicii, Equitis Poloni, De legato et legatione… (Dansk, 1646). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: 202– 164.Aq.

Histories or Political Works in English

• The Case of the Contractors with the C'zar of Moscovy, for the Sole Importation of Tobacco into his Dominions ([London?, 1698?]). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: 260870.

• Paul Rycaut, Sir, 1628–1700, The history of the Turks: Beginning with the Year 1679; Being a Full Relation of the Last Troubles in Hungary, With the sieges of Vienna, and Buda… (London, 1700). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: R2408.

• Jacob Richards, 1660?-1701, A Journal of the Siege and Taking of Buda, by the Imperial Army… ([London], 1687). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: R1371.

• The Reporte of a Bloudie and Terrible Massacre in the Citty of Mosco; With the Fearefull and Tragicall End of Demetrius the Last Duke… (London, 1607). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: STC 21461.

• J. (Jodocus) Crull, d. 1713?, The Antient and Present State of Muscovy… (London, 1698). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: C7424.

• Giles Fletcher, 1549?-1611, Of the Russe Common Wealth… (London, 1591). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: STC 11056.

Foreign Language Histories or Political Works

• Johann Georg Korb, 1672–1741, Diarium itineris in Moscoviam… ([Vienna, 1700?]). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: 214–542f.

• Jacques Margeret, b. ca. 1565, Estat de l'Empire de Russie et Grand Duché de Moscovie… (Paris, 1669). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: 260–147q.

• Alexander Gwagnin, 1538–1614, Rerum Polonicarum tomi tres… (Frankfurt, 1584). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: 231–948q.

• Serafino Razzi, b. 1531, La storia di Raugia… (Lucca, 1595). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: 178–345q.

Classical Works

• Poggio Bracciolini, 1380–1459, [Facetiae] Poggii Florentini oratoris eloquentissimi ac secretarii apostolici Facetiarum liber… (Cracow, 1592). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: 170–510q.

• Stobaeus, [Selections. Latin. 1530] Varini Camertis Apophthegmata ad bene beate[que] uiuendum mire conducentia… (Cracow, 1530). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: Bd. w. BT1039.L2 V5 1536 Cage.

Herbal

• Stefan Falimirz, O ziolach y o moczy gich... (Cracow, 1534). Folger Shakespeare Library Call Number: 245–087q.

Post-1830 Materials

Folger collections also include secondary materials printed after 1830 that may be relevant to researchers interested in Slavic and East European studies. These modern collections include printed historical operas performed in Slavic and East European countries; reference materials in all languages; library catalogs; foreign language dictionaries; atlases; theater and movie histories including Communist-era and modern productions; fairy tales; comic books; biographies; travel, exploration, political, trade, and legal histories; facsimiles of early travel books; modern printed collections of letters from royal envoys and diplomats to Eastern European countries and Russia through 1750; books by Catherine II; scholarly histories of jewels, jewelry, embroidery, silver, lace, and silk; the history of the tobacco trade; plague in Russia; and some nineteenth-century Russian literature and plays.

Researchers interested in knowing more about the library's holdings or wanting to know whether the library has a particular work are encouraged to contact the Reference Librarian, Georgianna Ziegler, for assistance: [email protected]

Notes

1. Hamnet, http://shakespeare.folger.edu/.

2. See: Catalog of Printed Books of the Folger Shakespeare Library (Boston: G. K. Hall, 1970; first suppl., 1976; second suppl., 1981); Catalog of Manuscripts of the Folger Shakespeare Library (Boston: G. K. Hall, 1971; first suppl., 1988); and Catalog of Prints, Engravings, Photographs and Original Art Materials (Boston, G. K. Hall, 1984).

3. Digital Folger, http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=3059

4. Stefan Falimirz, O ziolach y o moczy gich ... ([Cracow]: Florian Vnglerius ..., 1534), call number 245–087q. See “Saving Old Notes in a Polish Herbal,” http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=896 for a brief discussion of the book's conservation.