Folger Shakespeare Library: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Oct. 27, 2026

News •

Folger exhibition explores Black women’s 400-year relationship with Shakespeare • Oct. 21, 2026, 2:00 PM ET (Washington Post)

Facts

Date	1932 - present
Related People	Henry Clay Folger • Paul Phillippe Cret

Photos and Videos

Folger Shakespeare Library

Portrait of Henry Clay Folger with neatly combed hair, full beard, and mustache, wearing a dark suit and tie.

Witmore, Michael; Folger Shakespeare Library

Folger Shakespeare Library: Reading Room

The main reading room in the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.

View a tutorial on the safe handling of rare books, manuscripts, and prints by the staff of the Folger Shakespeare Library

Learn about the characters of Othello as discussed by the cast and crew of a Folger Shakespeare Library production

Hear a critical analysis of Hamlet's character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Know about Wyndham Lewis illustration for William Shakespeare's play Timon of Athens at the Folger Shakespeare Library

Find out about Jean Cocteau's Surrealist stage production of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

Library of Alexandria Vatican Apostolic Library Bibliotheca Alexandrina Die Deutsche Bibliothek Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Morgan Library & Museum Newberry Library Boston Athenæum Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection