Editing Folger Shakespeare Library (section)

==History==
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[[Standard Oil of New York]] executive [[Henry Clay Folger]], a graduate of [[Amherst College]] and [[Columbia University]], was an avid collector of [[Shakespeareana]], beginning in 1889 with the purchase of a 1685 [[Early texts of Shakespeare's works#Folio|Fourth Folio]].{{sfn|Grant|2014|p=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, [[United States Congress|Congress]] passed a resolution allowing its use for Folger's project.<ref>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, pp. 108–109.</ref><ref>''Infinite Variety: Exploring the Folger Shakespeare Library,'' Esther Ferington (ed.). Washington, D.C.: Folger Shakespeare Library (distributed by University of Washington Press, Seattle), 2001, p. 16.</ref><ref>Also see [http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=791 "Founding the Library"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219190421/http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=791 |date=2014-12-19 }} on Folger website.</ref>

The [[cornerstone]] of the library was laid in May 1930, but Folger died soon afterward. The bulk of Folger's fortune was left in [[Charitable Trust|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 [[Wall Street crash of 1929|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.<ref>Lynch, Kathleen, "Folger, Emily Jordan", ''American National Biography'', [[John Garraty]] and Mark Carnes (eds). New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, vol. 8, pp. 167–168.</ref><ref>''Infinite Variety,'' pp. 16–17.</ref> 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.{{sfn|Grant|2014|pp=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.{{sfn|Grant|2014|pp=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 (play)|Richard III]]'' costume.{{sfn|Grant|2014|p=191}} Current practices for Folger exhibitions did not begin until 1964, when the first exhibition curated on site opened.{{sfn|Grant|2014|p=197}} During the [[World War II|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.{{sfn|Grant|2014|p=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.<ref name=Grant2014-195>{{harvnb|Grant|2014|p=195}}</ref>

The first Director of the Library, from 1940 to 1946, was [[Joseph Quincy Adams Jr.]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Spauling|first=Thomas M.|title=The Literary Society in Peace and War|year=1947|publisher=George Banta Publishing Company|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>