Former owners

All persons or entities who have had custody of an item, even if temporary, and even if we do not know their name, are considered "former owners" in Folger catalog records. This includes booksellers, gift-givers, and inscribers. Folger catalogers add name access points to catalog records for former owners in most circumstances.

Caveats:

1. Mr. and Mrs. Folger themselves were not routinely listed as former owners until about 2010, when the "Sh.Col." project (to catalog all Shakespeare titles in Hamnet) began. Their names have since been added to records for Incunabula. Additional updates are in progress. Vault material owned by Mr. and Mrs. Folger can also be found through the non-public file of handwritten cards known as "Mrs. Folger's cards".
2. From the late 1980s until 2013, the Folger used "Gift of ..." bookplates regardless of whether the book itself was a gift, or the money to reimburse the purchase the book was a gift ("Adopt-a-book"), so people named on the plates are often not former owners. For more information on evidence of ownership, see Provenance.
3. In practice, the vendor's name rarely has an access point. To search by immediate source of acquisition for material purchased from 1996 onwards, ask a staff member to search the Acquisitions module.

Notes and name access points for catalogers

(For cataloging workflow relating to items "adopted" at Acquistions Night or purchased through a Restricted Endowment Fund, see Virtual bookplates.)

• Make a note, transcribing (preferably) or summarizing data for every legible name found in connection with an item being cataloged, including names of persons or bodies from whom we acquired the material and date of acquisition if easily ascertainable.
• Entities associated with the immediate source of acquisition have special instructions.
• Make name added entries for provenance as follows:
  • for each person who has a legible surname, and a legible forename and/or initials,
  • for each corporate body that can be identified, or for whom enough information is given to create a reasonable name access point
  • for each person or body identified by a bookplate or a stamp
• Always use "former owner" as the relationship designator
• Avoid using unqualified names for persons, even if currently unique. One of the prime goals is to prevent inappropriate association during automated authority processing. Since we are not creating new name authority records for former owners, we will use basic RDA provisions for formulating headings that do not necessarily qualify as standard LC/NACO headings, including use of single active dates, century dates for the 20th and 21st centuries, adding place names if a place is mentioned in connection with a name. For example:

Autograph: R. Barnaby, Augt 3rd, 1824.

7001 Barnaby, R., ǂd active 1824, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo 

Autograph: Edwd. Arundell (on work published 1710)

7001 Arundell, Edwd.ǂq(Edward), ǂd died not before 1710, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo 

For book published 1875; no date in inscription; appears to be a 19th century hand

7001 Cooper, Paul, ǂc active 19th century, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo

For book published 1905; no date in inscription

7001 Sampson, Sandra, ǂe active 19th century-20th century, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo

Autograph: R.W. Tucker, Philadelphia, July 1823

7001 Tucker, R. W. ǂc (Of Philadelphia), ǂd active 1823, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo

• For Emily C.J. Folger and Henry Clay Folger for each item with a case number.
• Please note that a number of books with case numbers have a bookplate "Gift of Henry N. Paul." This large gift was presumably given to the Folgers for their not-yet-opened library, and so received case numbers. Therefore, Henry N. Paul should receive a former owner tracing:

 7001 Paul, Henry Neill, ǂd 1863-1954, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo 

Immediate source of acquisition

• Make access points for the immediate source of acquisition for vault materials in the following circumstances:
  • material donated or sold by persons, if it can be confirmed that the person owned (instead of adopted or funded) the material
  • material donated or sold by institutions
• Do not make access points for commercial booksellers and vendors.
• Do not make access points for open stack materials.
• Use "former owner" as the relationship designator even for donated items ("donor" is used only in field 790 for virtual bookplates)
• Note useful accession number ranges arranged by former owner in accession numbers that indicate former owners

Former owners in the Shakespeare collection

• Trace known and legible former owners and make notes in 852 field - information comes from the official file, case numbers penciled into copy, book plates, and autographs
• Books with the Warwick Castle Shakespeare Collection were also owned by Halliwell-Phillipps; always note and trace the latter when Warwick Castle is involved.

7001 Halliwell-Phillipps, J. O. ǂq (James Orchard), ǂd 1820-1889, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo

7102 Warwick Castle (Warwick, England). ǂb Shakespeare Library, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo

ǂz Bookplate: Shakespeare Library, Warwick Castle. Half leather binding with marbled paper boards and endpapers. Halliwell-Phillipps copy.

• Made name access points for binders when stamped or known
  • Richardot: this binder's work is recognizable, although not all of the bindings are signed
    • If the binding is signed, transcribe the stamp and trace
    • Unsigned; spotted marbling; floral tooling and landscape title on spine; 1/4 cloth proportion="Bound by Richardot" and trace
    • Unsigned and three out of the above four characteristics="Probably bound by Richardot" and trace
  • While many books bound by Richardot are from the library of Edward Dowden, do not trace Dowden when the copy is unstamped
• Duplicates: trace former ownership when duplicate copies are indicated
  • Example: "H.E.H. dup." signifies that copy came from Huntington sale. Either quote or interpret the handwritten note:

7102 Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo

852 ǂz Huntington Library duplicate

OR

7102 Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo

852 ǂz "H.E.H. dup."

Frequently encountered Shakespeare Collection former owners

7001 Betterton, Thomas, ǂd 1635?-1710, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7102 Britwell Library, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7001 Chetwynd, George, ǂd 1809-1869, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7001 Dowden, Edward, ǂd 1843-1913, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7001 Fawcett, Owen, ǂd 1838-1904, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7001 Folger, Emily C. J. ǂq (Emily Clara Jordan), ǂd 1858-1936, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7001 Folger, Henry Clay, ǂd 1857-1930, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7001 Gautier, Johannes Ludovicus, ǂd active 18th century-19th century‏, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7001 Halliwell-Phillipps, J. O. ǂq (James Orchard), ǂd 1820-1889, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7001 Harmsworth, R. Leicester ǂq (Robert Leicester), ǂc Sir, ǂd 1870-1937, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7001 Ingleby, C. M. ǂq (Clement Mansfield), ǂd 1823-1886, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7001 Norris, Joseph Parker, ǂd 1847-1916, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7001 Paul, Henry Neill, ǂd 1863-1954, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7001 Tollet, Elizabeth, ǂd 1694-1754, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7102 Warwick Castle (Warwick, England). ǂb Shakespeare Library, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7001 White, Richard Grant, ǂd 1821-1885, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo
7003 Wister family, ǂe former owner. ǂ5 DFo

See also

• Virtual bookplates