Finding aids

This article is currently a draft.

Finding aids are hierarchical archival descriptions of manuscript and other collections. They complement the bibliographic descriptions found in library catalogs like Hamnet. Starting in the early 2000s, the Folger Shakespeare Library began converting its paper-based finding aids into electronic form, and creating new finding aids directly online. The result is the Folger's Finding Aid Database.

For general guides to finding information about specific topics at the Folger, see Research guides.

The following finding aid links are organized by topic and then alphabetically.

Shakespeare and performance

This section provides a list of links to Shakespeare-related finding aids.

• Bacon, Delia Salter, Papers of, 1820-1952 (bulk 1827-1859), 323 items
• Booth, Edwin, Letters to various recipients, 1858-1893, 534 items
• Collier, John Payne Collection of letters and papers removed from The history of English dramatic poetry to the time of Shakespeare, and Annals of the stage of the restoration by J.P. Collier, 19th century, 152 items
• Collier, John Payne Collection of letters and papers, removed from An old man’s diary ca. 1875, 1647-1875 (bulk 1830-1875), 172 items
• Collier, John Payne copies of manuscripts and printed material, ca. 1400-ca. 1700, ca. 1825-1861, 48 items
• Collier, John Payne, Autograph letters signed and initialed to various recipients, 1824-1882, 224 items
• Collier, John Payne, Letters from various correspondents, 1799-1884, 231 items
• Daly, Augustin, 1838-1899. Collection of letters and papers, n.d., 1849-1916, 33 boxes
• Drury Lane and Covent Garden Theatres, records of, 1714-1880, 282 items (218 manuscript volumes and 64 manuscript documents)
• Garrick, David, Playbills relating to the theatrical career (Legacy), 1741-1776, 552 items
• Halliwell-Phillipps, J.O., Scrapboxes of, 19th century, 43 boxes
• Henderson, William, Manuscripts in the Collection of Playbills, etc., ca. 1750-1889 (bulk 1801-1889), approximately 600 items
• Hodges, C. Walter, Collection of Elizabethan and Other Theatre Drawings, 1933-1990, 890 items
• Kean, Charles, Letters of, 1828-1866, 299 items
• Leo, Friedrich August, 1820-1898. Letters mostly to him from various people (Legacy), 1852-1899, 3 boxes (650 items)
• North Family Collection of Letters and Papers relating to Tate Wilkinson, Mrs. Siddons, and the North family of York, 1732-1955, 38 items
• Siddons, Sarah, Letters to various recipients, 1783-1820, 26 items
• Winter, William, Letters to Elsie Leslie, 1898-1916 (bulk 1910-1915), 6 boxes (221 items)
• Winter, William, Letters to various recipients, 1864-1917, 114 items
• Winter, William, Robert Young collection relating to, ca. 1745-2005 (bulk 1880-1906), 47 boxes

Early modern

This section provides a list of links for early modern non-Shakespeare finding aids.

• Bacon, Nathaniel, Papers of, 1574-1650 (bulk 1590-1622), 51 items
• Bacon-Townshend Collection, 1550-1640, 1036 items
• Bagot Family Papers, 1428-1671 (bulk 1557-1671), 1076 items
• Bennet, Robert, Papers of, 1603-1678 (bulk 1642-1663), 209 items
• Booth family of Twemlow, Letters, 1628-1689, 28 items
• Burton, Drue, Collection of state papers and other materials, ca. 1607-ca. 1625, 1 volume
• Cavendish-Talbot Family, Papers of the, 1333-1705 (bulk 1548-1676), 203 items
• De conquestu Angliae per Hispanos, 1570-1604 (bulk 1580s), 1 volume (19 items)
• Dering family, Papers of the, ca. 1450-ca. 1680, 21 items
• England and Wales, Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household, warrants and orders to Master of the Great Wardrobe, 1669, 1676-1677, 27 items (27 bifolia)
• Este and Farnese families, Collection of letters, 1592-1805, 30 items
• Ferrers Family of Tamworth Castle, Papers of, 1371-1806 (bulk 16th - 17th century), 1225 items (29 boxes)
• German Authors, Letters and Papers by (Legacy), 1777-1912, approximately 175 items
• Goodricke Family of Ribston Hall, Nidderdale, Yorkshire, Papers of, 1639?-1689, 1 volume
• Helsby, Mary Hatton, Letters to various recipients, 1651-1668, 23 items
• Loseley Collection (Legacy), 1489-1682 (bulk 1538-1630), 22 boxes (712 items)
• Newdigate family collection of newsletters, 1673/1674-1715, 3,950 items
• Nichols Family Papers Relating to The gentleman's magazine, 1778-1873, 5,952 items in 30 boxes
• Political and Parlimentary Documents, Collection of, compiled circa 1550-circa 1650, 1 volume (350 pages)
• Privy Council, Letters from, 1545-1621, 58 items
• Rattray Family of Craighall, Papers of the, 1593-1699, 194 items (3 boxes)
• Rich family, papers of, 1485-ca. 1820 (bulk 1649-1715), 231 items
• Smith, Richard, Papers of, ca. 1633-ca. 1670, 1 box (642 leaves)
• Stratford and Warwickshire References in the Art, Manuscript, and Scrapbook Collections (Legacy), ca. 1560-ca. 1930, 149 manuscripts/scrapbooks spanning the Folger collection
• Strozzi Family, Manuscripts of the, 17th and 18th century, 200 volumes
• Tonson, Jacob, Papers of, 1685-1891 (bulk 1685-1737), 83 items (1 box)
• Walters, John Cuming, Papers of, ca. 1898-1932, 2,011 items
• Williams, E., watermark collection, including the papers of the Hale family of King's Walden and other papers, ca. 1570-1699, 1,058 items