The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., was established by the will of Henry Clay Folger, of the Class of 1879. Mr. Folger's original collection, which remains the nucleus of the Library's holdings, emphasized Shakespeare, Shakespeare's contemporaries, and the history of Shakespeare production. Continuing acquisitions of books and manuscripts have increased the size of the collection many times over and broadened the scope of the Library to include every phase of Tudor and Stuart civilizations.
