The Folger Shakespeare Library
Washington D.C., USA
2013-2024
Perched on Capitol Hill, it may be a long way from Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon in England, but the Folger Shakespeare Library is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading research centers on the celebrated playwright, and the period that framed his life and times.
The Folger opened to the public in 1932 and it has amassed not only the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, but also many other rare books, manuscripts and works of art from the early modern period.
Reopening to the public in summer 2024 with a brand new wing that includes two exhibition halls, the Folger has now expanded to make its collections as accessible to the public as possible.
Goppion first worked with the Folger Shakespeare Library in 2013, when we were contracted to create a number of permanent showcases to host rotating displays of fragile, paper-based material from the collections. We designed and built 12 table cases, four large tall display case islands, four smaller tall display case islands and two entry panels.
A decade later, we were pleased to be invited back to contribute to the Folger’s ambitious restoration and upgrading of its gallery displays, for what has been called “one of the largest spaces dedicated to the display of Shakespeare materials in the world”.
Part of our renovation work involved cleaning the display cases, inspecting and adjusting equipment that open them; changing gaskets, and re-positioning the cases.
Four centuries on from the time of William Shakespeare, the Folger Library continues to offer its visitors, and scholars from around the world, unrivalled opportunities to experience his genius. Time spent at the Folger Library not only provides deeper insights into the world Shakespeare lived in, and why his cultural legacy still burns brightly today.
