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of Washington DC

JUNE 2010

  

DISCOVERING EMILY JORDAN FOLGER, CLASS OF 1879

Through the work of biographer Stephen H. Grant

Hear the author and his findings on this Shakespearean scholar and co-founder of Washington's Folger Shakespeare Library in a slide-illustrated talk at the Annual Meeting of the Vassar Club of Washington, DC

Emily Jordan FolgerAt Vassar she was president of her class of 36 students. She excelled in English composition, French and astronomy and had a huge appetite for the theater. In 1896, nearly 20 years after graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar, she earned her master's degree there under the demanding tutelage of Shakespearian scholar Horace Howard Furness. Her thesis topic: "The True Text of Shakespeare." And few could have a better eye and ear for that than the woman who had spent decades researching and purchasing rare Shakespearean texts and an array of items connected to The Bard.

Her partner in this passion was Henry Clay Folger, an executive under John D. Rockefeller, Sr., in the Standard Oil Company and later president and chairman of the board of the Standard Oil Company of New York.

"The Folgers, in a marriage described as happy and affectionate, pursed for forty years, with single-minded determination, the objectives of acquiring the largest possible collection of Shakespearean and Elizabethan works," writes biographer Stephen H. Grant. In addition they oversaw the design and construction of a building to house the collection and provided an endowment to fund the library's management and expansion. The result of their work is the Folger Shakespeare Library, a national landmark structure standing one block from the U.S. Capitol and serving as a world-renowned research center and home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare materials.

"The achievement is unparalleled in the history of American philanthropy," Grant says.

William Shakespeare"The Folgers' method of acquisition was mainly through auction sales in London and New York, where they were represented by book dealers or agents," he continues. "Emily would read through the book auction catalogues delivered by mail, turn down the page corner and make wavy lines in the margins of the items she thought the couple should obtain. In the evening, after a day at the office, Henry would go over his wife's recommendations and develop his bid list, indicating how high for any one item his agent could bid. Emily would keep an up-to-date catalogue of acquisitions, including record of cost and mention of any imperfections in the copy as they might later seek to obtain a better one. When the Brooklyn home became full of books, Emily rented space in storage warehouses in Brooklyn and Manhattan."

Emily Folger also kept a play diary from 1906 until 1930, recording wide-ranging analysis of 125 Shakespearian performances - some in Italian, French and German - she saw in New York and occasionally in Stratford-on-Avon. Had the actors "caught the spirit of the play"? Were the costumes "historically accurate" In her view, the greatest sin was cutting the "true text of Shakespeare". Siding with her mentor, Horace Howard Furness, Emily Folger believed that the 1623 posthumous edition (the First Folio) of thirty-six of The Bard's plays offered the most authoritative text.

The culmination of Emily Folger's later years came on April 23, 1932. On this day, Shakespeare's 368th birthday, a delegation of her former Vassar classmates traveled to Washington, D.C. to applaud her as she handed over the keys of the newly built Folger Shakespeare Library to the building's administrators, the Board of Trustees of Amherst College, her husband's Alma Mater, and the source of her honorary Doctorate of Letters.

Folger Shakespeare LibraryEmily Jordan Folger died on Feb. 21, 1936. Her ashes are laid beside those of her husband in a mortuary urn niche in the wood-paneled Tudor Research Room in the Folger Shakespeare Library.

Stephen H. Grant is writing the first biography of Emily and Henry Folger. He is a Senior Fellow with the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training and has had postings with the U.S. Agency for International Development in El Salvador, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Egypt. He holds a bachelor's degree in Romance Languages from Amherst and a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts.

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ANNOUNCED CANDIDATES
Chairman - Robert Walker '79
2nd Vice Chair - Jeffrey King '07
Secretary - Katrina Homel '09

 

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VASSAR ALUMNAE TARGET MATERNAL MORTALITY THROUGH STUDENT-CONCEIVED ORGANIZATION:
SAFE MOTHERS, SAFE BABIES (SAFE) by Jamie Rosen ‘08

Vassar Alums in UgandaOne major benefit of a Vassar education is the sense of empowerment it instills in its students. In my case, this seed of empowerment has blossomed into the impending creation of a pilot emergency medical services system in Iganga, Uganda.
Safe Mothers, Safe Babies, started at Vassar in late 2007 as the Vassar Uganda Project, is poised to deliver a motorcycle ambulance to each of two health centers in Uganda this summer under the direction of Tina Castellan '08. The organization is the brainchild of Jacquie Law '09, who was inspired by stories of child soldiers in Uganda to lead a volunteer trip there during spring break 2008. It began modestly, with a group of Vassar students, all Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) except myself, and a retired doctor traveling to Uganda to help provide healthcare to a group of orphans. My role was to document the trip and help assess the needs of the orphans, as well as an affiliated group of widows.
We were horrified to learn that some women suffer in childbirth for days, only to give birth to stillborn babies, because they can't get to the hospital to get the care they need. Village Emergency Clubs that formed following first aid training by SAFE volunteers inspired us to address the issue of emergency transport, especially for women in labor. The Iganga District Hospital already had two traditional 4x4 ambulances, but they were largely in disuse due to the cost of fueling them, which is prohibitive for most Ugandans. Motorcycle ambulances have the advantage of being far more affordable to fuel, and they can traverse the thin, bumpy dirt paths that lead into the villages.
Ugandan Mortocycle AmbulanceNow SAFE, in partnership with the Iganga Rotary Club, has received a grant from Rotary International District #7210 in New York to fund the motorcycle ambulance program, the construction of shallow wells for safe water, and the distribution of mosquito nets to prevent malaria. We are excited by the possibilities for the program, but we believe that it will only succeed with local ownership and on-the-ground direction. Thus, we are still seeking funding to pay our Ugandan program manager and the motorcycle ambulance drivers, as well as purchase sterile supplies to help ensure that women and their babies survive childbirth.
SAFE is completely volunteer-run, aside from a recently hired program manager, and is pursuing non-profit status. There will be a fundraiser happy hour and benefit dinner in the Washington, DC metro area this summer. To receive updates, please join the Safe Mothers, Safe Babies (SAFE) group on Facebook or contact me at jamierosen@hotmail.com. We are also always looking for volunteers to serve a variety of functions both here and in Uganda. To learn more, check out our website at www.safemotherssafebabies.org.

"Pregnancy isn't always a happy time here. So many women, they die. And the other women see it. So when you find out that you are pregnant, you think, 'Oh no. Maybe this time it will be me.'  Pregnancy as a death sentence ... it shouldn't be this way."

- Ugandan midwife, interviewed by SAFE volunteers

Club launches new mentoring initiative

Would you like to share your career expertise with a recent Vassar graduate? The DC Vassar Club is starting a new program that will match a new alum with a more experienced Vassar graduate working in their field of interest. We are currently recruiting potential mentors and recent graduates looking to learn more about careers in Washington, DC. The mentor-protege project will include additional networking opportunities and events for matched pairs. Please contact Katrina Homel '09 at kmhomel@gmail.com for more information.

COMING ATTRACTIONS!
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June 4 - 6     Reunion Weekend 2010

June 11         Ivy Singles Sunset Cruise

June 23         Vassar Club Annual Meeting

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