The Folger Shakespeare Library Finding Aid Database provides access to a growing group of online finding aids for manuscript, graphic, archival and other collections at the Folger Shakespeare Library. These finding aids provide detailed descriptions about the creation, historical context, arrangement, and content of collections as well as information necessary for users to identify and request the portions relevant to their research. Online finding aids are accessible from collection level records in Hamnet, a browsable list, or by using the following search tool. For more on research in the Folger manuscript collection, consult Finding manuscripts at the Folger: Frequently asked questions.

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The banner image reproduces a portion of Richard Stonley's diary entry for Tuesday June 12, 1593, containing the first recorded purchase of Shakespeare's first publication, Venus and Adonis, made less than two months after the poem was licensed to be printed. Stonley also purchased John Eliot's The Survey, or Topographical Description of France. Total cost: twelve pence.
Richard Stonley, 1519 or 20-1600. Diaries of Richard Stonley, 1581-1598. V.a.460, leaf 9.