Follow WTOP’s Matt Kaufax as he explores hidden gems, local landmarks and unique stories across the D.C. area every week. New episodes of WTOP’s “Matt About Town” segment are released each Tuesday and Thursday.
If you’ve ever wondered how historians and preservationists keep centuries-old books and plays looking pristine, look no further than D.C.’s Folger Shakespeare Library.
In Tuesday’s episode of “Matt About Town,” WTOP takes a lesson in caring for some of the world’s rarest texts in one of the most interesting, under-the-radar places for historical examination in the nation’s capital.
The Folger Shakespeare Library’s Conservation Lab is entirely unique, geared toward preserving the plays that have made William Shakespeare so revered and still relevant today.
Professional conservators have the laborious task of preserving, mending, and sometimes significantly restoring old texts the Library sources from around the globe, particularly the early folios that comprise nearly all of Shakespeare’s known plays, first published in the 1620s.
This is one reason scholars from around the world come to D.C. to study Shakespeare, learn what he meant to people, and trace how his many works have moved through time.
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