The WASHINGTON RARE BOOK GROUP

invites you to join us for

A tour of the exhibition

“Symbols of Honor: Heraldry and Family History in Shakespeare's England”

Place: The FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY

201 East Capitol St. SE, Washington DC

When:  Thursday, October 16, 2014, at 11:30 a.m.

Discover the colorful world of heralds and their rivals, all competing to profit from the craze for coats of arms that seized England during the reign of Elizabeth I. An ambitious world was full of newly wealthy and successful families, eager to display their success and status. Genealogy in its modern form also took off: ancestral research was vital to a rich heraldic display, and new ways were established for setting out family trees graphically.

In this show you will see pedigrees and family trees, books explaining heraldry’s complex rules, manuscripts illustrating actual coats of arms, and documents written by professional heralds seeking to regulate heraldic practice in a fast-changing society. Exceptional treasures include the original drafts of William Shakespeare’s own coat of arms.

Our tour with the Folger’s Exhibitions Coordinator Caryn Lazzuri will be limited to 20 participants.  We will meet at 11.30 in the exhibition hall of the Folger Library, near the 2^nd Street entrance.

We will adjourn for lunch at the Hunan Dynasty restaurant, 215 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, at 12.30 p.m. There will be a charge of $13.00 per person (all inclusive) for lunch; please send your check by October 10th, made out to Washington Rare Book Group or WRBG, to:

William E. Baxter

2524 North Florida Street

Arlington, VA 22207

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Directions:  On the Metro the closest stop is Capitol South on the Orange & Blue lines; walk straight up 1^st St. and across Independence Ave., then right one block to 2nd St., and left one block to the Folger at the corner of 2^nd and East Capitol St. SE. 

We look forward to seeing you there!

Carrie Smith and William E. Baxter

Co-Presidents, WRBG

Save the date for our November event at the Archives of American Art, Friday, November 7^th.

It is time to renew your membership dues for 2015.  We hope you will renew (or join): The membership year runs from January through December, and dues are $30. We look forward to an engaging season and hope you will renew your membership! And if you know anybody who would be interested in joining our group, please pass this information along! 

Attached is a link to the membership form, to be mailed with your dues check to:

https://washingtonrarebookgroup.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/wrbg_membership.pdf

Jackie Coleburn, Treasurer

Washington Rare Book Group

PO Box 1387

Washington, DC 20013