The Folger has some really fantastic Bottoms. Seriously! Just look at these Bottoms!
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- Louis Rhead, Masthead illustrations for Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare. Pen and ink, not after 1918.
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- “Sen noci svatojanske,” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Czech translation by Martin Hilský, 1993. Lithographs by Adolf Born.
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- Mary Jo Tydlacka, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Patapsco Female Institute. Watercolor, 2005. Folger ART 262100 (size XL).
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- Paul Hardy, “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” IV, 1. Watercolor, Probably 19th-century. Folger ART Box H271 no.3 (size L).
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- Charles Buchel. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” III, 2, at the Adelphi. Puck: “My mistress with a monster is in love,” Oscar Asche (Bottom), Roxy Barton (Titania), Beatrice Ferrar (Puck). Wash and opaque, charcoal, 1905. Folger ART Box B919 no.9 (size L).
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- Bottom with the Fairies in a costume sketch from Charles Kean’s scrapbook for a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Folger ART Vol. d48.
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- John Massey Wright. Rough drawings (large) for scenes from Shakespeare. Watercolor over pencil indications. Late 18th century or 19th century. Folger ART Box W951 no.122 verso (size S).
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- Bottom and Titania. Oil on canvas, early 19th century. Folger FPa8.
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- Henry Fuseli. “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Act 3 [i.e. IV] scene 1. A wood, Bottom with an ass’s head, Queen, fairies. Engraved by R. Rhodes. Folger ART File S528m5 no.48.
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- Henry Fuseli. “Midsummer Night’s Dream”: Titania, Bottom, fairies &c., Act IV, scene I. Printmaker: William Francis Starling. Folger ART File S528m5 no.50 (size XS).
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- J. Palmer. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Pen and ink, 19th century(?). Folger ART Box P179 no.1 (size S).
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- “‘The Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ Embellished with three copper plates.” Charles and Mary Lamb. 1811. PR2877 L3 Y64 As. Col..
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- “A Midsummer-Night’s Dream:” Act IV, scene 1: Titania: “Come set thee down upon this flowery bed.” Currier & Ives, printmaker. Lithograph, 19th century. ART File S528m5 no.87 (size XL).
Of course, all of these Bottoms come from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s one of the Bard’s most popular plays, in part because people absolutely love Bottom! In the play, Nick Bottom is a weaver who joins an ad hoc theater troupe preparing a performance for Duke Theseus’s wedding. As the group rehearses in the woods, the hobgoblin Puck stumbles across them and turns Bottom into an ass!
Paul Konewka. From A series of silhouettes illustrating Midsummer Night’s Dream. Printmaker: A. Vogel. Folger ART File S528m5 no.80 part 12 (size M).
Ooh! Sorry, don’t mean to butt in, but this is one of our favorites. It’s a piece of cut-paper art by Paul Konewka, featuring a tasteful silhouette of Bottom.
Anyway, Bottom isn’t the only one who falls under a magic spell. Titania, queen of the fairies, has also been enchanted so that she’ll fall in love with the first creature she sees when she wakes up. Of course, she just happens to run into ol’ Nick Bottom. Many of the Folger’s images of Bottom depict the moment in Act 3 when Titania awakens, spots Bottom, and falls madly in love with him.
⇒Related: Six thing to look for when you watch A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Some of our Bottoms were drawn by famous artists and noted illustrators. We’ve got acclaimed Czech illustrator Jiří Trnka’s Bottom! Oliver Twist-illustrator George Cruikshank’s Bottom! Jungle Book-illustrator William Drake’s Bottom! Plus at least two of W. Heath Robinson’s Bottoms and three of Henry Fuseli’s Bottoms!
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- Jiří Trnka. Sommernachtstraum: 5 Originallithographien in farbe. Lithograph, 1961. Folger ART Flat d14 no.3.
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- George Cruikshank. Bottom the Weaver. Pen and ink, 19th century. Folger ART Box C955 no.54 (size S).
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- William Henry Drake (1856-1926). Illustrations to the works of Shakespeare. Watercolor in the margins of a undated edition of Shakespeare. Folger ART Vol. a35 v.2.
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- W. Heath Robinson. Shakespeare’s Comedy of “A Midsummer-Night’s Dream.” 1914. PR2827 1914b Sh.Col.
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- W. Heath Robinson. From Lambs’ “Tales from Shakespeare.” 1901. Folger Sh.Misc. 2283.
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- Henry Fuseli. “Midsummer Night’s Dream”: Titania, Bottom, fairies &c., Act IV, scene I. Printmaker: William Francis Starling. Folger ART File S528m5 no.50 (size XS).
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- Henry Fuseli. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” – Act 4 Scene 1: “Oberon, Puck, Titania & fairies w/ Bottom, colored.” 69 cm, 1803. Folger ART Flat b1-2 copy 1 v.1.
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- “Сон в летнюю ночь,” (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”). Russian translation by T. Shchepkinoĭ-Kupernik, Illustrated by Julia Gukova. 1987. Adopted by Carole Levin, in honor of Anna Riehl Bertolet, at our 2009 Acquisitions Night. Folger PR2786.M7 S42 1987 Sh.Col..
The Folger’s collection includes big Bottoms, like the 69 cm print of a painting by Henry Fuseli on the left, and little Bottoms, like this tiny Russian translation of Midsummer that could fit into the palm of your hand on the right. Size doesn’t matter! We just love Bottom!
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- (Clockwise from upper left) Rachel Zampelli (Mustardseed), David Marks (Bottom), Megan Dominy (Peasblossom), Roxi Trapp-Dukes (Cobweb), and Deborah Hazlett (Titania) in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Folger Theatre, 2016. Photo: Carol Pratt.
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- Holly Twyford (Bottom) and Caroline Stefanie Clay (Titania) in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Folger Theatre, 2016. Photo: Teresa Wood.
Of course, Folger Theatre has hosted some critically-acclaimed Bottoms onstage over the years. We can’t wait for you to see our Bottom in our upcoming production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the National Building Museum this July.
From the First Folio. “Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies.” 1623. Folger STC 22273 Fo.1 no.68.
The Folger’s collection also includes multiple early editions of Bottom. Did you know that in the first quarto of A Midsummer Night’s Dream—the first ever published edition of the play, from 1600—Bottom is spelled “Bottom”. . . but in the First Folio, published in 1623, Bottom is spelled “Bottome?” Isn’t that interesting?
⇒ Related: Explore the earliest editions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream
You want to know the truth? Yeah, sometimes we post a picture of one of our Bottoms on Instagram when we need to boost engagement. We’re not ashamed. It’s just the reality of today’s social media landscape.
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We know this blog post has been a bit cheeky. It’s just that we’re so proud of the Folger’s huge Bottom collection. We have so many, you could even call us the Big Bottom Library. The BBL! The Folger has the world’s largest collection of materials related to Shakespeare, and each and every one of our amazing Bottoms is an important part of interpreting Shakespeare’s works, world, and legacy.
Let’s have a toast to our Bottoms: Bottoms up!
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