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Rare Books
The Rare Book & Manuscript Library welcomes scholars from around the world in their use or inquiries about the collection of rare books at the University of Illinois. The collection represents the entire range of printed material in the West, and extends from more than 1,100 incunables (books printed before 1501), to twenty–first century fine press publications. Over the decades a number of strengths in the collection have emerged due to the efforts of local scholars and librarians in several fields of study. The Shakespeare and Milton collections were founded as the result of the labors of Professors T. W. Baldwin and Harris F. Fletcher, respectively. The investigations of Marvin Herrick in sixteenth century Italian drama, Henri Stegemeier in emblem books and A. V. Carozzi in the history of geology have fostered the collections and resulted in separate, published catalogs of the holdings.
The rare book collection represents virtually every discipline on campus and, in conjunction with the wide array of special collections in the library, is available to interested students and scholars both locally and around the world. The general collection consists of approximately 200,000 volumes. In addition, there are a number of thematic or author–based book collections either maintained within the general rare book collection or established as named special collections. Some of the more important of these are described below.
Access to rare books is best gained via the UIUC online catalog (see links on top banner of this page), although this does not yet contain a complete record of all holdings. An old in–library card catalog (also available in printed form) is of substantial use to supplement the online catalog. Finding aids also describe many individual parts of the collection: these are noted in the descriptions below. Reference questions concerning the rare book collection may be submitted through an online form (or see our “Reference Help” web page.)
Please refer to our document; "General Policies Governing Materials under the Care of The Rare Book & Manuscript Library," for additional information regarding the collection of rare books for The Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Rare Book Collections (Selected)
The Asian Collection consists of material dating from the 14th to the 20th centuries. The great majority of items are Japanese books printed between the 17th and 19th centuries, but there is also a small number of Chinese books, as well as three Burmese Kammavaca (Buddhist prayer books); besides books, several maps and scrolls are present. A large portion of the Asian Collection came from the library of Joseph K. Yamagiwa (1906-1968), a leading scholar and professor of Japanese at the University of Michigan. Professor Yamagiwa's collection, purchased in 1969, contained 1800 volumes, divided between the Asian Library and the Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
The Asian Collection can be accessed through a card catalog in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library. There are online catalog records available for many volumes.
Click here to be linked to an online finding aid for the Asian Collection.
ATKINSON, HUGH C. (1933–1986)—THEODORE DREISER COLLECTION, 340+ vols.
The Theodore Dreiser (1871–1945) collection was assembled by Hugh C. Atkinson, former UIUC University Librarian. It includes 223 first editions, along with later editions and variant issues, of Dreiser's publications. Included in the collection is one of only twelve original copies of Tragic America (1936). The collection was donated by Mrs. Mary N. Atkinson, following her husband’s untimely death.
Reference: Friendscript, Fall 1987.
CHURCHILL, WINSTON, SIR (1874–1965)—COLLECTION, 1580+ vols.
The Churchill collection was assembled by London bookseller Harold Mortlake, and consists of editions of virtually everything which Churchill wrote from 1898 till his death in 1965. It was purchased in 1970 and contains many presentation copies, autograph and typed letters, and recordings, as well as biographical works on Churchill, periodicals and newspapers containing references to him, and ephemera.
COBBETT, WILLIAM (1763–1835)—COLLECTION, 359+ vols.
The Cobbett Collection was purchased from British bookseller Arnold M. Muirhead in 1953. It consists of more than 200 titles by the radical British journalist and publisher, and includes broadsides which Cobbett wrote during two periods of residence in America; Cobbett’s Weekly Political Register; Cobbett’s Parliamentary Debates, which was the first attempt at a verbatim record of the debates of Parliament; many books and pamphlets written in support of the working classes; and a large number of letters.
Click here to be linked to the bibliographic record listing the contents of the Cobbett Collection.
COLLINS, JAMES (1840–1916)—IRISH COLLECTION, 6000+ vols.
The extensive library of James Collins, Irish book collector, was purchased in 1917. The collection was devoted especially to Irish history and culture and included 139 volumes of bound pamphlets and about 2,500 pieces unbound. In addition, there were whole and part runs of Irish periodicals, 127 volumes of newspaper clippings, primarily from the nineteenth century, and scrapbooks of pictorial material, especially Irish political cartoons.
Click here to be linked to a searchable scanned sales catalog of the estate of James Collins.
EMBLEM BOOKS COLLECTION, 650+ vols.
Emblem books are a variety of illustrated book, primarily produced in the sixteenth through the eighteenth century. They consist of collections of three–part compositions, each made up of an illustration, a motto (serving as the title of the piece) and an epigram or other written text. It is not uncommon for there to be additional explanatory sections in prose or verse. A broader interpretation includes many other types of illustrated books, such as emblematized fables, Dance of Death books, and books illustrating triumphs that contain numerous and prominent emblems. The development of the UIUC Emblem Books Collection was due in large part to the efforts of Professor Henri Stegemeier (1912–2001). The collection was described by Thomas McGeary and N. Frederick Nash in Emblem Books at the University of Illinois (Boston: G.K. Hall, 1993). Since then, numerous emblem books have been added to the collection. Because of its special strengths, the collection is the basis for a digitization project.
Click here to be linked to a searchable descriptive bibliography of the Emblem Books Collection.
To explore the online database and digital images from the German Emblem book collection, please visit: http://images.library.uiuc.edu/projects/emblems/
FERGUSON, FREDERIC SUTHERLAND (1878–1967)—SCOTTISH IMPRINTS AND SCOTICA COLLECTION, 300+ vols.
Frederic Ferguson, former managing director of Quaritch’s in London and key contributor to the STC, assembled a collection of books mainly printed in Edinburgh between 1640 and 1700. Many items are unique, and some seldom–seen printers are represented. Much of the collection remains in contemporary bindings, and some volumes contain Ferguson’s penciled notes.
Click here to be linked to a searchable checklist (by H.L. Harner) of the Ferguson Collection.
HARWELL CIVIL WAR COLLECTION, 2100+ vols.
Richard Barksdale Harwell (1915–1988) was a prolific bibliographer, author and editor of literature relating to the American Civil War. The collection bearing his name comprises some 1200 Confederate imprints, including sheet music, and 900 other Civil War publications.
Access to the Harwell Collection is by reference to holdings information in T. Michael Parrish and Robert M. Willingham, Jr.'s Confederate imprints (and predecessor publications), copies of which are available in the RBML reference collection.
HECHT, BEN, 1893-1964—COLLECTION, 200 vols.
The Ben Hecht collection includes all of the author's first editions (several signed or inscribed), many British and first paperback editions, as well as a selection of reprints. Special attention is paid to variants. Also included are mimeographed copies of five of his screenplays, and Hecht's agent's typescript of the novella "The Pink Hussar". There are also three T.L.S. and various ana. The collection was purchased from the Village Book Store, Toronto, in 1977. Several items have been added since then, including the typescript for Marilyn Monroe's "My Story", for which Hecht was the ghostwriter. Holdings can be discovered using the online catalog.
HERRICK ITALIAN RENAISSANCE DRAMA COLLECTION, 470+ vols.
Marvin T. Herrick (1899–1966) was a member of the UIUC Department of English whose interests led him to select for the library primarily sixteenth century editions of early Italian drama. The collection was named for him at the time of his death.
Click here to be linked to a scanned searchable checklist of the Herrick Collection.
HUTCHINS, HENRY CLINTON (b.1899)—DANIEL DEFOE COLLECTION, 400+ vols.
Henry C. Hutchins of Yale University was a scholar and bibliographer of Defoe. His collection contains works by Defoe and his contemporary polemicists, among other eighteenth century works, especially travel literature and translations from the French.
Click here to be linked to a scanned searchable checklist of the Hutchins Collection.
The rare book collection includes more than 1,100 incunabula, books published in the fifteenth century, during the “cradle days” of printing. Among them is a significant fragment (24 leaves) of the Bible printed by Johannes Gutenberg. Also represented are works from the press of the Venetian printer Aldus Manutius, as well as works from the first printers across Europe. Rare editions printed in England and in English are also well represented. The incunabula collection offers not only early printed versions of important texts, but also a physical record of the history of the early days of printing.
INGOLD, ERNEST (1885–1977)—SHAKESPEARE COLLECTION, 650+ vols.
Thanks to the generosity of Ernest Ingold, the Library possesses copies of all four Shakespeare folios, a set of Pavier quartos (1619), a copy of the 1640 Poems, and the stationer's fragment (ca. 1603–1607) that documents the possible lost play by Shakespeare, Love's Labor’s Won. He gave many copies of books used by Shakespeare as sources, eighteenth century editions of Shakespeare, promptbooks, and other valuable items of Shakespeareana. Among Mr. Ingold's non–Shakespearean gifts were a set of the Grove Plays issued by the Bohemian Club of San Francisco, and collections of first editions of the works of Bret Harte, Mark Twain and Eugene O’Neill.
Reference: An exhibition of books presented to the University of Illinois Library by Ernest Ingold--Class of 1909. Urbana: Rare Book Room, University of Illinois Library, 1969. See also: T.W. Baldwin and Isabelle Grant, Shakspere at Illinois: Notes on an exhibition of the Ernest Ingold folios and other Shakspereana in the University of Illinois Library. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1951.
KRAUS, JOE WALKER—SAUL BELLOW COLLECTION, 900+ vols.
The first part of the Saul Bellow collection assembled by Joe W. Kraus came to the Library in 1996. Since then, Dr. Kraus has been steadily adding books and periodicals containing material by and about Saul Bellow. Complementing the collection are looseleaf binders containing photocopies of reviews of Bellow's books, Dr. Kraus's index of characters in Bellow's writings, and photocopies of obituaries.
MILTON, JOHN (1608–1674)—COLLECTION, 3000+ vols.
The John Milton collection includes more than 100 seventeenth century editions of Milton, with more than 3,000 volumes of later editions and works of criticism. Supporting the Milton collection is a broad array of seventeenth century imprints in English history, literature, and religion. The collection, developed by Harris Fletcher, forms the core of the Library’s outstanding holdings in seventeenth century printed books and maps.
Reference: Harris F. Fletcher, Collection of first editions of Milton works: University of Illinois Library, an exhibition. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1953.
MURPHY, RICHARD—ELOCUTION COLLECTION, 230+ vols.
Richard Murphy, Professor of Speech Communication emeritus, retired from the University of Illinois 1971. In 1979, he donated his extensive collection of books on elocution, that part of rhetoric dealing with pronunciation, articulation and rules for reading. The collection contains material from the 18th to 20th centuries, and is particularly rich in texts and manuals of the 19th century. Access to the collection is through the online and card catalogs.
Reference: Friendscript, Vol. 2, no. 1 (Spring 1980)
NICKELL, LLOYD FRANCIS (1884–1962)—EIGHTEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH LITERATURE COLLECTION, 2000+ vols.
Lloyd F. Nickell, an alumnus of the University of Illinois, assembled this fine collection of English literature of the eigtheenth century during his twenty–year residence in England as a business executive. The Carlten Lodge Library, as Nickell called his collection, was purchased in 1963. It contains rare editions of all the great writers of the period, including Defoe, Swift, Fielding, Pope, Goldsmith, Samuel Johnson, Boswell, Addison and Smollett. The books are generally in exceptionally fine condition. Access to the collection is through the online and card catalogs.
PERLSTEIN, ISRAEL (1897–1975)—CZECH FINE PRESS COLLECTION, 750+ vols.
Israel Perlstein was a New York bookseller who specialized in Slavic materials. The collection bearing his name represents the foremost achievements in twentieth century Czech book design. It is rich in limited editions of Czech literature mainly published in the 1920s and 1930s by the best–known private and provincial presses.
SMITH, ALEXANDER (1830?–1867)—COLLECTION, 200+ vols.
Perhaps the only Alexander Smith collection in the world, materials include all first editions, reprints, reissues in fine editions, and various uncollected items of the Scottish poet, essayist, novelist, critic; and once regarded as one of the most eminent writers of the nineteenth century. Collection given in 1979 by Richard Murphy, Professor of Speech Communication emeritus, whose interest in Smith began when he was a graduate student.
Reference: Friendscript, Vol. 1, no. 4 (Winter 1979-80)
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