The collection is maintained by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
The Rare Book & Manuscript Library collects and preserves the rare, unique and otherwise special materials of the University Library. In addition to supporting research and instruction in a wide range of disciplines, its truly distinguished collections serve as a symbol of the greatness of the University and attest to its commitment to the preservation of the significant documents of the past. Many of the collections are known throughout the world. Its approximately 1,130 incunabula make it a major American repository. It is perhaps best known for its renowned Milton, Shakespeare, H. G. Wells, Carl Sandburg, and Marcel Proust collections. However, the collection houses especially strong and growing collections in: sixteenth through eighteenth century English literature; emblem books; the history of geology and other sciences; American wit and humor; early maps and geographical and celestial atlases; architecture; landscape art; seventeenth and eighteenth century German and French literature; early English and American children’s books; and the finest examples of the printing arts from the fifteenth through the twentieth century.
Revised April 2005