Established in 1936 from Professor Harris Fletcher’s John Milton collection and Professor Thomas Baldwin’s Shakespeare collection, The Rare Book & Manuscript Library has grown to over 300,000 books and over 7,130 linear feet of manuscripts. Particular strengths lie in early printing and the Elizabethan and Stuart periods in England, with works by Shakespeare, various important editions of the Bible, and renaissance school books standing out as distinctive and deep collections. The Library is renowned for its outstanding collections of incunabula and emblem books. Also noteworthy are the collections in the history of science and technology, Mark Twain and his age, the history of economics, and natural history. Also housed here are papers of such notable figures as Benjamin Disraeli, Anthony Trollope, William Allingham, Marcel Proust, John Richardson, Carl Sandburg, H.G. Wells, William Maxwell, Shana Alexander, and W.S. Merwin.
The mission of The Rare Book & Manuscript Library is to make its collections accessible to all who wish to consult them, while doing its best to preserve these collections for future users. The library is open to anyone wishing to use the collection and the staff will be happy to assist you.
