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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 1,000 incunables (books printed before 1501), to twentieth-century fine press titles. 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. In the past, the Shakespeare and Milton collections were founded as the result of the labors of Professors T. W. Baldwin and Harris F. Fletcher, respectively. More recently, the investigations of 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.
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.
The following is a brief overview of a representative sample of the more commonly noted strengths of the collection.
Shakespeare
Among the Shakespeare items are copies of the first four folio editions, and the 1640 Poems; there are, in addition, more than 800 English plays from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. This strength in early English drama is supplemented by early editions of classic authors, especially those used as school books in Shakespeare's time.
Milton
The 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.
Emblem Books
The category of emblem book is applied by scholars to a variety of illustrated books from the sixteenth through the eighteenth century. In a stricter sense, an emblem book consists of illustrations with an accompanying motto, or short verse, as well as a brief explanatory selection of prose. A broader interpretation includes many other types of illustrated books. Among the emblem books at the University of Illinois are more than 600 original editions, which include both the more narrowly defined emblem book, as well as emblematized fables, Dance of Death books, and books illustrating triumphs that contain numerous and prominent emblems. Also included in the collection are more than 400 emblem books in reprint or microform format. Because of its special strengths, the collection is the basis for a digitization project. To explore the online database and digital images from the German Emblem book collection, please visit:
http://images.library.uiuc.edu/projects/emblems/
Spanish Golden Age
A number of the emblem books are also considered part of the collection of Spanish Golden Age books. There are more than 1,200 volumes dating from 1472 to 1700. The collection represents the entire range of Spanish culture and influence. Subject areas include not only Spanish literature, but also religion, law, politics, medicine, and astronomy.
History of Science
Among many titles in the history and development of the sciences more than 2,300 volumes fit under the category "history of geology." The collection dates from the very beginning of the University of Illinois as a land-grant institution with special interests in the state's agricultural and mining interests. The books cover a range of topics, including mining and metallurgy, seismology, paleontology, and hydrology.
Incunabula
The rare book collection includes more than 1,000 incunabula from the first days of European printing in the fifteenth century. Among them is a significant portion of the Bible printed by Johannes Gutenberg, considered the first European book printed with moveable metal type. 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.
Charles Dickens and Mark Twain
Among the more recent authors of the many that are represented in the collection, Charles Dickens and Samuel Clemens / Mark Twain are prominent. Most of the works of Dickens are present in first editions, both in original parts and in their first book form. Mark Twain's first and early editions form a part of the rare books collection as well as a significant portion of the Franklin J. Meine Collection of American Humor.
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