Archives - Central US

The Central United States is home to many of the country’s largest public institutions of learning. Several universities feature strong specialized connections while others have built relationships with religious institutions and house considerable documentary resources.

 Illinois
 Indiana
 Iowa
 Kansas
 Kentucky
 Michigan
 Minnesota
 Missouri
 Ohio
 Texas
 Wisonsin

 University of Chicago Library
Special Collections Research Center
1100 E. 57^th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637
Phone : (773) 702-8705
Fax : (773) 702-3728

Subjects covered : History of Science and Medicine, Legal Documents, Music, Philosophy, Reformation
Volumes : Over 300 manuscripts and 362 incunabula.

The S. Harrison Thomson Collection of Medieval English Manuscripts is made up of complete or partial facsimiles of 383 manuscripts from nearly 80 libraries throughout Europe and the United States. The focal point of the collection is the writings of Robert Grosseteste, 13^th century Bishop of Lincoln, but the works of Walter Burley, John Wyclyf, and other medieval thinkers are also represented. The McKeon Collection 1,800 rare books from the fifteenth through the eighteenth century focused on early philosophy and thought. The Sir Nicholas Bacon Collection contains approximately 4600 items comprising a chronological series of English court and manorial documents spanning the period from 1200 to 1785. The Samuel R. and Marie-Louise Rosenthal Collection is made up of 2,453 legal documents pertaining to Late Medieval and Early Modern Northern Italy. There are also microfilms of some 250 medieval Gregorian chant manuscripts, most of them from France or Italy. Other manuscript holdings include late medieval and Renaissance secular and religious texts, commonplace books, musical scores, sermons, papal dispatches, poetry, and letters.

Two major collections are available online : The Goodspeed Manuscript Collection and Le Roman de la Rose and Le Jeu des échecs moralisé.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration. See here.

 University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
346 Main Library (MC-522)
1408 West Gregory Drive
Urbana, Illinois 61801
Phone : (217) 333-3777
Fax : (217) 244-1755

Subjects covered : Classics, Early print, England, Theology
Volumes : 96 codices, 88 leaves, one scroll, and 1,100 incunabula

Among the incunabula 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. Manuscript holdings are mainly focused on Tudor and Elizabethan England.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 The Newberry Library
60 W. Walton St.
Chicago, IL 60610
Phone: 312-943-9090
Catalog

Subjects covered : Age of exploration, Book arts, Cartography, Devotional texts, Music, Philosophy, Renaissance, Theology
Volumes : More than 325 codices and more than 100 leaves, documents, and scrolls, including seven small fragment collections, and over 2000 incunabula.

An independent research library in the humanities, the Newberry Library has holdings that span the history and culture of western Europe from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century and the Americas from the time of first contact between Europeans and Native Americans through the present day.

History : The Library was founded as a public library in 1887 by a bequest of Walter Loomis Newberry, founder of the Young Men’s Library Association, and president of the Chicago Historical Society before his death in 1868. When he drew up his will, Mr. Newberry created a codicil should his daughters die without issue. Since Chicago had no public library at the time, he determined that in such an instance a public library should be established in the northern section of the city.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Northwestern University Library
Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections
1970 Campus Drive
Evanston, Illinois 60208
Phone : 847-491-2894
Contact

Subjects covered : Dance of Death, Legal documents
Volumes : 20 codices, 85 leaves, and 80 incunabula

The Wakefield Vellum Documents Collection comprises more than 300 documents including indentures, deeds, leases, omnibuses, wills, a few court rolls, conveyances, and other legal documents dating from the fourteenth century. Most of them have small wax seals and a few also have large royal seals, some of which are intact in their original metal canisters.

The library also possesses an extensive collection of material related to the Danse Macabre in medieval art and literature. This collection includes editions of the work of Hans Holbein, as well as those of his imitators and other artists depicting the Dance of Death genre between the fifteenth and the twentieth centuries.

Access to documents : Open to the public. Researchers are encouraged to contact the library in advance to ensure availability of materials.

 University of Indiana
The Lilly Library
1200 East Seventh Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5500
Tel. 812-855-2452
Fax. 812-855-3143

Subjects covered : Eastern Europe, Law, Religion
Volumes : More than 3,000 manuscripts codices and 724 incunabula.

The Coella Lindsay Ricketts Collection comprises the bulk of the medieval resources includes reproductions and original medieval documents covering a wide range of time and subject matter. The Ege manuscripts consist of original leaves from Bibles, Books of Hours and other religious items. The Poole Collection comprises 130 medieval and renaissance manuscripts and single leaves mostly pertaining to religion. The Allen Collection consists of early material pertaining to the history of Russia and Georgia as well as Chinese art. Other collections include medieval English legal documents and miniature books from the medieval period.

Access to documents : Open with registration.

 University of Notre Dame
Hesburgh Libraries
Rare Books and Special Collections
Medieval Institute Library
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Phone RBSC : 574 631-0290
Fax : 574 631-6308
Phone MIL : (574) 631-5724
Contact

Subjects covered : Church History, Dante, Inquisition, Liturgy, Theology, Law
Volumes : 44 codices and about four dozen leaves, and approximately 100 incunabula

Individual collections include : The Zahm Dante Collection ranks among the top Dante collections in North America. 15^th- and 16^th-century imprints form the heart of the Dante collection, which totals nearly 3,000 volumes. The Inquisition Collection includes more than 550 items relating to the Spanish, Portuguese and Roman Inquisitions. The Astrik L. Gabriel Collection of Early Printed Books consists of 262 titles bound in 245 volumes. The books are written in Latin, French, German, Italian, Greek and Hebrew, and include at least one title published for each of the years from 1501 to 1600. Many of the original bindings remain intact, some incorporating sheets from incunabula and late medieval manuscripts.

Access Conditions
Open Hours and Regular closings

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration. Advance notice may be necessary to view some materials.

 University of Iowa
Special Collections and Archives
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1420
Phone : 319-335-5921
Fax : 319-335-5900
Contact

Subjects covered : Medicine, Notaries, Religion
Volumes : Approximately 50 medieval manuscripts and 72 incunabula with another dozen separate leaves from works of particular importance.

A complete list of manuscripts is available online.

Access to documents : Open to the public with identification.

 Loras College
Rare Books and Special Collections
1450 Alta Vista St.
Dubuque, Iowa 52001
Phone : (563) 588-7164
Fax : (563) 588-7292

Subjects covered : Book arts, Theology
Volumes : 20 codices, approximately 200 leaves, and 59 incunabula

Access to documents: Open to the public with registration.

 University of Kansas
Kenneth Spencer Research Library - Special Collections
Lawrence, KS 66045-7616
Phone : (785) 864-3357
Fax : (785) 864-5803
Contact

Subjects covered : Education, History, Law, Mandeville, Medicine, Philosophy, Religion, Renaissance
Volumes : 220 codices, close to 2,000 documents, one scroll, 129 leaves, and 145 incunabula.

The library’s holdings of manuscripts written before 1000 AD is very small : a dozen cuneiform tablets (dating from about 2,000 BC) ; an extraordinary Egyptian Amduat papyrus scroll, the Ballard Papyrus (dating from about 1,000 BC) ; four tiny fragments of papyrus (dating from the 3^rd and 4^th centuries AD), and an increasing number of manuscripts from the following centuries.

Between AD 1000 and 1500, the library possesses : half-a-dozen undated leaves which may be as early as the 9^th century; three early 11^th century Anglo-Saxon leaves, 123 book-manuscripts, containing about 350 texts; 83 separate leaves (primarily liturgical; including 41 in an uncataloged "palaeographical practice set"); and several hundred (or more) pre-1500 documents as parts of several large English and Italian estate papers collections. In addition, the Summerfield Collection of European printed books from Gutenberg (1455) through 1700 comprises over 7,000 titles in history, literature, law, science, theology, and the arts.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration and photo identification.

 University of Kentucky
Special Collections Library
Lexington, KY 40506-0039
Phone : 859-257-8611

Subjects covered : Age of exploration, Dante, Early Print, Liturgical materials
Volumes : Nine codices, two leaves, approximately 300 Spanish documents, and over 100 incunabula

Access to documents: Open to the public with registration.

 Detroit Public Library
Burton Historical Collection
5201 Woodward Ave.
Detroit, Michigan 48202-4007
Phone : (313) 481-1401
Contact

Subjects covered : Classics, Devotional texts, Medicine, Theology
Volumes : 15 codices, 25 leaves, and 44 incunabula

The collection consists mostly of devotional texts and early editions of classical and theological works. A full catalogue is available upon request.

Access to documents : A Detroit Public Library card is required to access the special collections.

 University of Michigan
Special Collections Research Center
7^th floor, Hatcher Graduate Library
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1205
Phone : (734) 764-9377
Fax : (734) 764-9368
Contact

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Islam, Law, Mathematics, Science
Volumes : 250 manuscripts along with numerous leaves, 450 incunabula

A separate collection of approximately 1,250 Islamic manuscripts, written in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish and dating from the 8^th century AD to the 20^th, with over half from before 1800, ranks among the largest and most important such collections in North America.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Western Michigan University
Department of Special Collections
Waldo Library
Rare Book Room #3015
1903 W. Michigan Ave.
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008-5353
Phone : (269) 387-5221
Fax : (269) 387-5077

Subjects covered : Anglo Saxon, Cistercian and Monastic studies, Devotional texts, Law, Music
Volumes : 140 manuscripts, 65 incunabula

100 manuscripts and many of the incunabula are on permanent loan from the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky. The Medieval Institute and the Center for Cistercian Studies also hold a considerable collection of manuscript facsimiles.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration. Advance notice is encouraged to ensure the availability of materials.

 University of Minnesota
James Ford Bell Library
Elmer L. Anderson Library, Suite 15
222 21^st Ave. South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
Phone : (612) 624-1528
Fax : (612) 626-9353
Contact

Subjects covered : Age of Exploration, International Trade, Medicine, Science, Theology
Volumes : James Ford Bell Library : 27 codices, 186 documents, 9 maps and atlases, and approximately 100 incunabula. Other University of Minnesota Special Collections : 19 codices, 63 leaves, and approximately 200 incunabula.

The James Ford Bell Library documents the history and impact of international trade prior to ca. 1800 C.E. with a premier collection of rare books, maps, and manuscripts illustrating the ways in which cultural influences expanded worldwide, with a special emphasis on European interactions. The Bell Library also houses many of the University’s other early manuscripts and rare books. Located elsewhere on campus, the Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine contains 20 incunabula.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Saint John’s University
Hill Museum & Manuscript Library
2835 Abbey Plaza, Saint John’s University
PO Box 7300
Collegeville, Minnesota 56321
Phone : 320-363-3514
Contact
Online catalog

Subjects covered: Middle East, Africa, history of the book, monatisticism

The collection consists of microfilm copies of approximately 90,000 manuscripts and 132,000 papyri from Europe, Ethiopia and the Middle East. Most of these are pre-1550 in date. In addition, the library has digital copies of approximately 16,000 manuscripts from the Middle East (especially Lebanon, Syria and Turkey) and South India. There are also slides of illuminations ; a teaching collection of several hundred facsimile volumes; ca. 50 manuscripts, 64 incunabula, and archival documents from monastic, cathedral, and national libraries. An extensive reference and catalogue collection supports research in the history of the book, monasticism, and the religious military orders. Since 2004, the Library has conducted extensive digitization projects of its collections.

History : Between 1964 and 1973 the Hill Family Foundation supported the mission of Fr. Colman Barry, President of Saint John’s University, and Fr. Oliver L. Kapsner, OSB, to secure the preservation of all hand-written or manuscript books dating prior to 1600 still extant in the manuscript collections of Benedictine monasteries throughout Europe.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration. Due to limited space, all visiting scholars are asked to contact the library in advance to reserve a study carrel.

 Concordia Seminary Library
801 DeMun Ave.
St. Louis, Missouri 63105
Phone : (314) 505-7040
Fax : (314) 505-7046
Contact

Subjects covered : Reformation, Theology
Volumes : 13 codices, 19 leaves, 75 incunabula

The library focuses on the Reformation and the history of the Lutheran church, but also contains resources for the study of hymnology, liturgics, the Peasants’ War, and classical philology.

Access to documents : Contact the library for more information.

 University of Missouri-Columbia
Special Collections
401 Ellis Library
Columbia, Missouri 65201
Phone : (573) 882-0076
Fax: (573) 884-0027
Contact

Subjects covered : Book Arts, Dance of Death
Volumes : 11 codices, 230 leaves, and 18 incunabula

Seventeenth century book collector John Bagford’s manuscript leaves and fragments, Fragmenta Manuscripta, dating from the eighth to the seventeenth century, offer scholars examples of book hands, decorations, and texts. Most notable are a fragment from Chaucer’s translation of Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy, Bede’s De Orthographia, and manuscript leaves from the atelier of Geofroy Tory. The small collection of incunabula includes a splendid copy of Hartmann Schedel’s Liber Chronicarum (1493).

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Saint Louis University
Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library
Pius XII Memorial Library
650 Lindell Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63108
Phone: 314-977-3087
Fax: 314-977-3108
Online Catalog

Subjects covered : Church documents

During the initial phase of microfilming between 1951 and 1957, some 12,000,000 manuscript pages representing 30,000 codices were captured on microfilm. At present, the Vatican Film Library has copies of approximately three-quarters of the Vatican Library’s Greek, Latin, and Western European vernacular manuscripts that were then considered of special importance, in addition to copies acquired later on of the Vatican Library’s Arabic, Ethiopic, and Hebrew manuscripts, bringing their microfilm holdings from this institution to around 37,000 manuscripts. In addition, although established for the study of Vatican Library manuscripts, from the 1950s the Vatican Film Library also extensively filmed Jesuit archival material relating to Jesuit activities in the New World, copying documents from the Central Jesuit Archives in Rome and from provincial Jesuit archives in North and South America and the Philippines.

History : The Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, was formed as a collection of microfilm reproductions of the manuscripts housed in the Vatican Library and as a research center for medieval and Renaissance manuscripts studies in general. It was created through the efforts of Fr. Lowrie J. Daly, SJ (1914–2000), and with the generous financial support of the Knights of Columbus. The Vatican Film Library opened in 1953.

Access to documents: Open to the public with identification. It is recommended that before visiting the library researchers confirm the presence in the collection of the materials they wish to consult.

 Washington University Libraries
Special Collections
Campus Box 1061
One Brookings Dr.
St. Louis, Missouri 63130-4899
Phone : (314) 935-5495
Fax : (314) 935-4045
Contact

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Theology
Volumes : 16 manuscripts and approximately 70 incunabula.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Athenaeum of Ohio Library
Manuscript Collection
6626 Beechmont Ave.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45230
Phone : (513) 231-2223
Fax : (513) 231-3254
Contact
Catalogue online

Subjects covered : Canon law, Devotional texts, Theology
Volumes : 31 codices and 15 incunabula.

Collection includes : Peter Lombard’s (1095-1160) Liber Sententiarum, Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) De Sacro Altaris Mysterio, 14^th century editions of St. Augustine, and 15^th century editions of St. Cyprianus.

Access to documents: Open to the public by appointment.

 University of Cincinnati
Carl Blegen Library
Archives and Rare Books Department
P.O. Box 210113
Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0113
Phone : (513) 556-1959
Fax : (513) 556-2113

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : 25 manuscripts (including two Korans and two Megillah scrolls), one document, and 49 incunabula.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Hebrew Union College
Klau Library
3101 Clifton Ave.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45220
Phone : (513) 221-1875
Fax : (513) 221-0519

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Education, Judaica, Legal documents
Volumes : Approximately 2,000 Hebrew manuscripts and 140 incunabula

Some of the Library’s most impressive illuminated manuscripts are available online.

Access to documents : Call for further information.

 Oberlin College
Special Collections
415 Mudd Center
148 West College St.
Oberlin, Ohio 44074-1545
Phone : (440) 775-5120
Fax : (440) 775-8739
Contact

Subjects covered : Classics, Devotional Texts, History of the Book, Reformation, Theology
Volumes : 75 manuscripts and 37 incunabula; The Allen Art Museum on campus owns 43 additional leaves.

Among the works of the period in Special Collections are many texts printed in early incarnations of European vernacular tongues. Of these, the overwhelming majority are texts or fragments in English and Italian. Of particular interest are a volume printed by Wynkyn de Worde (1477?1530) and numerous editions of classical works.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Ohio State University
Rare Books and Manuscripts
327 Main Library
1858 Neil Avenue Mall
Columbus, Ohio 43210-1286
Phone : (614) 292-5938
Fax : (614) 292-7859
Contact

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, English literature, Reformation,
Volumes : More than 1500 leaves and 87 incunabula

RBMS’ English Renaissance holdings include a rich, historical collection of multiple copies of different editions of John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs and, Anglican, Puritan and Catholic religious books. The Harold Grimm History of Reformation Collection contains important writings of early Protestant reformers, especially Luther and Melanchthon.

Access to documents : Open to the public, but appointments are encouraged.

 Ohio State University
The Hilandar Research Library and Resource Center for Medieval Slavic Studies
The Ohio State University
119 Thompson Library
1858 Neil Avenue Mall
Columbus, Ohio 43210-1286
Phone: (614) 292-0634
Fax: (614) 688-8417
Contact
Catalogue online

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Eastern Europe, Greece, Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : The microfilm collection represents a total of 69 collections from 20 countries, while the total number of manuscripts on microform is over 4,000. Together they represent over one million pages of material. The majority of the manuscripts are Cyrillic, and date from approximately the 10^th to the 20^th century. The collections are particularly strong in material of the 14^th through 16^th centuries.

The HRL houses microform (predominately microfilm) collections of Slavic, primarily Cyrillic, manuscripts from numerous repositories in dozens of countries, and the largest part derives from the collections found in the monasteries of Mount Athos, Greece. Various other languages, scripts and cultures are also represented, with several hundred Greek manuscripts on microfilm (especially from Hilandar Monastery) representing the second largest group of materials. Also included are portions of the Slavic manuscript collections of Zograf, St. Panteliemon, Iveron and the Great Lavra monasteries.

History: The Hilandar Research Library (HRL), together with the Resource Center for Medieval Slavic Studies (RCMSS), is one of two administrative units that grew out of the Hilandar Research Project, 1969-1984, which had as its goal the microfilming of the Slavic Manuscript Collection at Hilandar Monastery on Mt. Athos, Greece, and other Hilandar Monastery collections of manuscripts and manuscript-related material. The original goal was achieved in 1975 and then expanded to include collections from other countries.

Access to Documents : All materials are physically available on site, but appointments are encouraged to facilitate access to documents kept off-site for preservation purposes.

 Menil Collection
1511 Branard
Houston, Texas 77006
Phone : (713) 525-9400
Fax : (713) 525-9444
Contact

Subjects covered : Art, Byzantium, Classical, Eastern Europe
Volumes : Approximately 50 manuscripts, most of them single leaves, and numerous works of medieval art.

Byzantine artifacts and icon paintings, along with medieval art, account for some 2,000 works in the Menil Collection. Primarily from the Mediterranean world, Asia Minor, and Russia, they provide a survey of European art informed by medieval aesthetics.

Access to documents : The Menil Collection Library is open by appointment to qualified scholars and museum members. Qualified researchers include graduate students, university and college faculty, professional artists and designers, art historians, arts professionals and arts writers.

 Southern Methodist University
Bridwell Library
Special Collections
Perkins School of Theology
6005 Bishop Boulevard
P.O. Box 750476
Dallas, Texas 75275-0476
Phone : (214) 768-3440
Fax : (214) 768-4295

Subjects covered : Church history, Classics, Counter-Reformation, Devotional texts, Philosophy, Popular piety, Reformation, Theology
Volumes : 30 codices, approximately 30 leaves, and approximately 1000 incunabula

The Bridwell library specializes in early print, and more than one-third of its incunabular collection represent the first printed editions of their texts, and many are housed in original bindings, feature early woodcuts, or are handsomely illuminated.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 University of Texas-Austin
Benson Latin American Collection, Manuscripts
Sid Richardson Hall. Unit # 1
Austin, Texas 78713-8916
Phone : (512) 495-4578
Fax : (512) 495-4568
Contact

Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
P.O. Drawer 7219
Austin, Texas 78713-7219
Phone : (512) 471-9119
Fax : (512) 471-2899

Subjects covered : Age of exploration, Devotional texts, History, Law, Mexico, Pre-Columbian America, Science, Theology
Volumes : More than 150 manuscripts in the Benson collection and 61 codices, 77 leaves, and more than 400 incunabula in the Ransom Humanities Research Center.

The Genaro García Collection in the Benson Latin American Collection contains many Aztec works and Spanish accounts of early contact with the native government of Mexico-Tenochtitlán. Among the Ransom Humanities Research Center manuscripts collection holdings are Ptolemaic papyri of the third to first century B.C., an eleventh-century Bede codex from the monastery at Tegernsee, the richly illuminated Chronicles (ca. 1450) of Jean Froissart (1337-1404) and the fifteenth-century Belleville Book of Hours. Incunabular holdings (three hundred eighty volumes and four hundred leaves) begin with the Gutenberg Bible of 1455. The Center’s copy, on paper, is one of only five complete exemplars in the United States. The Center’s Pforzheimer Library also holds William Caxton’s edition of Lefevre’s Historyes of Troye (1474), the ?rst book printed in English, along with six other works by Caxton. Other points of interest include the Medici Collection of three hundred books and one hundred law edicts from 1500 and 1800 and early printed works in astronomy and the sciences.

Many of the medieval and early modern manuscripts in the collections can be viewed online here.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 University of Wisconsin-Madison
Special Collections
728 State St.
Madison, Wisconsin 53706
Phone : (608) 262-3243
Fax : (608) 265-2754

Subjects covered : Classics, Italy, Legal documents, Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : Five codices, 54 leaves, close to 400 documents, and 46 incunabula.

Highlights of the collection include 14^th century English manorial rolls, Italian Renaissance documents, early print editions of classical works, and a set of 85 papyri in Greek and two in Latin ranging from the first century B.C. to the 8^th century A.D.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration