Archives - Eastern US

The Eastern United States is home to some of the oldest colleges and universities in the country as well as some of the largest cities and the nation’s capitol, and subsequently the region holds a sizable portion of the country’s medieval resources.

 Connecticut
 Georgia
 Maryland
 Massachusetts
 New Hampshire
 New Jersey
 New York
 North Carolina
 Pennsylvania
 Puerto Rico
 Rhode Island
 South Carolina
 Virginia
 Washington, D.C.

 Trinity College
Watkinson Library
300 Summit Street
Hartford, Connecticut 06106-3100
Phone : (860) 297-2268
Fax: (860) 297-2251
Contact

Subjects covered : Classics, Devotional texts, Early print, Reformation, Theology
Volumes : 21 codices, six documents, seven leaves, and 223 incunabula.
Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Wesleyan University
Olin Library
Special Collections and Archives
Middletown, Connecticut 06549
Phone : (860) 685-3864
Fax : (860) 685-2661
Contact

Subjects covered : Classics, Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : 12 codices and 38 leaves, and 133 incunabula.
Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Yale University
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511

 Cushing/Whitney Medical Library
Historical Library
P.O. Box 208014
New Haven, CT 06520-8014
Phone : (203) 785-4354
Fax : (203) 785-5636

 Lillian Goldman Library
127 Wall St.
New Haven, CT 06520-8215
Phone : (203) 432-4494
Fax : (203) 432-7940

Subjects covered : Classics, Literature, Theology
Volumes : The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library contains over 1000 manuscripts, and nearly 4000 incunabula. The Cushing/Whitney Medical Library holds 70 codices and 312 incunabula and the Lillian Goldman Law Library holds an additional 40 codices.

Description of collections : The General Collection of Early Books and Manuscripts includes Greek and Roman papyri, medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, Near-Eastern manuscripts, and historical archives of English and Italian families. Early printing is represented by nearly 4,000 incunables and an extensive collection of sixteenth-century imprints, with substantial holdings in Greek and Latin classics, Italian, French, English, and Neo-Latin literature, Reformation theology, and New World exploration. Other special holdings include the Mellon Alchemical collection, the Cary Playing Card collection, the Tibetan collection, and the Wagstaff collection of sporting books.

Access to documents : Open with registration. Letter of introduction required for undergraduates. More information can be found here.

 Emory University
Robert W. Woodruff Library,
Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library
540 Asbury Circle
Atlanta, Georgia
30322-2870
Phone : 404.727.6887
Fax: 404.727.0360
Contact

Pitts Theological Library
1531 Dickey Drive, Suite 560
Atlanta, GA 30322
Phone : 404.727.4166
Fax : 404.727.2494

Subjects covered : Classics, Devotional texts, Islam, Legal documents, Philosophy, Theology
Volume : One codex, nine leaves, seven documents, four scrolls, seven leaves in Syriac and/or Arabic, and 112 incunabula.

The collection contains collected ancient, medieval, and Renaissance eastern and western manuscripts. Most items in the collection are single pages of larger written religious works, such as a French Book of the Hours, the Koran, and the Book of Ester. The collection also includes a genealogical scroll, a Frankpledge roll, and two legal documents from the 16^th and 17^th centuries. The Pitts Theological library holds over 3,300 books and several rare manuscripts documenting the history of the Protestant Reformation in Germany from the 15^th century to 1570.

Access Conditions
Access to documents : Open to the public with registration. Appointments are encouraged for the use of rare books and manuscripts, and required at the Pitts library.

 Johns Hopkins University
The Sheridan Libraries
Rare Books and Special Collections
Phone: 410-516-8348
Contact

Milton S. Eisenhower Library
3400 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
Phone : 410-516-8335
Contact

Garret Library
Evergreen Museum & Library
4545 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21210
Phone: 410-516-7782
Contact

George Peabody Library
17 East Mount Vernon Place
Baltimore, MD 21201
667-208-6715
Contact

Subjects covered : Architecture, Exploration, Literature, Medicine, Religious texts, Science
Volumes : 50 manuscripts and over 250 incunabula.

The Eisenhower library is strongest in the humanities and social sciences and houses most of the incunabula collection. The Garret Library contains mostly later material, pertaining to Early Modern English literature and history, Renaissance architecture, and the age of exploration. The Peabody Library contains many classical works in early editions, as well as material pertaining to science and medicine and archaeology.

Access conditions
Open hours : See here for complete schedules.

 National Library of Medicine
History of Medicine Division
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20894
Phone : (301) 402-8878
Fax : (301) 402-0872

Subjects covered : Medicine, Philosophy
Volumes: Approximately 90 manuscripts and 571 incunabula.

The collection also contains approximately 300 Persian, Arabic, and Turkish manuscripts, dating from 1094 to the 19^th century. Descriptions and some images from medieval manuscripts are available online.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Walters Art Museum
Research Library
600 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
Phone : (410) 547-9000
Contact
Online Catalogue

Subjects covered : Architecture, Art
Volumes : 917 manuscripts and 1265 incunabula.

Access conditions
Open hours: Open to the public by appointment only. The library is closed to outside researchers starting in December of 2009 due to renovations.
Access to documents : By appointment only.

 Boston Public Library
Rare Books Department
Phone : (617) 536-5400
Contact

Subjects covered : Chronicles, Devotional texts, Literature, Philosophy, Science
Volumes : 142 codices, 168 leaves and documents, and two scrolls (a universal chronicle and the Book of Esther in Hebrew). 525 incunabula.

The strong collection of devotional texts includes books of hours, breviaries, lectionaries, antiphonaries, bibles, missals, psalters, texts from the Church fathers and several single leaves of miniatures. Secular texts represent a fine selection of mostly classical authors. The incunabula include an early Catholicon printed in 1460, one of only 10 copies located in the United States and the only one printed on vellum, as well as early editions of Dante, the Nuremberg Chronicle, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphilia (1499), the Golden Legend and the Canterbury Tales, among many others.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration. Appointments are encouraged to ensure availability of materials.

 Brandeis University
Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections
Waltham, MA 02454-9110
Phone : 781.736.4686
Fax : 781.736.4719
Contact

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, History, Saints’ lives, Theology
Volumes : 7 codex manuscripts, 44 incunabula.

The collection also includes over 100 Hebrew incunabula in microform facsimile. One of the collection’s Book of Hours is available online in its entirety.

Access to documents : Open to the public with identification

 Harvard University
Houghton Library
Special Collections
Harvard Yard
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone : 617-495-2411
Contact
Online Catalogue

Subjects covered : Chronicles, Devotional texts, Philosophy, Political Theory, Theology
Volumes : More than 850 codices and 200 leaves. At least 2600 incunabula.

The Early Books & Manuscripts Collection includes material dating from approximately 3000 BCE to 1600 CE and ranges from papyri to early and illuminated manuscripts to early printed books. While there is an emphasis on Western languages and cultures, the collection is also strong in Arabic, Indic, Persian, and Syriac manuscripts. Many manuscripts are available online through the [Digital Medieval Manuscript program.

Access to documents : Harvard Library’s special collections and archives are open to all researchers regardless of academic affiliation. Manuscripts in many Harvard libraries are stored off-site. Patrons are encouraged to make an appointment in advance with a curator in order to view the collections.

 Harvard Divinity School
Andover-Harvard Theological Library
45 Francis Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone : 617.495.6728
Contact

Subjects covered : Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : 23 incunabula
Access conditions
Open hours : By appointment only.
Access to documents : Manuscripts in many Harvard libraries are stored off-site. Patrons are encouraged to make an appointment in advance with a curator in order to view the collections.

 Harvard Law School Library
Special Collections
Langdell Hall
1545 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138-2903
Phone : 617-495-4550
Fax : (617) 495-8588
Contact

Subjects covered : Law, Legal documents
Volumes : 160 codices, a large collection of English charters and deeds, and nearly 550 incunabula.

Among the Early English materials are a fourteenth-century illuminated manuscript of the Magna Carta cum statutis believed to have been commissioned by Phillipa of Hainault for Edward III, on the occasion of their marriage in 1326 ; a copy of the first edition of the first English law treatise, Littleton’s Tenures (1482), and two copies of the first printed collection of English statutes (1485).

The Deeds Collection of the Harvard Law School Library is a rich and diverse body of over 1,000 English legal documents dating from circa 1170 to 1888. The Manor Rolls collection consists of 170 parchment rolls of diverse type (court-rolls, account-rolls, and others) from various manors, ranging in date from 1305 to 1770. The collection of French coutumes contains close to 900 separate editions printed between 1453 and the Revolution.

The library also holds a large collection of French administrative acts, 30,000 pamphlets from 1212 to 1796 including édits, ordonnances, déclarations, arrêts, réglements, etc. on a wide variety of topics, including: press law, guilds, tariffs, wine and wine-making, weights and measures, food law and legislation, taxation, trade, etc. The bulk of these materials are from the eighteenth century.

Access to documents : Manuscripts in many Harvard libraries are stored off-site. Patrons are encouraged to make an appointment in advance with a curator in order to view the collections.

 Harvard Medical School
Countway Library of Medicine
Center for the History of Medicine
10 Shattuck Street
Boston, MA 02115
Contact

Subjects covered : History of Medicine
Volumes : Over 800 incunabula and medieval manuscripts

More information about the history of the Countway Library, its collection, and the alliance of the Harvard Medical Library with the Boston Medical Library is available here

Access to documents: See here.

 Museum of Fine Arts
William Morris Hunt Memorial Library
Department of the Arts of Europe
465 Huntington Ave.
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Phone : 617-369-3378

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Illuminations, Music, Philosophy
Volumes : 38 codices, 45 leaves, and 49 incunabula.

The Museum’s collection has a strong emphasis on visually striking illuminated manuscripts, particularly bibles, books of hours, penitentials and psalters, but it also includes papal letters and philosophical treatises. Also of note are a number of antiphonaries and graduals. Many of the documents in the collection may be viewed online.

Access to documents : Open to the public, but researchers should contact the museum in advance to confirm availability of documents. See here for more information.

 Smith College
Mortimer Rare Book Room
Northampton, Massachusetts 01063
Phone : (413) 585-2970
Contact

Subjects covered : Devotional texts
Volumes : 20 codices, approximately 100 manuscript leaves, and 80 incunabula. The rare book room also holds 370 cuneiform tablets dating back to 2700 B.C.

Access conditions available here

 Wellesley College
Special Collections, Margaret Clapp Library
106 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02481-8203
Contact
Catalog online

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Italian Literature and Poetry, Music, Science, Theology
Volumes : Approximately 100 manuscript items, 84 incunabula.

Five of the books of hours are available for online viewing. Manuscript database contains full descriptions of all holdings. The Plimpton Collection of Italian Literature and Poetry contains 1,200 volumes from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century. It is renowned for its fine Renaissance manuscripts, incunabula, and early editions of Boccaccio, Dante, and Petrarch, many still in their original bindings. Savonarolla’s tracts and sermons are well represented, and holdings of early editions of Romances of Chivalry are particularly strong.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Williams College
Chapin Library
26 Hopkins Hall Drive
Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267
Phone : 413-597-4200
Contact

Subjects covered : Classics, Devotional texts, Italian Literature
Volumes : 40 manuscripts, 525 incunabula.

The Chapin Library holds the first printed editions of esteemed classical writers, works of science and art as well as religion and literature, and many of the first books printed in Europe, perhaps most notably the Cicero De Oratore (Subiaco, before 30 September 1465), the earliest extant book printed in Italy.

Access conditions
Access to documents : Open to the public with registration. Advance notice is recommended. More information available here.

 Dartmouth College
Rauner Special Collections Library
6065 Webster Hall
Hanover, New Hampshire 03755-3519
Phone: (603) 646-0538
Fax: (603) 646-0447
Contact

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Early Print, Legal Documents, Music, Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : 145 codices, 24 leaves, and 144 incunabula.

The collection includes supplementary material consisting of one hundred and ten original leaves of German incunabula, sixty specimens representing West European incunables from the early presses of the Netherlands, France, Iberia, and Great Britain, as well as many examples from Italian ateliers, and a group of fifty-five woodcuts from books of the fifteenth century, shown in original specimens. A searchable presentation of the manuscript collection with illustrations is available here.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration. Researchers are encouraged to contact the library in advance to ensure access to materials.

 Newark Public Library
Special Collections
5 Washington St.
P.O. Box 630
Newark, New Jersey 07101-0630
Phone : (973) 733-7745
Fax : (973) 733-5648
Contact
Catalog online. (Search for "Richard C. Jenkinson Collection.")

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Law, Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : 65 manuscripts, more than 200 leaves, and 17 incunabula.

The Richard C. Jenkinson Collection on the history of fine printing contains a wide array of medieval manuscripts and hundreds of leaves to help illustrate the history of early writing.

Access conditions
Access to documents : By appointment only.

 Princeton University Library
Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
One Washington Rd.
Princeton, New Jersey 08544-2089
Phone : (609) 258-3184
Fax : (609) 258-4105
Contact
Online Catalogue

Scheide Library
(609) 258-3241
Contact

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Legal documents, Literature, Medicine, Music, Philosophy, Politics, Theology
Volumes : More than 400 codices, more than 250 leaves, approximately 5,000 documents, and 790 incunabula.

Princeton’s manuscripts range in date from the 8^th to 16^th centuries. While Latin texts are predominant, there are excellent holdings of Byzantine and post-Byzantine Greek manuscripts, and vernacular manuscripts in Middle English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Dutch or Flemish. About 150 of the manuscripts are illustrated, accounting for about 1,750 miniatures, historiated initials, and other significant examples of manuscript illustration. Full digital versions of Garrett MS. 125 (Chrétien de Troyes) and Garrett MS. 158 (Giovanni Marcanova) are available online, with up-to-date description and bibliography.

Princeton is also home to the Scheide Library, a privately owned research library which continues to hold several hundred rare books and manuscripts.

Access to documents : Open to public with registration. Appointments are required for use of the Scheide Library and researchers are strongly encouraged to contact the library in advance of any research visit.

 Buffalo and Erie County Public Library
Grosvenor Rare Book Room
1 Lafayette Square
Buffalo, New York 14203-1887
Phone : (716) 858-8900
Fax : (716) 858-6211
Catalogue online, search for "rbr mss." and limit to "pre 1700" or search for the “Louis C. Elson Collection.”

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Music, Philosophy, Science, Theology
Volumes : Over 100 manuscripts, 26 leaves, 46 incunabula.

The Rare Book collection also includes Otto Ege’s Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts from Western Europe dating from the 12^th through the 16^th century.

Access to documents: Appointments are required and the library asks that researchers call at least one business day ahead. Please have the item title and/or call number ready when making an appointment.

 Columbia University
Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary
3041 Broadway
New York City, New York 10027
Phone : (212) 851-5606
Fax : (212) 851-5613
Contact

Subjects covered : Comparative religion, Devotional texts, Reformation, Syriac, Theology
Volumes : 75 codices and 190 leaves.

Numerous western medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, as well as Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, Armenian, Ethiopic, and Syriac materials. The collection of Syriac manuscripts in one of the largest in this hemisphere.

Access to documents: Access to library is by appointment only. At least one business day’s notice is necessary for the paging of any materials. Contact staff in advance using the web request form.

 Columbia University
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
535 West 114^th St.
New York City, New York 10027
Phone : (212) 854-5590
Fax : (212) 854-1365
Contact

Subjects covered : Classics, Devotional texts, Education, Egypt, Legal documents, Literature, Math, Science
Volumes : 500 codices, approximately 150 leaves, approximately 1,000 legal documents, and more than 1,000 incunabula

The Rare Book and Manuscript Library also houses The Montgomery Collection of the Columbia University School of Business and The David Eugene Smith Mathematical Library of Columbia University. The Columbia collection includes ca. 2150 papyri and over 3600 ostraca in a variety of languages including Greek, Latin, Egyptian (Demotic, Coptic and Hieratic) and Arabic. The papyri range in date from the 3^rd century BCE to the 7^th century CE and come from different parts of Egypt. Many of them can be viewed here.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration. Contacting the library in advance of any visit is highly recommended.

 Cornell University
Carl A. Kroch Library
Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts
Ithaca, New York 14853
Phone: (607) 255-3530
Fax: (607) 255-9524
Contact:

Subjects covered : Dante, Iceland, Legal documents, Petrarch, Philosophy, Witchcraft
Volumes : 147 codices, 96 leaves, and 452 incunabula

The Fiske Icelandic Collection, internationally one of the three largest collections on Icelandic literature and civilization, is unrivaled in its resources for the study of the medieval Nordic world. The Witchcraft Collection contains many early texts from the period when the theory of the heresy of witchcraft was being formulated, including fourteen Latin editions of the Malleus maleficarum, which codified church dogma on heresy. Four of these Latin editions were printed in the fifteenth-century, most notably the scarce first edition printed before April 14, 1487.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Eastman School of Music
Sibley Music Library
27 Gibbs St.
Rochester, New York 14604-2599
Phone: (585) 274-1335
Fax : (585) 274-1380
Contact

Subjects covered : Music
Volumes : 13 codices, four leaves, and a collection of some 95 leaves and fragments known as the Fleischer Notation Collection

The Fleischer collection of manuscript leaves from medieval and Renaissance sources illustrates the development of musical notation. Compiled by Oskar Fleischer in the course of writing a book on notation. The collection is an outstanding teaching tool for the study of the history of musical notation from ca. 1000 to 1500.

Access to documents : Open access is intended for members of the Eastman School and Rochester community. Outside researchers should contact the library for an appointment.

 Fordham University
Walsh Library
441 East Fordham Road
Bronx, New York 10458
Phone : (718) 817-3560
Fax : (718) 817-5776
Catalogue : Browse by call number Spec Coll 14 within the Rose Hill Library

Subjects covered : Legal documents, Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : 3 codices, 27 legal documents, approximately 110 leaves, and 34 incunabula

All of Fordham’s manuscripts are available online through the Digital Scriptorum.

Access to documents : Open to members of the Fordham Community and research scholars.

 Hispanic Society of America
613 W. 155^th St.
New York City, New York 10032
Phone : (212) 926-2234
Fax : (212) 690-0743

Subjects covered : Age of Exploration, Devotional texts, Iberia, Law, Portugal, Spain
Volumes : Over 750 manuscripts and 250 incunabula

The manuscript collection, extraordinarily rich in material and scope, is the most extensive outside of Spain pertaining to the Iberian peninsula in the medieval and early modern periods.

Access to documents: Open to the public with identification. A maximum of seven books may be requested per day, unless the researcher has made a prior appointment and arrangement with the curator. In the case of manuscripts and printed books of which the Hispanic Society holds a unique copy, appointments are required. Given the limited seating available, it is always advisable to make an appointment.

 Jewish Theological Seminary Library
3080 Broadway
New York City, New York 10027
Phone : (212) 678-8077
Fax : (212) 678-8998

Subjects covered : Early Christianity, Judaica, Legal documents, Medicine, Philology, Rabbinics, Science, Theology
Volumes : 3,600 manuscripts, four ketubot (Hebrew marriage contracts on single sheets), approximately 21,000 fragmentary leaves from the Cairo Genizah, and 240 incunabula

Fragments from the Cairo Geniza contain invaluable information pertaining to the social, cultural, religious and economic life of Mediterranean Jewry from the ninth through the nineteenth centuries. All the fragments have been digitized and are available online through The Friedberg Genizah Project. The collection also features eleven hundred biblical codices and scrolls from many countries, including China, Persia, Yemen, Spain, Italy, France, and Germany, and documents from Jewish communities throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Access to documents: Open to the public by appointment only. More information available here.

 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Thomas J. Watson Library

Dept. of Medieval Art and the Cloisters
99 Margaret Corbin Drive
Fort Tryon Park
Phone: 212-396-5319
Fax: 212-795-3640
Contact

Study Rooms for Drawing and Prints
1000 Fifth Ave.
New York City, New York 10028
Phone : 212-570-3920

Subjects covered : Art, Devotional texts, Manuscript illuminations
Volumes : 34 codices and 212 leaves, one document, and approximately 200 incunabula

The Cloisters Library and Archives contain materials specifically for the study of medieval art and related topics. The library’s collection of approximately fifteen thousand volumes encompasses medieval architecture, tapestries, painting, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, sculpture, ivories, and metalwork. Incunabula are held in the The Study Rooms for Drawings and Prints.

Access to documents : Open to qualified researchers by appointment only, and access to the archives is granted only after a letter is received stating specific research needs and only for students at the graduate level and above.
Study Rooms for Drawing and Prints : Accessible to qualified visitors only by appointment and with proper identification.

 New York Academy of Medicine
Historical Collections
1216 Fifth Ave.
New York City, New York 10029
Phone : (212) 822-7315
Fax : (212) 423-0273
Contact

Subjects covered : Medicine
Volumes : 18 codices, one document, 12 leaves from an Egyptian hieratic manuscript, and 139 incunabula

The manuscript collection includes the Edwin Smith Papyrus, a work on surgery written in 1700 B.C. in ancient Egypt, and a number of significant medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, such as the Chirurgia of Guy de Chauliac, written in Middle English and dated 1363.

Access to documents: Open to the public by appointment. Registration is required.

 New York Public Library
Manuscripts and Archives Division - Rare Book Division
Fifth Ave. and 42^nd St.
New York City, New York 10018-2788
Phone : (212) 930-0801
Fax : (212) 302-4815
Contact here or here

Subjects covered : Age of Exploration, Devotional texts, Early print
Volumes : 270 manuscripts and approximately 800 incunabula

The incunabula range from the 1460 Catholicon to Schedel’s Liber Chronicarum, and include De Bury’s Philobiblon, Breydenbach’s Peregrinatio in Terram sanctam, Holle’s 1482 printing of Ptolemy’s Cosmographia, and a number of editions of Sacro Bosco’s Sphaera mundi. Works printed by Peter Schöffer, William Caxton, Günter Zainer, and Anton Koberger are represented, as are block books, indulgences, and even several examples of Asian printing which predate the incunabular period.

The Spencer Collection surveys the illustrated word and book bindings of all periods and all countries and cultures, from medieval manuscripts, Japanese scrolls, and Indian miniatures to monuments in Renaissance printing, illustration and binding to contemporary livres d’artistes.

Digital images of many of the Library’s Western manuscripts may be viewed here.

Access to documents : Researchers wishing to consult medieval and Renaissance manuscripts are required to request and receive permission in writing from the respective curator or deputy before visiting the Library.

 New York State Library
Manuscripts and Special Collections
Cultural Education Center
Empire State Plaza
Albany, New York 12230
Phone: (518) 474-6282
Fax: (518) 474-5786
Contact

Subjects covered : Classical texts, Law, Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : 56 manuscript leaves and 92 incunabula.
Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 New York University
Fales Library and Special Collections
70 Washington Square South, 3^rd Floor
New York City, New York 10012
Phone : (212) 998-2596
Fax : (212) 995-4070
Contact

School of Law Library
40 Washington Square South
New York City, New York 10012-2115
Phone : (212) 998-6304
Fax : (212) 995-3477

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Law, Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : The Fales library holds 200 fragments and 38 incunabula and the Law Library holds an additional two codices and 112 leaves.

Access to documents : Appointments are necessary for all researchers who wish to consult archival and manuscript materials. Private scholars and other non-affiliated patrons must make appointments to use both print and archival collections by sending a note of inquiry before they plan to visit the Library.

 Pierpont Morgan Library
29 East 36^th St.
New York City, New York 10016-3403
Phone : (212) 590-0315
Fax : (212) 768-5615
Contact the readingroom or
Corsair

Subjects covered : Classics, Comparative religion, Devotional texts, Literature, Math, Music, Science, Theology
Volumes : More than 1000 codices, more than 250 leaves, and approximately 2550 incunabula.

The Pierpont Morgan Library, once the private domain of the financier-collector Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), is now a public research library, a museum, an architectural landmark, and a historic site. The collection is made up primarily of Western manuscripts, with French being the largest single national group, followed by Italian, English, German, and Belgian. The collection also has significant examples of Armenian, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopian, Arabic, and Persian manuscripts. More than fifty Coptic manuscripts found in Hamouli, Egypt, nearly all of which are in their original bindings, form the oldest and most important group of Sahidic manuscripts from a single provenance, the Monastery of St. Michael at Sôpehes. The Library also possesses a small but choice collection of Islamic and Indian manuscripts and single miniatures.

Thousands of images from the collection are available online.

Access to documents : Use of the Library’s Reading Room is by appointment only. Fill out an application to obtain access.

 Rochester Institute of Technology
Cary Graphic Arts Collection
90 Lomb Memorial Dr.
Rochester, New York 14623-5604
Phone : (585) 475-2408
Fax : (585) 475-6900
Contact

Subjects covered : Classics, Devotional texts, Early print, Music, Patristic authors
Volumes : 5 codices and 160 leaves.

Manuscript leaves were selected to illustrate the art of the manuscript during the period of its greatest development and influence. Most of the collection is available online.

Access to documents : For research inquiries or to schedule an appointment, email or call the library.

 University of Rochester
Rossell Hope Robbins Library
River Campus Libraries
755 Library Road
P.O. Box 270055
Rochester, NY 14627
Phone : 585-275-4471

Subjects covered : Arthurian Studies, Old English, Anglo-Norman, and medieval French Literature; Philosophy, Theology, Witchcraft
Volumes : 3 codices, 7 leaves, and approximately 100 incunabula.

The Department of Rare Books & Special Collections holds a teaching collection of manuscript material from the Middle Ages: books, single manuscript leaves, and a small gathering of legal documents, including a papal bull from the twelfth century. Of very special interest is a parchment roll containing the inventory of the library at the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Victor at Marseille (1374). Images of many of these items are available online.

The Robbins Library is also host to several online projects that make texts and images of primary sources available : The Camelot Project, The Robin Hood Project, The Medieval Alexander Project, and the TEAMS Middle English Text Series.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Saint Bonaventure University
Friedsam Memorial Library
Franciscan Institute
St. Bonaventure, New York 14778
Phone : (716) 375-2323
Fax : (716) 375-2389

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Franciscan Studies, Music, Poetry Scholasticism
Volumes : Over 100 manuscripts and 282 incunabula.

The Franciscan Institute Library boasts the largest and finest collection of Franciscan sources in North America. Along with an emphasis on the Middle Ages, the collection also covers all aspects of Franciscan life from that time to the present day. There is also a large collection of microfilmed manuscripts of various late medieval philosophers and theologians.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Syracuse University
Special Collections Research Center
222 Waverly Ave.
Syracuse, New York 13244-2010
Phone : (315) 443-2697
Fax : (315) 443-2671
Contact

Subjects covered : Classics, Devotional texts, Theology
Volumes : 18 codices and 35 incunabula.

The earliest printed item is a Buddhist scroll from the 9^th century and other early materials include several codices dating from the 11^th century. Many of the manuscripts have been digitized and are available for viewing online.

Access to documents : Use of manuscripts requires an appointment two weeks in advance.

 Vassar College Library
Special Collections
124 Raymond Ave.
Poughkeepsie, New York 12604-0020
Phone : (845) 437-5799
Fax : (845) 437-5864
Contact

Subjects covered : Comparative religion, Devotional texts, Theology
Volumes : 19 codices, 81 leaves, a fragmentary manuscript, and 43 incunabula.

[The library contains] manuscripts and illuminated manuscripts, primarily in Latin, consisting largely of religious work such as psalters, hours of the Virgin, and sermons, with some scholarly works...and several Eastern and Arabic manuscripts, including a Syriac version, called Peshitta, of a substantial portion of the Scriptures, probably dating from the 11^th century. A finding aid to the manuscripts is available online.

Access to documents: Open to the public by appointment.

 Duke University
The Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library
Box 90185
Durham, North Carolina 27708-0185
Phone : (919) 660-5822
Fax : (919) 660-5934
Contact

Subjects covered : Byzantium, Devotional texts, Egypt, Italian Literature, Theology
Volumes : 21 codices, 159 leaves, 1400 Egyptian papyri, and over 100 incunabula.

Egyptian papyri collection dates from the early third century B.C.E. to the 8^th century, primarily in hieratic or demotic Greek. The Clark Collection contains ninety-eight Greek manuscripts—in both roll and codex form—dating from the ninth to the seventeenth century. The entire Duke collections of papyri has been digitized in the Duke Papyrus Archive.

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

 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Rare Book Collection
CB# 3936 Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
(919) 962-3765
Contact

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Early print, English Literature, Theology
Volumes : Approximately 530 manuscripts and 631 incunabula.

Particular highlights among the incunabula include John Gower’s Confessio Amantis printed by William Caxton (1483) and The Book of Hawking, Hunting and Heraldry (the Book of St. Albans) (1486).

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Bryn Mawr College
Mariam Coffin Canaday Library
Special Collections
101 N. Merion Ave.
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 19010-2899
Phone : (610) 526-6576
Fax : (610) 526-7480

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Education, Law, Medicine, Philosophy, Theology, Women’s history
Volumes : 120 codices, 60 leaves, and 1013 incunabula.

A description of the Marjorie Walter Goodhart Medieval Library can be found here.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration. Advanced notice is encouraged.

 Free Library of Philadelphia
Rare Book Department
1901 Vine St.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-1189
Phone : (215) 686-5416
Fax : (215) 563-3628
Contact

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, History, Philosophy, Poetry, Theology
Volumes : Approximately 250 codices, 3000 leaves, and 800 incunabula.

Many of the Library’s medieval books, including bibles, psalters, calendars, books of hours, and a contemporary genealogy of Edward IV (1442-1483), have been digitized and are available online.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Rosenbach Museum & Library
2008-2010 DeLancey Pl.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103
Phone : (215) 732-1600 x115
Fax : (215) 545-7529
Contact

Subjects covered : Age of exploration, Devotional texts, Literature, Medicine, Theology
Volumes : 33 codices. 4 leaves, 418 documents, and 91 incunabula.

Items of interest include two fifteenth century manuscripts of the Canterbury Tales, the Libre de les Dones, one of the first printed books with a true title page, and a medieval belt book, carried as a diagnostic tool by physicians. Many individual documents are of Peruvian or Mexican origin.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration. Research appointments should be made by contacting the Library staff at least a week in advance of arrival.

 University of Pennsylvania
Rare Book & Manuscript Library
3420 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6206
Phone : (215) 898-7088
Fax : (215) 573-9079
Contact

Subjects covered : Church administration, Classics, Devotional texts, Education, Inquisition, Italian government, Legal documents, Literature, Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : Approximately 800 manuscripts and over 500 incunabula. Approximately 1000 manuscript codices on microfilm.

Most manuscript items have been acquired for their textual or historical significance rather than for illuminations, illustrations, bindings, or other physical characteristics. The Henry Charles Lea Library is dedicated to the history of the Inquisition and the Catholic Church and the Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Collection focuses on the history of chemistry. Also of particular importance is the Medici-Gondi Archive. It comprises approximately 240 manuscript items and collections within the Lea Library and documents the commercial activities of the Medici and Gondi families of Florence. In addition to original medieval codex manuscripts, the library owns nearly one thousand medieval codices on microfilm.

The University of Pennsylvania also provides online access to the privately held Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection, which comprises nearly 500 manuscripts.

Access to documents : Open to the public with identification. Prior arrangements are suggested for Saturday visits.

 University of Pennsylvania
Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies
3420 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6206
Phone : (215) 238-1290 ext. 206
Fax : (215) 898-0559
Contact

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Judaica, Law, Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : More than 200 codices and more than 600 leaves including more than 500 fragments from the Cairo Genizah.

About 8,000 printed books with particular strength in Jewish law and liturgy. In addition, there are 453 codices, written in 11 different alphabets and 24 different languages and dialects as varied as Armenian, Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, Syriac, Yiddish and Telugu, as well as a collection of about 550 Cairo Genizah fragments.

Access to documents : Open to the public by appointment only with identification.

 Casa del Libro
Calle Del Cristo 255
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901
Phone : (787) 723-0354
Fax : (787) 723-0354
Contact

Subjects covered : Age of exploration, Classics, Devotional texts, Spain, Theology
Volumes : 15 codices, one leaf, and 266 incunabula.

The Casa del Libro holds the largest collection of Spanish incunabula in the United States. It includes early editions of Pliny, Thomas Aquinas and the sermons of Pope Leo I. There are also documents pertaining to Christopher Columbus’s voyages and the colonization of Latin America.

Access to documents : Contact the library to arrange a research visit.

 Brown University
John Hay Library
20 Prospect St. / Box A
Providence, Rhode Island 02912
Phone : (401) 863-3723
Fax : (401) 863-2093
Contact

John Carter Brown Library
94 George St / Box 1894
Phone : (401) 863-2725
Fax : (401) 863-3477

Subjects covered : Age of Exploration. Classics, Devotional texts, Islam, Philosophy, Science, Theology
Volumes : Approximately 60 codices, 7 leaves, and 800 incunabula.

The History of Science Collection at the Hay Library includes editions of classical authors on mathematics and astronomy, sixteenth and seventeenth century astronomical tables, and fifteenth and sixteenth century editions of Latin translations of Arabic astronomical and astrological texts. The Annmary Brown Memorial Library holds one of the largest incunabula collections in the United States. Also, the Minassian Collection of Quranic Manuscripts comprises approximately 200 folders of Quranic leaves dating from the 8^th century onward. The John Carter Brown Library holds one of the world’s leading collections of books, maps, and manuscripts relating to the colonial period of the Americas, including several early editions of Columbus’s letters.

Access to documents : The John Hay Library’s special collections and the Annmary Brown Library are available to the public with identification. The John Carter Brown Library collection is restricted to use by qualified scholars, engaged in productive research, for whom access to the collection is essential for the advancement of their work. All researchers must register and submit at least two forms of identification, including a driver’s license or passport with a photo. Students and unaffiliated scholars must also have a written endorsement of their project from an established college or university professor.

 University of South Carolina
Thomas Cooper Library
Dept. of Rare Books & Special Collections
Columbia, South Carolina 29208
Phone : (803) 777-3847
Fax : (803) 777-4661
Contact

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, History, Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : 6 codices, 97 leaves, and 32 incunabula.

Represented in the University’s online collection are bibles, Books of Hours, and sermons, as well as historical, scientific, philosophical, theological, legal, notarial and musical books.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 University of Virginia
Special Collections
P. O. Box 400110
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Phone : (434) 243-1776
Fax : (434) 924-4968

Subjects covered : Classics, Devotional texts, Legal documents, Music, Theology
Volumes : 34 codices, more than 200 leaves, and approximately 90 incunabula.

Rosenthal Medieval Manuscript Collection consists of over 200 items, primarily designed for teaching paleography, the manuscripts also support research into a number of areas.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 Hollins University
Wyndham Robertson Library
Special Collections
7950 East Campus Drive
Roanoke, Virginia 24020
Phone : (540) 362-6237
Fax : (540) 362-6756
Contact

Subjects covered : Classics, Devotional texts, Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : Six codices, one document, 20 leaves, and 63 incunabula.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration.

 American University
Special Collections Library
4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington DC, 20016-8046
Tel : (202) 885-3256
Fax : (202) 885-1141
Contact

Subjects covered : Reformation, History of Mathematics
Volumes : 30 to 40 incunabula

Description : The Carl Anthon Collection features works on history, literature, philosophy, and religion from the 15^th through the 19^th centuries including texts by Aristotle, Boccaccio, Cicero, Erasmus, Josephus, Suetonius, Tacitus, and Martin Luther. The Karen Dee Michalowicz collection (1553- 2003) contains works of algebra, arithmetic, and geometry and features several examples of ciphering books.

Access to documents : Open to the public with identification.

 The Catholic University of America Libraries
The John K. Mullen of Denver Memorial Library
Books and Special Collections
620 Michigan Ave., NE
Washington, DC 20064
Tel. 202-319-5091
Contact

The Semitics/ICOR (Institute of Christian Oriental Research) Library
Tel. 202-319-4532
Contact

Subjects covered : Italian Renaissance, Early print, Early writing, Near Eastern studies, Archaeology
Volumes : 56 codices, 14 documents, and over 100 incunabula.

The Rare Books and Special Collections library houses manuscripts, dating from the fourteenth to the twentieth centuries. Included are medieval legal documents, papal bulls, books of hours, monumental choir books and philosophical and legal codices.

The Semitics/ICOR research collections include antiquities devoted to ancient writing in its various early manifestations: Sumerian and Akkadian cuneiform tablets and cylinder seals, coins from Syria-Palestine, Coptic ostraka. The collections boast holdings of Egyptian and Coptic papyri, and some 100 manuscripts in Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Coptic, Ethiopic, Persian, Samaritan, Syriac, and Turkish. There are also some 1,200 Coptic, Syriac, Arabic and Hebrew manuscripts in facsimile (photographs, microfilm, microfiche).

Also of interest are the Order of Malta collections, dating from 1495, and the Clementine Library, the remains of the library of the Albani family dating back to 1473.

Access to documents : Public access with registration

 Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies
1703 32^nd St., N.W.?
Washington, DC 20007?
Phone: (202) 339-6400 ext. 6940
Fax: (202) 298-8409
Contact

Subjects : Byzantine, Pre-Colombian America
Volumes : 130,000 books, rare book collection, photo and fieldwork archive, Princeton Index of Christian Art, coins and seals (open to qualified researchers only); collection of Byzantine art.

History : Dumbarton Oaks was created by Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss, who transferred the property and its collections to Harvard University in 1940.

Access to documents : The Research Library primarily serves the staff and resident Fellows of Dumbarton Oaks. Outside scholars who need access to the Library for their own research may obtain it by qualifying as a Weekday Reader or a Reader.

 Folger Shakespeare Library and Folger Institute
201 E. Capitol St., S.E.
Washington, DC 20003-1094
Phone : 202-544-4600
Contact

Subjects covered : Shakespeare, Early modern Britain, Early modern Europe, Literature, Theater, Reformation, Renaissance
Volumes : Approximately 4000 manuscripts and documents, over 400 incunabula, and other materials, including musical instruments, costumes, and films.

The Folger Shakespeare Memorial Library is an independent research facility with about 250,000 volumes on British and European literary, cultural, political, religious, and social history from the 15^th through the 18^th centuries. The Shakespeare collection encompasses 79 first folios, 186 quartos, 7,000 later editions, hundreds of translations, and a comprehensive collection of secondary sources.

The Folger also holds one of the largest collections of other early English books, with about 55,000 volumes from the period 1475-1700. Among 35,000 rare books from the Continent are 450 incunables, a 2,000-volume Reformation collection, significant holdings in French and Dutch political pamphlets, and a comprehensive collection of 16^th-century Italian books. The manuscript collection, which numbers 55,000 and is especially strong in early correspondence and commonplace books, is extended by such microfilm holdings as the states papers domestic from Edward VI through Charles I and the Cecil, Loseley, Harleian, and Lansdowne papers.

History : The Folger opened in 1932 as a gift to the American nation from Henry Clay Folger and his wife Emily Jordan Folger. It is administered by a Board of Governors under the auspices of Amherst College, Henry Folger’s alma mater.

Access to documents : Reading Rooms and archival materials are available to registered users. Applications for scholarly or special access can be found here.

 Georgetown University
Joseph Mark Lauinger Library
3700 O St., NW
Washington, District of Columbia
20057-1174
Phone : (202) 687-7444
Fax : (202) 687-7501

The Woodstock Theological Center Library
Box 571170
Washington, DC 20057-1170
Phone : 202-687-3532
Fax : 202-687-5835
Contact

Subjects covered : Theology, Reformation, Counter-Reformation, Jesuits, Church History
Volumes : 19 codices, six leaves, and over 300 documents.

Most of the documents in the Georgetown collection make up the Sala Family Archives, consisting of 289 charters from Catalonia, Spain dating from 1261 to 1690, with the bulk falling in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The Woodstock Theological Center Library also holds 17,500 titles of 15^th through 19^th century counter-reformational and American theological works, including 33 incunabula.

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

 The Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20540
(202) 707-3448
Catalogue online

Subjects covered : Devotional texts, Early Print, Eastern Europe, History, Legal history, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Theology
Volumes : The Rare Books and Special collections division holds more than 250 codices and more than 2500 leaves, while the Law Library division holds 34 codices and one fragment and the Music Library division holds 19 codices and more than 50 leaves.

The Library of Congress collection of nearly 5,700 incunabula is the largest such grouping in the Western Hemisphere.

Access to documents : Open to the public with registration

 Smithsonian Institute
National Museum of American History
The Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology
12^th St. and Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20560-0672
Phone : (202) 633-3872
Contact

National Museum of American History
MRC 633 P O Box 37012
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Phone : (202) 633-3856

Subjects covered : History of Science and Technology, Law
Volumes : The Dibner Library holds approximately 50 manuscripts and 324 incunabula. The National Museum of American History holds 12 leaves, and 42 additional documents.

Access to documents : Open to the public by appointment only with registration and proof of identification.