PLEASE NOTE: This issue, written now over 60 years ago, describes the Libraries' Special Collections as they were, not as they now are. Please consult the websites and librarians of the various libraries described below for the most up-to-date information about our now greatly expanded holdings.

 

Volume IV · Spring 1949 · Number 3

Our Special Collections

The University of Rochester Library can be described as a group of special libraries administered as a unit. Our Sibley Music Library, built up in its early years by the generous gifts of Hiram W. Sibley, is one of the outstanding music libraries of the world. The Art Library in the Memorial Art Gallery is a fine working collection which has grown steadily by gifts and through purchases made by the Library and the Gallery. The Medical Library is another excellent working collection serving the School of Medicine and Dentistry, Strong Memorial Hospital, and the Municipal Hospital. In addition to these large special libraries there are a number of collections that are important and valuable sources for students in a variety of fields. As they grow in number and size our Library increases in value and usefulness.

This issue of the Bulletin is devoted to brief descriptions of these collections. Some of them have been the subject of articles in earlier numbers of the Bulletin and some will be described more fully later. Our purpose in this issue is to give a broad view of the material that is available in the special collections, and to provide an introductory guide to them. It is our hope that these descriptions will encourage readers to visit the various libraries and come to know these collections by using them.

The Library is also fortunate in having received donations that have provided books for general use. These special funds have done much to strengthen and enrich the library in broader fields. They have been so important in supplying the books needed by our students and faculty that we plan to devote an article in a future number of theBulletin to them, and for that reason we have not listed them here.

The descriptions of the special collections have been prepared by the editors of the Bulletin, with the assistance of Vera Tweddell, Mildred Walter, Ruth Watanabe, and Margaret Withington.

Rush Rhees Library

The Rochester Academy of Science Collection
The Rochester Academy of Science, organized as a general scientific society in 1879, began the publication and distribution of its Proceedings in 1889. These have been sent to learned societies, scientific institutions, and other publishing agencies in the United States and in many foreign countries. The library of the Academy consists of the scientific publications which the Academy has received in exchange for its own proceedings. In 1929, the Academy and the University mutually agreed to have the Academy library permanently deposited in the University Library, to be administered by the University Librarian. The process of exchange has continued since 1889, and publications are being received currently from 350 scientific societies and organizations throughout the world.

The Ira S. Wile Research Library
Dr. Ira S. Wile, a noted alumnus of the Class of 1898, gave his fine research library to the University in March, 1943, shortly before his death. Dr. Wile had always been a generous donor to the University Library, and his final gift of more than five thousand volumes was an outstanding addition to the University's resources. His library showed his wide interests in the fields of anthropology, psychology, sociology, comparative religion, medicine, and folklore. Dr. Wile arranged that his gift should be incorporated into the collections of the University Library; in this way, the gift enriched the resources for scholarship at the Rush Rhees, Women's College, and Medical Libraries.

Private Press Books
Since 1930, the University Library has gradually built up by gift and occasional purchase a small collection of books from American and English private presses, which show different styles in good printing. Since fine typography is the basis of this collection, it is not limited to items from private presses alone, but also includes choice examples from commercial printers, such as the fine editions of literary classics from The Printing House of Leo Hart in Rochester, New York. The collection contains 400 books from 120 presses. Some of the well-known names of presses and designers represented are Ashendene, Doves, Kelmscott, Eragny, Cranach, Golden Cockerel, Cuala, Bruce Rogers, the Grabhorn brothers, J. H. Nash, Pynson Printers, and Nonesuch.

The Local History Department
The collection of books, pamphlets, broadsides, maps, manuscripts, and prints that relate to the history of Rochester and western New York has as its nucleus the Vail Collection, which is described below. Important additions have been made in this field from the private collections of Rear Admiral Franklin Hanford, Edward G. Miner, Samuel L. Parmele, William Holland Samson, C. Walter Smith, and Frederick Strecker. We now have approximately six thousand books, many thousand manuscripts, and a sizable group of maps and prints. Special efforts have been made to gather as complete a collection as possible of the editions of Seaver's Life of Mary Jemison,contemporary accounts of the Anti-Masonic movement, Erie Canal material, works of local authors, and books printed in the Rochester area before 1860.

In addition to the manuscript collections described more fully below, there are numerous smaller groups of importance, which can be mentioned only by name. They include papers of Loren Jesse Ames, Mount Morris physician; Cyrenius C. Bristol, a Buffalo newspaper man; Schuyler Colfax, Vice-President of the United States, 1869-1873; Anson Colman, Rochester physician; James Wood Colt, engineer; Frank N. Darling of Lyons, musician; Isaac R. and John B. Elwood of Rochester; Mayor Jacob Gould and family; Mary Hallowell; George Henry Harris, a local historian; Rabbi Max Landsberg; the Latta family of Charlotte; Adam G. Mappa, agent for the Holland Land Company; Charles Dyer Norton, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, 1909-1910, and secretary to President Taft, 1910-1911; Nathaniel Rochester; and Henry Willis, local business man. A "General File" of single manuscripts acquired from time to time now numbers several hundred items. They range from 1763 to the present day, and include many famous autographs, among which might be mentioned Oliver Phelps, Robert Morris, James Madison, William Morgan, Horace Greeley, Susan B. Anthony, and Frederick Douglass.

The Ellwanger and Barry Library
The Ellwanger and Barry firm, active in the nursery business in Rochester from 1840 until 1918, collected during its existence a library of scientific periodicals and monographs for the use of its staff. These carefully chosen publications number some sixteen hundred volumes, and represent the most outstanding works of the nineteenth century in the fields of botany and horticulture. The long runs of beautifully illustrated periodicals published both here and abroad during the period, and the classic works in the field, such as those of Darwin, Downing, Lindley, Michaux, Nuttall, Prince, and many others, make it a truly distinguished collection. In the summer of 1943, the library was placed on deposit in the University Library by the Ellwanger and Barry Realty Company, and because of its local interest, was shelved as a unit in the Local History Room. The library has been described in some detail in an article in the Bulletin, v.III, p.41-49, Spring, 1948.

The Farmers' Library of Wheatland
In January, 1805, a group of enterprising farmers in the town of Wheatland met to organize a library company for the purchase and circulation of books among its shareholders. The company thus established flourished for some seventy years, then fell into disuse as reading material became easier to obtain. The library was housed for a number of years in the Garbutt family homestead in Garbuttsville. In 1934, it was purchased by the University Library, and together with all its manuscript records, was added to the Local History Collection in Rush Rhees Library, where it is now preserved as a separate unit. The eight hundred odd volumes which have been preserved include a well-rounded selection of English and American literature, the classics in translation, a few periodicals, and many books of a distinctly practical nature. An article describing the collection in greater detail appeared in the Bulletin, v.II, p.1-6, November, 1946.

The Vail Collection
This notable collection of Americana was originally part of the private library of Mr. R. W. G. Vail, now librarian of the New York Historical Society. Devoted almost exclusively to the history of Rochester and western New York, it consists of approximately six hundred volumes and a small collection of manuscripts, broadsides, maps, and prints, many of which are extremely rare or unique. The collection was purchased from Mr. Vail in 1930. At the same time, Mr. Vail presented the Library with his collection of twenty-five of the various editions of Seaver's Life of Mary Jemison.

The Agricultural Improvement Association of New York State
Around the turn of the century there was a considerable decline in agriculture in New York State; so much so, that a group of influential citizens formed an association, made contributions in cash of something over $100,000, and with that sum tried to show the ways by which abandoned farms could be brought back into successful cultivation. Their work continued until it was taken over by the New York State and the United States Departments of Agriculture. In 1916, the Association decided to dissolve the corporation, and through the persuasive efforts of Mr. Edward G. Miner, the members turned over the cash balance of some $10,000 to the University for its endowment fund. The records of the Association have become part of the Local History collection as a result of the generosity of Mr. Miner. There are ten manuscript boxes of correspondence and other documents, covering the period from 1911 to 1917.

The Carl Akeley Papers
These papers relate to some of the activities of Carl Akeley, one-time resident of Rochester and member of the staff of Ward's Natural Science Establishment, famous for his work as a naturalist and explorer. They contain correspondence, and drawings and specifications for a cement gun or plaster machine invented by Akeley, aeroplane searchlights, the Akeley camera, and other patent material. Also included in the collection are letters and other papers relating to African Hall in the American Museum of Natural History, some of his scientific expeditions, his radio talks, and many other enterprises in which he was involved. Covering the period from 1901 to 1928, they fill eight manuscript boxes and include one package of clippings. The collection was given to the University Library in 1941 by Lewis Ellsworth Akeley, Class of '86, and Clarence L. Dewey, at the suggestion of Mrs. Carl Akeley.

The Democrats-for-Willkie Papers
The papers of the National Committee of Democrats-for-Willkie include approximately three and one-half filing cases of correspondence and records of the organization of that name, active at the time of the presidential campaign of 1940. They were placed on deposit in the University Library through the efforts of President Alan Valentine, Executive Director of the organization. Their use is restricted for ten years (until January 1, 1951) to members of the Committee, or persons authorized by them; thereafter they will be available to the public. Unless their return is demanded by the Committee before January 1, 1961, they are to become the outright property of the University Library on that date.

The Chester Dewey Papers
Chester Dewey, clergyman, educator, and pioneer scientist, was Principal of the Rochester Collegiate Institute from 1836 until 1850, and Professor of Natural Sciences at the University from 1850 until 1867. In the midst of his many activities, Professor Dewey kept daily meteorological observations for Rochester for the years 1837-1867. These, together with a small collection of correspondence (1819-1867) and five volumes of notes, accounts, and other records, were bequeathed to the University Library by his son, Charles A. Dewey, in 1927.

The Herman LeRoy Fairchild Papers
Herman LeRoy Fairchild was Professor of Geology and Natural History at the University of Rochester from 1888 until 1920, and Professor Emeritus from then until his death in 1943. His particular interest was the geology of the Genesee Valley and upper New York, but he was active in local and national scientific societies, and was one of the thirteen founders of the Geological Society of America. In 1936, Professor Fairchild gave to the University Library his notes and correspondence, and the manuscripts of his published and unpublished books, articles, and addresses, a collection which now fills twenty-eight manuscript boxes. There are, in addition, twelve folio scrapbooks, over a thousand photographs of geological formations taken by Professor Fairchild to illustrate his lectures and books, numerous maps with manuscript notes and additions, seventeen volumes of his published writings, and a group of medals, memorials, photographs, and memorabilia. After his death, Mrs. Fairchild gave the residue of Professor Fairchild's personal papers and additional mementos.

The Wendell Phillips Garrison Correspondence
Wendell Phillips Garrison, literary editor of The Nation from 1865 until 1906, was the son of William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist. In 1947, Mrs. Alan Valentine, granddaughter of Wendell Phillips Garrison, placed a collection of Garrison family letters on deposit in the University Library. Written between 1857 and 1907, they include three manuscript boxes of letters written by Wendell Phillips Garrison to various members of his family, one box of letters received by him from his brothers, Frank J. and William L. Garrison, and one box of letters written by him to his friends Mrs. Kenyon Cox and Samuel May. A small collection of letters written to him by his friends, at the time of his retirement in 1906, was added a year later.

The Bradford King Papers
The diary of Bradford King, Rochesterian, and son of the Gideon King who settled at King's Landing on the Genesee in 1797, covers the period from 1811 to 1874. While the majority of the entries are concerned with the homely matters of weather, prices, crops, and family affairs, such events of national and historical interest as the hanging of John Brown and the assassination of Lincoln are noted and commented upon. The diary fills twenty-three volumes, and forms the most important part of the King papers. Included also are four volumes of correspondence between Bradford King and his brother Moses, a box of material on calendar reform, and a folder of miscellaneous manuscripts. The King diaries were purchased from Miss Ada King, granddaughter of Bradford King, in 1944, and since that time Miss King has added materially to the collection by gift.

The Edward Mott Moore Papers
Dr. Edward Mott Moore, well known in Rochester as a physician, was a member of the Board of Trustees of the University from 1872 until his death in 1902, and was active in the development of Rochester's park system, its public health facilities, and many other civic projects. A collection of his papers (186 items) was placed on deposit in the University Library in 1945 by his grandson, Edmund W. Moore. They are concerned largely with Dr. Moore's family life, medical training, and early career in Rochester, and include a few earlier family papers.

The Lewis Henry Morgan Papers
At the time of his death, Lewis Henry Morgan, often called the "Father of American Anthropology," provided that the greater part of his estate should eventually come to the University of Rochester. Thus it was that the University Library became the owner of the manuscripts of Mr. Morgan's published works, his unpublished papers and addresses, his diaries, field notes, scrapbooks, correspondence, and his private library, while the University at large, particularly the College for Women, benefited financially from his estate.

Mr. Morgan, as a young man, became interested in the Iroquois Indians, later extending his studies to other American Indians, and finally to all primitive peoples. Out of his studies grew his interpretation of the evolution of social organization which is widely accepted today. His papers show the development of his theories, and his correspondence, covering the period from 1840 to 1881, includes letters from distinguished men of learning both here and abroad. The names of Charles Darwin, Herbert Spencer, Henry Adams, Francis Parkman, Joseph Henry, and a host of others appear frequently in the file. There are approximately nineteen thousand pages in the collection. It is added to whenever opportunity arises to acquire additional Morgan material either in the original form, or by photographic reproductions of manuscripts in other collections. For further information see The Rochester Historical Society Publication Fund Series, v.11, p.78-97, 1923; also the Bulletin, v.11, p.48-52, June, 1947.

The George Washington Patterson Correspondence
This collection consists of 598 letters written between the years 1831 and 1879, and addressed to George Washington Patterson, resident of Leicester and Westfield, member of the New York Legislature, 1832-1840, Lieutenant-Governor of New York, 1849-1850, and member of Congress, 1877-1879. Like the Seward and Weed papers, they are concerned largely with politics, and are a most important adjunct to those collections. The Patterson correspondence was placed on deposit in the University Library by Mr. Patterson's granddaughter, Mrs. Frank W. Crandall, of Westfield, in 1944 and 1945. A description of the collection was given in the Fortnightly Bulletin, v.23, no. 2, July 15, 1944.

The Samuel D. Porter Correspondence
This collection of correspondence, covering the period from 1785 until 1912, contains letters of members of the Porter, Farley, and Peck families of Rochester. It gives an intimate picture of the antislavery movement and the underground railroad in Rochester, in both of which the Porters took an active part; it includes the Civil War letters of Samuel Porter, '64; and it portrays the religious, educational, and social life, as well as many personalities of the old Third Ward. The collection, which fills twelve manuscript boxes, was placed on deposit in the University Library in January, 1945, by Mrs. Craig P. Cochrane, granddaughter of Samuel D. Porter, and is available to persons engaged in scholarly research. It was described in the Fortnightly Bulletin, v.23, no. 16, January 27, 1945.

The William Henry Seward Correspondence
The letters of William Henry Seward, resident of Auburn, Governor of New York, 1839-1843, United States Senator, 1849-1861, and Secretary of State, 1861-1869, have been gathered into a special collection which now numbers 623 items. They are addressed to Mr. Seward by Thurlow Weed and Horace Greeley, and to Christopher Morgan by Mr. Seward, with the exception of a few items. The period covered ranges from 1830 to 1870, and the subject matter is generally New York State or national politics. Together with the Thurlow Weed and George Washington Patterson correspondence, it forms an unusual collection of source material for the student of nineteenth century politics. The bulk of the collection has come to us in a series of gifts from Mr. William Henry Seward III, of Auburn, during the past four years. Purchases of outstanding Seward manuscripts from dealers account for some one hundred items.

The Wadsworth Papers
Two groups of papers of the Wadsworth family of Geneseo have been loaned to the University Library for an extended period by the Hon. James W. Wadsworth and William P. Wadsworth. While on loan, they were sorted, arranged, indexed, and microfilmed. The first of these groups includes a selection from the papers of James Samuel Wadsworth, covering the period between 1793 and 1861, and numbers some seven hundred items. It is concerned largely with family matters. The second, and much larger group consists of the papers of William Wolcott Wadsworth, and covers the period from 1830 through 1873. These are devoted almost exclusively to business matters: land sales, farming, and estate management. In addition to a vast amount of correspondence, there are daybooks, account books, maps, deeds, leases, and other business records. These two collections are reproduced on seventeen reels of microfilm, available in the Local History Room.

The Henry A. Ward Papers
One of the early professors at the University of Rochester, Henry A. Ward, was better known as the founder of Ward's Natural Science Establishment and as a pioneer in modern museum methods. Throughout his life he was an inveterate traveller and among his papers are several travel diaries, including those of trips into such unfamiliar regions as the desert areas of Egypt, Palestine, and the west coast of Africa during the 1850's. Through travel and the collection of museum specimens, he became acquainted with many contemporary scientists. Later in life, Ward was interested in meteorites and built up a famous collection of them before his death in 1906. The Henry A. Ward papers were presented to the University Library in 1938 by his grandson, Roswell Ward. Covering the period between 1850 and 1906, the collection consists of four filing drawers of correspondence, of which the more significant letters have been indexed; three of diaries, account-books, notes, photographs, catalogues, and newspaper clippings; and one of meteorite material. Additional items have been presented by Roswell Ward and Herbert P. Ward, since the original acquisition. Roswell Ward has discussed his grandfather's papers in an article in the Bulletin, v.II, p.41-47, June, 1947. The papers have furnished the basis for two other articles, published in the same periodical, v.1, p.53-59, June, 1946, and v.III, p.12-20, Autumn, 1947.

The Thurlow Weed Papers
The papers of Thurlow Weed, prominent New York State politician, form a most important part of the University's manuscript collections. Covering the period 1816-1882, they include more than fourteen thousand manuscripts, twelve volumes of early newspapers, and several volumes of scrapbooks, pamphlets, and books relating to Thurlow Weed's career. Perhaps the most valuable part of the collection consists of twenty bound volumes of letters from Mr. Weed's closest friends and associates, all men prominent in American political life during the period: William Henry Seward, Millard Fillmore, Hamilton Fish, Edwin D. Morgan, Frederick Whittlesey, and others. The collection has been given to the University Library by Mr. Weed's three greatgranddaughters: Mrs. Harriet Weed Hollister Spencer, Mrs. Elizabeth Hollister Frost Blair, and Mrs. Isabelle Hollister Tuttle. It has been added to from time to time by the purchase of Weed material which appears on the market, and by the addition of microfilm copies of Weed letters in other collections. A discussion of the collection and an estimate of its importance was published in the Bulletin, v.I, p.21-25, February, 1946.

The Ira S. Wile Papers
Ira S. Wile, of the Class of 1898, spent most of his adult life in New York City, where he became well known as a physician, pediatrician, and psychiatrist. His particular interests were public health and social medicine. In 1943, shortly before his death, Dr. Wile gave the University Library his personal papers containing his correspondence, notes, and manuscripts of lectures, addresses, and articles relating to his activities in the fields of child health, mental hygiene, birth control, and related subjects. The material covers the period between 1915 and 1943, and fills nineteen manuscript boxes. The collection was augmented in 1944 by further gifts from his wife, Mrs. Saida Rigby Wile.

The University Archives
The Library has been made the depository for all papers relating to the founding and history of the University, including charters, proceedings of the Board of Trustees and the Executive Board, treasurer's reports, and the official papers of the presidents and other officers and faculty members. Files of all University publications, student newspapers, literary journals, class photograph albums, and yearbooks are as complete as long and sustained effort can make them. Programs of lectures, plays, concerts, commencement exercises, and other public events are carefully preserved in a "Memorabilia File." Records of alumni are kept in a special file by classes. The original copy of every dissertation accepted for an advanced degree is bound and added to the collection. Publications of faculty and graduates are constantly solicited and preserved in a special section reserved for the purpose. The index to these publications now numbers some thirty thousand entries, and constant effort is made to keep the record up to date.

Among the larger groups of manuscripts included in the University Archives are the papers of Martin Brewer Anderson, first President of the University; William Nathan Sage, Treasurer of the University from 1851 to 1890; Rush Rhees, President of the University from 1900 to 1935; and Edward G. Miner, member of the Board of Trustees since 1910. In addition, the Library has accepted either as a gift or on deposit, the personal papers of many members of the University, including the papers of Professors Dewey, Fairchild, and Ward, described separately. Other collections, somewhat smaller but worthy of note, include selections from the papers of Professors Asahel Clark Kendrick and his son Ryland Morris Kendrick, William Carey Morey, Joseph Henry Gilmore, Charles Wright Dodge, John Rothwell Slater, and Clarence King Moore. Of the papers of graduates, mention should be made of those of Rear Admiral William Harkness, '58, Charles A. Dewey, '61, Myron Tuthill Bly, '80, and John Warrant Castleman, '89. The diaries of Truman Jay Backus, '64, and Charles Amos Hamilton, '89, are highly valued items in the Archives.

The Treasure Room

American Literature Collections
THE Library has made a specialty of collecting the significant editions of several American authors. The rarest items are kept in the Treasure Room, and these runs are constantly being extended. Among the authors in this group is James Kirke Paulding, literary associate of Irving and also an important figure in American political history. Several manuscripts of Paulding were in the Brown Collection, and a few more have since been added; our first editions of Paulding's writings are quite numerous. We have also built up creditable research material on the writings of Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Townsend Trowbridge, Bret Harte, Williams Dean Howells, Frank Stockton, Eugene Field, Lafeadio Hearn, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, and John Kendrick Bangs.

In 1935 the Library purchased from Mr. Oscar Wegelin, the well known bibliographer and collector, a large collection of American plays. Included in the purchase were approximately fifty plays printed before 1832, representing the works of such early American playwrights as James N. Barker, Charles Breck, William Dunlap, Samuel Judah, and John Howard Payne. The collection has since been more than doubled by other purchases.

Since its very beginnings, the Library has collected the works of the New England school of writers. President Anderson wrote to the authors he knew, asking for donations, and even earlier, others had done the same. Among our most cherished books are copies inscribed to Anderson, and a fourth edition of Emerson's Poems (1850) with the inscription: "For the Library of the University with the respects of the Author." During the long period of his interest in the University, Mr. Edward G. Miner has made many generous donations to the Library: among the most important of these are his additions to the New England Collection. With material secured from the Brown Collection, the Sherman Clarke gift, the donations of William H. Seward, III, and numerous other sources, we can now show an impressive array of the works of Emerson, Thoreau, Lowell, Hawthorne, Holmes, Whittier, Melville, the Alcotts, and related authors, both in manuscript and printed form. There is unfortunately no space here to record all of these valuable and interesting materials. The autographs then in the collection were described in the Bulletin, v.1, p.5-10, November, 1945.

The Washington Irving Collection
In the summer of 1942 the Library was enriched by the gift of an Irving collection. The donor was Mrs. C. Schuyler Davis of Rochester and New York City, and the seventy-six titles which she gave provided the nucleus of what is now one of the outstanding collections in the United States of the works of Washington Irving. Subsequent additions to this important section of the Treasure Room have been made by transfer from the stacks, from the Ira S. Wile Library, and from several other sources. There are now 205 editions of Irving's works in the collection, including first editions, revised and edited texts, and illustrated editions. In addition, we have six Irving letters, including one from the Brown Collection and one given by the Misses Florence and M. Gertrude Deavenport. The entire collection notably supplements the general stack collection of Irving material. The basic collection was the subject of an article in our Bulletin, v.111, p.1-4, Autumn, 1947.

The Mark Twain Collection
The Library already owned several Mark Twain items when the Sherman Clarke bequest was received in 1929. By the thoughtfulness of Mr. and Mrs. Clarke, the foundation was laid for an excellent collection of Mark Twain's works. Subsequent donations by Mrs. William B. Hale, and additional purchases, now give us a very good collection of one of the country's greatest authors. First editions are present of such important books as Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, A Connecticut Yankee, Innocents Abroad, the Sketches, and many more. Among the 104 titles in the collection are first American, English, and Canadian editions, illustrated editions and fine printings of the various works, and scarce ephemeral items.

The Bookplate Collections
In the fall of 1939, Mrs. Donald B. Gilchrist and her son, David Gilchrist, presented the library with the fine collection of bookplates brought together by the late Donald B. Gilchrist, librarian of the University from 1919 until 1939. In the spring of 1940, Mrs. Edward Webster and Mrs. Albert B. Eastwood increased the bookplate file by donating the equally fine collection made by their sister, Miss Maude Motley. The two collections contained about three thousand different ex libris. Since that time, by gift and exchange, the collection has grown until it now contains more than twelve thousand specimens of bookplate art. Mrs. Homer Strong of Rochester has made generous additions to the collection, and to our files of bookplate literature; other donors include Miss Barbara Duncan and Mr. Robert F. Metzdorf. The collections are especially strong in the fields of early American plates, and in the work of the great American engravers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Articles on the bookplate collections have appeared in the Bulletin, v.11, p.37-38, February, 1947, and the Fortnightly Bulletin, v.18, no. 2, October 7, 1939; v.19, no. 11, February 11, 1941; v.23, no. 15, January 13, 1945.

The Charles A. Brown Collection of Autographs and Manuscripts
The Brown Collection is the parent of the University's general autograph file. In 1914 Mr. Charles A. Brown, '79, gave the University his collection of autographs and manuscripts, and he and Mrs. Brown added to the gift in later years. A catalogue was published by the library in 1940, listing 1031 items; since then, general purchases and gifts have doubled the number of pieces. Mr. Edward G. Miner, President and Mrs. Valentine, and the Misses Florence and M. Gertrude Deavenport are among the later donors to the collection. Among the outstanding items are many English and American literary letters, a legal document arranging Lafayette's affairs while he was in America, a series of twenty-seven letters of Alexandre Dumas (fils), and more than thirty legal documents dating from 1180 to 1700. Other items in the integrated collection will be noted here in the descriptions of special collections. An article on the collection appeared in the Fortnightly Bulletin, v. 13, no. 9, January 12, 1935.

Cartoons and Illustrated Books
A nation's cartoons, like its songs, are important indexes to its culture and its social conditions. From time to time the library has been fortunate in securing original drawings by American humorists. A group of cartoons by Thomas Nast was presented to the library by Mr. Hiram Sibley, Jr., in 1938, and since then we have acquired examples of the work of Clare Briggs, John Clubb, and Gluyas Williams. An article on Thomas Nast appeared in the Fortnightly Bulletin, v.23, no. 9, October 21, 1944; and the work of Clare Briggs was described in the Fortnightly Bulletin, v.23, no. 20, March 24, 1945.

Illustrated editions, showing the way artists see and depict famous literary works, occupy another important place in this graphic arts field. We have concentrated on the work of several artists. Mr. R. B. Adam, Jr., last year gave us some excellent Ruskin originals, and we have for a long time been searching out the illustrations of F. O. C. Darley. George Cruikshank is fairly well represented in this section of the Treasure Room, as is Rockwell Kent.

Last, but far from least, are the superb editions of literary classics which have come to us from time to time as gifts from the family of the late Leo Hart. These fine books are cherished highly, not only for their own intrinsic loveliness, but also as examples of the most beautiful printing ever done in Rochester.

The Charles Wright Dodge Collection
Professor Dodge for many years made a hobby of collecting significant editions of the works of Charles Darwin, and Mrs. Dodge presented these books to the library as a memorial to her husband in 1931. Several items have been transferred to the collection from the stacks, and additions have been made by purchase, until there are now forty-five titles in the Dodge Collection. The books are English, American, and French first editions of Darwin's works, with many subsequent editions of the more important titles in which editorial changes may be followed as Darwin changed or modified his ideas. There is a fine copy of the first edition of the Origin of Species, and a presentation copy of the Descent of Man. Taken as a group, the Dodge Collection is a monument to the memory of one of the greatest men of modern times, as well as being a testimony to Professor Dodge's collecting acumen and Mrs. Dodge's generosity. The collection was described in the Fortnightly Bulletin, v.12, no. 19, June 2, 1934.

English Drama Collection
The English drama is well represented in the Treasure Room. Beginning with the Ben Jonson folio of 1616, the works of later authors become more frequent, including those of John Lilly, Philip Massinger, John Shirley and Thomas Heywood. The collection reaches full strength in the Restoration period, and we are currently attempting to improve our resources in this field. Some pieces by Dryden, Rowe, and Lee have been added to the Hoeing Collection, and the purchasing of other authors' works is progressing as items come into the market. Another field in which we are adding material is late nineteenth century and twentieth century plays and dramatic material. Letters by Arthur Wing Pinero, Sir Henry Irving, Edward Knoblock, and Arnold Bennett have been bought recently. A group of the Pinero letters was described in theBulletin, v.1, p.45-48, June, 1946.

The Hoeing Collection
In 1941 Mrs. Charles Hoeing began a series of gifts to provide a special collection in memory of her husband, former Dean of the College for Men, and Dean of the Graduate School. It was decided to purchase books in Restoration and eighteenth century English literature, and 125 volumes now bear the bookplate of the Hoeing Collection. Among the outstanding items are first editions of Swift's Gulliver's travels, Pope's translations of the Odyssey and the Iliad, Defoe's Essay upon Projects, and many other fine items by Dryden, Otway, Lee, Rowe, Steele, Thomson, and their contemporaries. A detailed description of the collection was published in the Bulletin, v.IV, p.1-8, Autumn, 1948.

The Maude Motley Collection
The collection of eighteenth-century English literature which was gathered together by the late Miss Maude Motley, of Rochester, was presented to the Library in 1940 by her sisters, Mrs. Edward Webster and Mrs. Albert B. Eastwood. In addition to a good working library of books about the key figures of the period, the collection contains many Johnson rarities, such as a first edition of Rasselas, a presentation copy of the 1779 Rambler, and a first edition of Johnson's Shakespeare. There are also three books from the Boswell library in the collection, and a first edition of Percy's Reliques. Included in the gift was Miss Motley's correspondence with A. Edward Newton, a series of letters which throws light on the interests of these collectors. In the same field the library has added by purchase fifty volumes from the library of the Thrale children, and original editions of the works of Johnson, Boswell, Burke, and Goldsmith. Significant additions have also come by gift from Mr. R. B. Adam, Jr., of Buffalo, and from Mr. A. E. Metzdorf of Rochester. An article on the Collection appeared in the Fortnightly Bulletin, v.17, no. 8, December 31, 1938.

Numismatic Collections
From time to time, patrons of the Library have presented us with collections of coins and medals. These are kept in the Treasure Room vault, and provide interesting and educational exhibit material, as well as valuable adjuncts to studies in archaeology, history, and economics. The first collection received was a fine concentration of Chinese coins and amulets, presented by Jacob Speicher, '94, in 1929. The collection contains eleven hundred items, and is accompanied by a typewritten descriptive catalogue compiled by Mr. Speicher. Part of the collection is mounted in six carved camphor-wood trays of Cantonese workmanship.

In 1931 Mr. Joseph T. Alling, '76, at that time Chairman of the University Board of Trustees, gave the Library a splendid collection of Greek and Roman coins; this material was catalogued by the late Dean Charles Hoeing. By the bequest of Adelbert P. Little, '72, the University acquired a very good basic collection of United States copper and silver currency, numbering about five hundred pieces.

Mr. Edward G. Miner in 1932 presented an extensive collection of German inflation money from the period following the first World War. These colorful and ephemeral pieces of currency (in paper, wood, iron, brass, and porcelain) are widely collected in Europe, and the Miner Collection is a very extensive group. During the last war several alumni sent us examples of war currency, after an appeal by President Valentine in Mr. Dalton's newsletter to alumni. The 147 items in this collection represent many important events in recent history.

From other sources a rudimentary collection of medals and decorations has been assembled, including reproductions of the early Congressional military medals. The coin collections were described in articles in the Fortnightly Bulletin, v.16, no. 11, February 12, 1938, and v.23, no. 22, April 21, 1945.

The Hiram Olsan Collection
Seven incunabula have been added to the Treasure Room in memory of Dr. Hiram Olsan, '05, obtained as a result of donations from his family and friends. Good fortune has attended our efforts to secure items for this collection, and the brilliant little group of books adds tremendously to our resources for the study of the history of printing and Renaissance texts. An edition of Flavius Josephus' Opera, printed by Joannes Rubeus Vercellensis in Venice, in 1486, is perhaps the most important text in the Olsan Collection. The rarest book is Francesco Negri's Epistole, printed by Michael LeNoir in Paris, about the year 1493. The most sumptuous of the volumes is Pope Pius IFSEpistolae familiares (Nuremberg, Anton Koberger, 1481), in a fine white pigskin binding of the early sixteenth century-a book formerly in the library of the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen. An account of the collection appeared in the Bulletin, v.III, p.35-37, Winter, 1948.

The Stuart Collection
In 1945 the Library acquired by purchase a collection of volumes on the House of Stuart. The collection was formed in the first half of the nineteenth century by Joseph Neeld of Grittleton, Wiltshire, M. P. for Chippenham. It contains 215 titles bound in 185 volumes: the bindings are brown diced calf, by Mackenzie, who was at one time the royal bookbinder. The material consists of biographies, memoirs, historical tracts, and pamphlets, and contains many rare imprints. The publication dates cover the period of 1650 to 1850, with the largest number coming between the years 1690 and 1780.

The Women's College Library

Susan B. Anthony Collection
THE Susan B. Anthony collection is divided into three parts: (1) the Upton letters; (2) letters from Susan B. Anthony to others than Mrs. Upton; (3) a collection of letters and documents concerning the Anthony Memorial Fund.

The Upton letters are forty-six holograph letters from Susan B. Anthony to Mrs. Harriet Taylor Upton, treasurer of the National American Woman's Suffrage Association. They are all on official stationery, written from many states, dated from May 23, 1886, to October 25, 1893, with one undated letter. They vary in length from a half-sheet, to both sides of two or three full-size sheets.

Beside the Upton letters, there are several holograph writings from Miss Anthony:

From Rochester, June 20, 1855, to Mr. Brigham (Judge Robert Brigham) requesting his criticism of her enclosed petition to the Senate and the House of Representatives demanding "Right of Suffrage."

A card dated September 15, 1892, unaddressed, with the hope of increased enrollment of entering pupils in the University of Rochester.

A typed, signed letter to the Librarian of the University offering the Life and Works of Susan B. Anthony with a new and complete index, and a holograph P.S. requesting the current catalog of the University.

The Library has a bound collection of letters and documents concerning the Susan B. Anthony Memorial Fund and the early history of the College for Women, presented to Miss Bragdon for the Library by Mrs. Mary T. L. Gannett, President of the Susan B. Anthony Memorial Association. The date on the title-page is January 30, 1938.

Quite apart from this manuscript material, but housed with it in the librarian's office, is a collection of memorabilia and objets d'art given by friends of Miss Anthony to the Library.

Children's Books
There are now 187 children's books in the special collection at the Women's College Library. The collection is a growing one by gift and purchase; its first acquisition was a boxed set of twelve American Children's Books, 1808-1828, from the Joseph W. Robbins Memorial Fund. The collection was inspired by Mrs. C. Schuyler Davis' interest in the field, and was started about 1933. The children's books run the gamut from books published by the American Tract Society in the early nineteenth century to such favorites as the "Dollie Dimple series and books by Louisa May Alcott, Mrs. Ewing, G. A. Henty, H. C. Castlemon, Horatio Alger, Oliver Optic, Joel Chandler Harris, Kate Greenaway, and R. Caldecott. All of them are in their original bindings, and many of them are first editions.

Textbook Collection
The textbook collection, consisting of school texts published before 1850, was inaugurated by Professor Earl Burt Taylor about 1935. It is source material for graduate study in education, and at present contains 179 volumes. It is located in a locked case in the stacks, and the books are not available for general circulation.

There are several eighteenth century items in the collection, including first editions of Noah Webster's work, and examples of printing from the press of Isaiah Thomas.

Medical Library

The Edward G. Miner Yellow Fever Collection
In 1927 Mr. Edward G. Miner presented to the Medical Library forty-one volumes on yellow fever. Mr. Miner's interest in the disease was stimulated by a trip to certain tropical countries which had suffered under the scourge of the disease, resulting in his desire to learn more about it. The material which he acquired became the nucleus of the present collection of some six hundred volumes, which includes not only books on yellow fever but on other tropical epidemic diseases as well. It consists of original treatises on the origin, treatment, prevention, and cure of fevers; government reports; statistical tables; contemporary newspaper clippings; and correspondence describing or mentioning fevers. It dates from the eighteenth century to the present time, with emphasis on epidemics in America. Included in the collection are such items as Mathew Carey, A Short Account of the Malignant Fever ... in Philadelphia, 1793; Benjamin Rush, Medical Inquiries and Observations Containing an Account of the Yellow Fever as It Appeared in Philadelphia in 1797, 1798; Noah Webster, Brief History of Epidemic and Pestilential Diseases, 1799; and Mr. Miner's own paper, Yellow Fever.

The Edward W. Mulligan History of Medicine Collection
The Edward W. Mulligan History of Medicine Collection is the gift of the late Dr. Edward Wright Mulligan (1858-1930), former lecturer in surgery and consulting surgeon at the School of Medicine and Dentistry and Strong Memorial Hospital. Not a collector himself, but interested in books illustrating the history of medicine, Dr. Mulligan made it possible for the Medical Library to purchase such volumes by contributing $5,000 a year for a period of three years, beginning in 1926. The selection of books was entrusted to the Library Committee of which Dr. George W. Corner was the chairman. The collection numbers over a thousand volumes and although the Mulligan Fund is exhausted, the collection of historical material is growing by means of purchases from other library funds. Among the outstanding titles in the collection are: Vesalius, De humani corporis fabrica libri septem, first and second editions, 1543 and 1555; Jenner, An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Varzolae Vaccinae, 1798; and Harvey,Anatomical Exercitations, Concerning the Generation of Living Creatures, 1653. An article on the collection appeared in the Bulletin, v.I, p.11-16, November, 1945.

Sibley Music Library

THE Sibley Music Library at the Eastman School of Music is a great special collection of music literature and scores. The generous gifts of Hiram W. Sibley over a period of many years provided the means by which this Library was founded and greatly enriched by the addition of rare books and manuscripts. Its history and contents are described in an article in the Bulletin, v.1, p.26-29, February, 1946, and the story of the acquisition of one of its treasures, the holograph score of Sir Henry Rowley Bishop's opera, Clari, or the Maid of Milan, in which "Home, Sweet Home" appears is given in another article in the Bulletin, v.IV, p.21-25, Winter, 1949.

In the Sibley Music Library are several collections which have been purchased as units. The Busoni Collection, consisting of fifty-six volumes of standard musical literature was acquired in June, 1925. The Fleischer Collection was added in February, 1935. It consisted of thirty-five volumes, among them manuscript copies of music and treatises on musical subjects. The Library acquired the chamber music collection of the late Jacques Gordon in September, 1948. It includes approximately a thousand items, and is one of the most complete collections of chamber music in German, French, and Russian editions. Many of the scores are autographed. The Krehbiel Collection was purchased in January, 1925. It consists of 236 volumes, of which the greater number are collections of folk songs.

The largest of these special collections is the Pougin Collection, amounting to about three thousand items. It is devoted to the French theater and opera of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The larger part of the collection, that relating to opera and music, is at the Sibley Music Library, while the section on the theater is at Rush Rhees Library. This collection was described in an article in the Bulletin, v.III, p.54-57, Spring, 1948.