George Arthur Plimpton Library, bulk 1500-1899

Collection context

Creator:
Plimpton, George A. (George Arthur), 1855-1936
Extent:
16000 Volumes 9775 cataloged as of 2021
Language:
English .
Scope and content:

The Plimpton Library of 16,000 volumes- a 1936 gift of George A. Plimpton - covers what the collector called "our tools of learning" from the fifteenth to the late nineteenth centuries. The cataloged books are described in the card catalog and in CLIO. There are a good number of uncataloged books, which are classed in Dewey, and findable through a shelflist and an author catalog.

The collection is particularly strong in the "liberal arts" - grammar, rhetoric, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, geography, astronomy. Many of the arithmetics, one of the great collections of sixteenth century arithmetics in the world, are described in D.E. Smith's Rara Arithmetica. The collection of handwriting manuals is one of the finest anywhere.

Plimpton Collections subject guide contains additional information about our Plimpton collections, which include medieval and renaissance archival collections, manuscripts, Arabic manuscripts, cuneiform tablets, and hornbooks.

Access and use

Restrictions:

All books in this collection are cataloged, and should be requested individually in CLIO. This record is for informational purposes only.

Location of this collection:
6th Floor East Butler Library
535 West 114th Street
New York, NY 10027, USA
Before you visit:
Researchers interested in viewing materials in the RBML reading room must must book an appointment at least 7 days in advance. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to 5 items per day.
Contact:
rbml@library.columbia.edu