"X" - MANUSCRIPTS, bulk 1500-1900

The first manuscripts collected at Columbia, these 2,350 volumes of manuscript books and bound volumes of letters were classified in the regular classification scheme (Dewey) with the call number preceded by the letter "X". They were cataloged by printed book rules into the main catalog. Cards are found in RBML in the correspondence and manuscript card files, as well as the "X" shelflist. No firther additions to this collection are made since the 1960s.

The collection is made up of manuscripts on all subjects, in many languages, from the medieval period through the twentieth century, and includes many of our greatest treasures, such two diaries of George Washington and a Sigmund Freud manuscript. The largest group is the approximately 1,000 volumes of Hebrew manuscripts.Medieval manuscripts that were originally part of this collection are now grouped with medieval and Renaissance materials and described in the Digital Scriptorium.