Collections : [Rare Book & Manuscript Library]

Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Rare Book & Manuscript Library

6th Floor East Butler Library
535 West 114th Street
New York, NY 10027, USA
rbml@library.columbia.edu
The Rare Book & Manuscript Library is Columbia University’s principal repository for special collections. We collect, preserve, describe, promote, and provide access to the material evidence of diverse individuals and activities in alignment with the University’s research and teaching mission. We build and steward deep collections in select subject areas and connect them to a global audience through reference, teaching, exhibitions, publications, and public programs.

Search Constraints

Start Over You searched for: Repository Rare Book & Manuscript Library Remove constraint Repository: Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Search Results

George Arthur Plimpton collection of Hornbooks, 1600-1900

7 boxes 6 standard boxes and 1 oversize box
Abstract Or Scope

This collection includes hornbooks, battledores, and facsimiles of hornbooks, a few hornbook-adjacent items, and supporting documents. Hornbooks and battledores were used from the 14th through the 19th centuries for the earliest steps of training in literacy: learning to recognize letterforms, and sometimes to read syllables and/or short texts.

51 results in this collection view all

George Arthur Plimpton collection of Hornbooks, 1600-1900 7 boxes 6 standard boxes and 1 oversize box

Bard family papers, 1600-1892

1 linear feet 2 boxes
Abstract Or Scope

Correspondence, documents, and genealogical records of the Bard and related Muirson, Prime, and Sands families of New York and New Jersey. Prominent among the papers is the correspondence of William Bard, 1778-1853, to his daughter, Susan Sands, his son-in-law, Ferdinand Sands, and his grandson, Joseph Sands. Includes 18 letters from Samuel Bard, 1742-1821, physician and professor of medicine at Columbia College, to his grandson, Francis Upton Johnston, medical student at Columbia and house doctor at New York Hospital. The letters deal with personal affairs, Francis' scholastic progress and topics of interest to the medical profession. Thereis also a pastel portrait of John Bard by James Sharples.

69 results in this collection view all

Bard family papers, 1600-1892 1 linear feet 2 boxes

Benjamin Franklin promissory notes, Passay, Paris, 15 February and 13 August, 1781

1 folder 2 printed documents signed
Abstract Or Scope

These documents were printed by Franklin at the press he established in Passy, France, while representing the new United States government in Paris. Franklin went all out to create forms which would represent the new American nation as a respectable power. For these forms, he used a sloped Roman type and fancy capitals which were unique to his press, and had the paper made to order (in England!) in the smooth wove style still little known of in France, with a strip of marbling down the center of the sheet. The sheet would have originally been twice the size you see here; it held the promissory note in duplicate. The document is "indentured," or cut apart in a wavy line through the marbling, making each copy of the promissory note (for the very large sums of money the US was borrowing from France) unique — so it would be impossible for either side to substitute a different document with, perhaps, a different sum owed.

2 results in this collection

Benjamin Franklin promissory notes, Passay, Paris, 15 February and 13 August, 1781 1 folder 2 printed documents signed

French loan certificates, 15 February & 13 August 1781 1 folder (2 printed documents signed)

Sam Schaefler bookplate collection, 1580-1800

25 linear feet 149 slipcases 1 frame
Abstract Or Scope

The collection consists of several sub-divisions, such as bookplates with a printed date (over 300 bookplates, 1587-1800), ecclesiastical bookplates of the 17th and 18th centuries, and a large group relating to Cambridge and Oxford Universities (mostly 18th century). Well represented are bookplates of libraries, starting with a German bookplate, ca. 1580. Among the library bookplates of some significance are large dated German bookplates of the Royal Library, Munich, the earliest being dated 1614, the bookplate of the medical library, Frankfort, 1676, representing the view of a 17th century library, and a large collection of early American library bookplates.

1 result in this collection

Sam Schaefler bookplate collection, 1580-1800 25 linear feet 149 slipcases 1 frame

Brander Matthews Dramatic Library, 1562-1978

6000 Volumes
Abstract Or Scope

The collection of about 6,000 volumes is particularly strong in English and American drama and in Molière. Records for the books are found in the card catalog; the books are classed with a Dewey call number preceded by a "D." The core of the collection comes from Dramatic Museum, with books divided between RBML, Burgess, & GL. These books are cataloged in Columbia's card catalogs, but have not been retrospectively converted. The collection also currently includes Classed Manuscripts. 40 titles in 46 volumes - a variety of manuscripts of plays and of works about the theater, from the late 19th and 20th century, cataloged as books with additional main entry card for each title is filed in the RBML Manuscripts/Documents card file.

1 result in this collection

Brander Matthews Dramatic Library, 1562-1978 6000 Volumes

S. Whitney Phoenix letters collection, 1554-1933

2 boxes 2 boxes (168 items)
Abstract Or Scope

Personal letters written by Phoenix to friends and associates, and letters which Phoenix collected as autograph specimens, ranging in date from 1554 (Melanchthon) to 1933 (Franklin D. Roosevelt). Over half of Phoenix's own letters are addressed to Josiah Collins Pumpelly (1839-1920), many others are to Henry Thayer Drowne (1822-1897). The material is dated from various places in the United States and Europe and contains accounts of Phoenix's travels and comments on yachting, books, the theater, and friends. There is a series of Presidential letters ranging from Washington to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Also, an engraved portrait of Phoenix.

3 results in this collection

S. Whitney Phoenix letters collection, 1554-1933 2 boxes 2 boxes (168 items)

James Kent Library, 1554-1930

1480 Volumes Card catalog says 1480 titles; Voyager brings up ~1300 titles
Abstract Or Scope

Non-legal library of Chancellor James Kent,the first professor of law at Columbia College, appointed in 1793 before Columbia University instituted its law school. He also was a practitioner, having served 25 years as a state judge in New York, before he became a law professor. Chancellor Kent invented legal scholarship, presenting a series of lectures at Columbia in the 1820s, and then publishing them as the Commentaries on American Law, characterized by one recent writer as "the most influential American law book of the ante-bellum period."

1 result in this collection

James Kent Library, 1554-1930 1480 Volumes Card catalog says 1480 titles; Voyager brings up ~1300 titles

Barnard College Rare Book Collection, 1550-2007

436 Volumes
Abstract Or Scope
The entire Barnard Rare Book Collection of 238 separate titles was temporarily moved to the RBML prior to Barnard Library renovation in 2011, and formally transfered in 2023, with the exception of 12 items returned back to Barnard. The books are individually cataloged with call number prefix BARNARDRARE and should be requested individually. This record is for informational purposes only.
1 result in this collection

Barnard College Rare Book Collection, 1550-2007 436 Volumes

George A. Plimpton collection of portraits, 1550-1920

40 items 40 items
Abstract Or Scope

Primarily oil portraits of 18th century literary figures. There are also engravings, and pen and ink and pencil sketches. Among the literary figures are portraits of Samuel Butler, Lord Byron, Thomas Carlyle; Colley Cibber; Charles Dickens; John Evelyn; John Foxe; David Garrick; Thomas Gray; Charles Lamb; Sir Thomas More; Sir Walter Raleigh; Samuel Richardson; Richard B. Sheridan; Alfred, Lord Tennyson; William M. Thackeray; and others. There is also a portrait by Blanche Ames of George A. Plimpton. Among the artists represented in the collection are James Maubert, Frederick Sandys, and William Hogarth (attrib.)

1 result in this collection

George A. Plimpton collection of portraits, 1550-1920 40 items 40 items

Baruch Spinoza Book Collection, 1535-1993

3933 Volumes 2201 Bibliographic records (titles)
Abstract Or Scope

This collection of 3,933 volumes is formed from the union of the Spinoza collections of Adolph S. Oko and Carl Gebhardt, and contains material by and about Baruch Spinoza. Purchased and presented to the University by Dr. Simon L. Millner, Mrs. T.W. Lamont, Corliss Lamont, and Mr. E.A. Zabriskie, 1947.

1 result in this collection

Baruch Spinoza Book Collection, 1535-1993 3933 Volumes 2201 Bibliographic records (titles)

Columbia University Ostrakon Collection, 150 BCE -800 CE

3600 items
Abstract Or Scope
Ostraca are pottery fragments and flakes of limestone with writing in ink. "Ostraka" is the plural; "ostrakon" is a single item; the word can also be spelled with a "c" as in ostraca and ostracon. Some contain Greek, but the majority is Coptic, and they range in date from the sixth to the seventh century CE. They include about one hundred school exercises (especially abecedaries), private letters, religious texts, receipts, etc. With few exceptions, the ostraka come from monasteries in Upper Egypt around Luxor. Columbia Libraries Ostraka range in date from 150 BCE to the ninth century CE; the majority is dated 6th – 7th century CE. Some of the ostraka come from early gifts and from Egypt Exploration Society distribution of Oxyrhynchos ostraka, but most of the ostraca were acquired at the behest of Professor A. Arthur Schiller in two lots from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1958 and 1961. They come largely from the unpublished material deriving from the Museum's excavations at Deir el Bahri and at the Monastery of Epiphanius, though some were purchases by and gifts to the MMA. Many of these Coptic ostraka are very fragmentary and little can be said about their contents. In 1991, 10 ostraca found near the ancient Mons Porphyites, in the desert between the Nile and the Red Sea, in Egypt, were donated by Roger Bagnall and added to the collection.
1 result in this collection

Columbia University Ostrakon Collection, 150 BCE -800 CE 3600 items

"B-LC" General Rare Book Collection, 1500 - present

approximately 200,000 Volumes this is a constantly growing collection
Abstract Or Scope

"B" collection comprises all the rare books that don't explicitly belong to the existing named collections

1 result in this collection

"B-LC" General Rare Book Collection, 1500 - present approximately 200,000 Volumes this is a constantly growing collection

Ancient Greek Authors Book Collection, 1498-1820

71 Volumes
Abstract Or Scope

A group of early books by or about ancient Greek authors

1 result in this collection

Montgomery Library Of Accountancy, 1494-1987

2000 Volumes 789 printed titles cataloged in CLIO; review and additional cataloging needed.
Abstract Or Scope

Over 2000 printed volumes of works on accountancy, mostly how-to guides, from the first printed work on accounting (a portion of the Summa arithmetica of Luca Pacioli, 1494) to the early twentieth century, a gift in 1924 from Robert H. Montgomery, Professor of Accounting at the School of Business in order to document the history of accounting practices. The collection was formally transferred to Rare Books from the Business Library in 1974, although it had been on deposit here prior to 1960.

1 result in this collection

Montgomery Library Of Accountancy, 1494-1987 2000 Volumes 789 printed titles cataloged in CLIO; review and additional cataloging needed.

Stephen Whitney Phoenix Library, 1475-1880

approximately 8000 Volumes
Abstract Or Scope

This collection of over 8,000 volumes, the bequest of Stephen Whitney Phoenix (1881), was the first major donation of rare books given to Columbia College. It was Mr. Phoenix's library and as such contains books on a variety of subjects. The collection is rich in nineteenth century illustrated books and books on travel, emblem books, geography, natural history, and literature, including a Shakespeare First Folio (1623). The collection is catalogued in the Dewey scheme with the letters "P" or "BP" preceding the call number. The books are found in the card catalog.

1 result in this collection

Stephen Whitney Phoenix Library, 1475-1880 approximately 8000 Volumes

David Eugene Smith Library, 1450-1999

13000 Volumes
Abstract Or Scope

Donated in 1931, and augmented by books bought with the Smith Fund, the Smith library contains over 13,000 books mainly in the fields of mathematics and astronomy from the eleventh century to the early decades of the twentieth century. Professor Smith collected the history of mathematics regardless of format and language; Collections subject guide contains additional information about the Smith Collection on the History of Mathematics.

1 result in this collection

David Eugene Smith Library, 1450-1999 13000 Volumes

"B-Dewey" General Rare Book Collection, 1450-1979

approximately 80,000? Volumes
Abstract Or Scope

The "B" collection is particularly strong in British and American literature and history, including a large group of nineteenth-century gift books. Other strong areas include editions of Greek & Roman authors, cometology, and polar exploration (thanks to Bassett Jones's Libris Polaris collection).

1 result in this collection

"B-Dewey" General Rare Book Collection, 1450-1979 approximately 80,000? Volumes

Incunabula Collection, 1450-1500

2050 Volumes 1146 Bib Records in Voyager
Abstract Or Scope

Incunabula (books printed before 1501) from the various book collections have been shelved together by Goff number, the number assigned in Fredrick Goff's bibliography, Incunabula in American Libraries. There is a separate card catalog by author in RBML. Records for these titles derived from the ISTC (Incunabula Short Title Catalog) are found in CLIO; however they lack subject and other added entries.

1 result in this collection

Incunabula Collection, 1450-1500 2050 Volumes 1146 Bib Records in Voyager

Acton Griscom collection of Jeanne d'Arc manuscripts, 1400-1943

32 Volumes 32 volumes
Abstract Or Scope

This is a heterogeneous collection of manuscript typescript material which relates to Joan of Arc. The material ranges in date and character from a 15th-century manuscript, CHRONIQUE DES ROIS CHARLES VI ET VII par Gilles Le Bouvier, on 241 paper leaves, which contains a long account of the life and exploits of Joan, to the 12 page typescript of Ambassador William C. Bullitt's address, LE FETE DE JEANNE D'ARC A PHILADELPHIA, broadcast on the Voice of America, May 9, 1943. The collection includes a number of manuscripts and typescripts of literary and scholarly works on Joan of Arc by Guy Endore, Andrew Lang, Charles Maurras, Pearl Mahaffey, Wilfred P. Barrett, Thomas Jones, and others. There are also letters from scholars and writers on the subject including Anatole France, Robert Southey, Samuel L. Clemens, Cardinal Manning, and Andrew Land. There are also a few original documents contemporary to and relating to Joan and her associates. Six such documents are bound into Gabrial Hanotaux's JEANNE D'ARC, Paris Hachette, 1911, as extra-illustrations.

1 result in this collection

Acton Griscom collection of Jeanne d'Arc manuscripts, 1400-1943 32 Volumes 32 volumes

Arthur Livingston Venetian papers, 1400-1800

1.5 Linear Feet 3 boxes (2 manuscript boxes, 1 flat box)
Abstract Or Scope

Part I of this collection contains 140 literary and political papers and documents relating to Venice and Venetian families from the 15th through 18th centuries. The material includes a group of the Busenello family papers which are largely wills, transfers of property, laudatory verses, and Latin prose (related to Dr. Livingston's LA VITA VENEZIANA NELLE OPERE DI GIAN FRANCESCO BUSENELLO, Venice, 1913); a series of moral and political sonnets in the Venetian dialect by Angelo Mario Labia (1690-1775); and a number of other documents and papers related to the Viscordi family and tne Venetian state.

1 result in this collection

Arthur Livingston Venetian papers, 1400-1800 1.5 Linear Feet 3 boxes (2 manuscript boxes, 1 flat box)

Robert Hiester Montgomery codex manuscripts, 1300-1941

1175 Volumes 1175 volumes
Abstract Or Scope

Manuscript account books and documents which illustrate and document the history of accounting and business procedures from the 14th century into the 20th century. The earliest item is Ms. 18, a Papal bull relating to notaries and appointing Julius de Gentilibus as a notary; the latest is an invoice book from 1941. The types of volumes contained in this collection include instruction books, daybooks, waste books, journals, bank books, ledgers, receipt books, storage books, invoice books, registers, ships' logs, letter books, diaries, town books, tax roll books, articles of agreement, bills of sale, deeds, wills, and many other significant items. The material originated in many countries around the globe, and represents a range of business and occupations from household to trading company (e.g., English (East India Company) and French East Indian Company (Compagnie des Indes orientales) volumes), and from itinerant laborer to lawyer and physician. The majority of the manuscripts are English and American of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The earliest American account is Ms. 75, 1690-1730, Josiah Winslow, Plymouth, Mass.

1 result in this collection

Robert Hiester Montgomery codex manuscripts, 1300-1941 1175 Volumes 1175 volumes

Toulouse (France) Gild Hall records, 1270-1450

4 boxes 4 boxes
Abstract Or Scope

Copies of parts of the Archives Municipales de Toulouse, Mss. H.H.1s and H.H.2, which include statutes of craft gilds dating from ca. 1270 A.D. to 1450 A.D. The codices are of the 14th century and contain the earliest known records of the gilds of Toulouse.

1 result in this collection

Toulouse (France) Gild Hall records, 1270-1450 4 boxes 4 boxes

Byland Abbey manuscripts, 1177-1390

1 volume 1 bound volume, X942 B99
Abstract Or Scope

The documents seem to be copied in full with dates. Each entry has a page reference which is preceded by the abbreviation "Dod. no." and followed by the name "David Hughes." These appear to be references to some collection, possibly of the original documents. David Hughes may have been the copyist responsible for this volume, but there is no conclusive evidence as to this. The material is in Latin and the script is clear and legible.

1 result in this collection

Byland Abbey manuscripts, 1177-1390 1 volume 1 bound volume, X942 B99

David Eugene Smith collection of historical documents, 1050-1883

2000 items
Abstract Or Scope

Primarily medieval French and English financial documents including bills of sale, receipts, mortgages, wills, gift of properties, tax rolls, quittances, and so on, collected by Professor David E. Smith.

1 result in this collection

David Eugene Smith collection of historical documents, 1050-1883 2000 items