English Literature
The largest portion of the literary collections is English literature
of the British Isles, including Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Among
the most significant holdings are two 15th-century manuscripts of Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales; an important group of 16th-and 17th-century
poetical commonplace books; more than 450 books and pamphlets by Daniel
Defoe, including the rare first edition of Robinson Crusoe;
the largest extant collection of Robert Burns’ letters, manuscripts,
and early editions; one of the world’s most important Lewis Carroll
collections, including more than 600 of his letters, his early drawings,
his own copy of the first edition of Alice in Wonderland, and
his rarest photographs; Bram Stoker’s autograph notes and outlines
for Dracula; the manuscripts of two-thirds of Joseph Conrad’s
literary works, including Lord Jim and 60 letters in his hand;
and the manuscript of James Joyce’s Ulysses.
American Literature
American literature includes first editions of Anne Bradstreet, Phillis
Wheatley, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, presentation copies of books by Herman
Melville housed in a bookcase that once belonged to him; 19th century
dime novels; and first editions and letters of Emily Dickinson and Christopher
Morley. The single largest collection, that of the poet Marianne Moore,
encompasses her personal and literary papers, including correspondence
with contemporaries such as Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and e.e. cummings;
as well as her working library, which spans a wide range of subjects,
including literature, religion, art history, natural history, and sports.
Continental Literature
Chief among these holdings is a group of Cervantes’ works, including
the finest known copy of the first editions of Don Quixote,
Dr. Rosenbach’s favorite book. There are also small but significant
holdings in French literature, ranging from an illuminated manuscript
of Guillaume de Deguilleville’s Trois pélerinages
(1437) to manuscripts of Emile Zola and Anatole France.
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Fine and Decorative Arts
Fine Arts
Metal, Ceramics, and Glass
Portrait Miniatures
Furniture, Clocks, Looking
Glasses, Lighting, and Textiles
Vertu and Jewelry
Rare Books, Manuscripts,
Maps, and Broadsides
Americana
English, American, and
Continental Literature
Book Arts, Incunabula,
Maps and Broadsides
Judaica, Children’s Literature,
and Rosenbachiana
Collections Highlights
James Joyce's Ulysses
Marianne Moore Archive
Maurice Sendak Collection |
