Special Collections and Rare Books

Special Collections and Rare Books provides access to a variety of different archival and book collections on topics ranging from ballooning, military history, fine and small press publishing, the history of the book, British and French history, and whaling to politics, both local and national, Swedish Americana, modern Greek studies, Austrian studies, and so much more.

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Collection Highlights

A single page from the 42-line Gutenberg Bible printed about 1455.

Book History/Printing History

Ranging in time from ancient Sumeria to the 21st century, these collections include papyri, cuneiform tablets, medieval manuscript pages and books, early modern manuscript books, incunabula and other early examples of printing, plus books on and examples of graphic design, calligraphy, paleography, typography, and bookbinding. Examples include:

The Otto Ege Manuscript Collection; Individual Medieval Manuscript Leaves; Cuneiform Collection; The Rutherford Aris Paleography Collection; The Typography Collection

For more information about these and other collections, contact us at [email protected]

 

Eugene McCarthy being interviewed by Joseph F. MacCaffrey, c. 1965

Politics: Local and National

The political collections range from the Senator Eugene McCarthy Papers, which focuses on his 1968 presidential campaign, the political cartoons of Jerry Fiering, WWI-era pamphlets, a collection of books about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, early editions of Punch and other works of social commentary, books that were once part of Governor Elmer L. Andersen's private library, and more.

For more information about these and other collections, contact us at [email protected]

German officer about to cut rope connecting him to French officer on mountain side.

Military History

Our holdings in military history range widely, from the medieval crusades to aspects of modern warfare.  Napoleon in Egypt and Italy, the American Civil War, and WWI are particularly well represented.  

For more information about these and other collections, contact us at [email protected]

Cropped cover of Matrix 21 by the Whittington Press

Press Collections

A large subset of our collection on the History of the Book is our press collection:  the work of fine and small presses, printers, and woodblock carvers.  The published work can be found in our online catalog.  For some presses/printers/carvers we also have their archives, their process work, and their original blocks.  Among the artists, printers, and presses represented are Gaylord Schanilec and Midnight Paper Sales, The Bieler Press, Emerson Wulling and Sumac Press, Hermetic Press, the Whittington Press, and numerous others. 

For more information about these and other collections, contact us at [email protected]

The University of Minnesota Libraries also has a large collection of artists' books;  these can be found in the Gorman Rare Art Collection.

Hot air balloon ready to take off, 1783.

Scientific Collections

Special Collections is home to a variety of material related to science and technology. These include the Joseph S. Mertle Collection on the History of Photomechanics, as well as additional collections related to the history and science of photography; a multi-faceted collection on ballooning, plus more material reflecting later developments in aeronautics, and historical scientific and mathematical treatises by Kepler, Kaempfer, and Da Vinci, among others.

For more information about these and other collections, contact us at [email protected]

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Visit Andersen Library

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Give to the collection

Consider a financial donation to help continue to build and preserve our special collections and rare books.

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