January, 2004
Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University Library include those materials that, because of subject coverage, rarity, source, condition, or form, are best handled separately from the General Collection. The chief purpose of the materials is to meet the needs of graduate students, undergraduate students and faculty, primarily in the departments which offer doctoral and masters degrees. The nature, extent, and depth of the collection have defined that purpose to date, although the nature of the collections is always subject to review and extension depending on the research needs of the entire university community.
The community served by the Rare Books and Special Collections Department, however, is not narrowly defined. The Department is conceived also as a resource center catering to the research interests of students and scholars throughout the United States and abroad. In addition, clientele served includes not only scholars but also the general public who have interest in special collections such as the African- American, American Popular Literature, Book Arts, Colorado- Henkle, Johannsen (Dime Novels), Private Press, H.P. Lovecraft, or Walt Whitman collections.
A. Date of Publication.
The simplest general guideline for materials to be included is the publication date of the book. Date of publication does not bear a direct relationship to monetary or textual value of a book, though market trends are beginning to make certain classes of material prohibitively expensive. The cut-off dates for inclusion of material with various imprints are listed below with a brief explanation of the choice of date:
1. European publications before 1801. Eighteenth century material, recently abundant and inexpensive in the antiquarian book trade, is becoming scarcer and more costly. Replacement of such material, while not always prohibitively expensive, presents the problem of locating replacement copies. It is safe to assume that this problem will only become more difficult in the future, and it is a certainty that prices will continue to rise. It should be noted that German imprints of this period are very numerous and should only be included selectively. Religious texts are much less likely to require protection in the Rare Books Room than literary or historical material. All English imprints preceding 1801 are to be included in the Rare Books Collection as well as most French material of the period. As opportunity permits, the Rare Books Librarian will continue to transfer such material from the open shelves. The 18th Century English collection at Northern Illinois University Libraries is surprisingly strong and opportunities to add to it should be seized.
2. United States imprints before 1840, or later in the cases of certain states as indicated in the attached table. Good bibliographic control of American imprints up to 1832 is now provided by Shaw and Shoemaker's continuation of Evans and an effort will be made to extend the coverage into the 1860's. N.I.U. may be able to assist in this effort by preserving its holdings in this time period. With the general inclusion date of 1839, a large amount of material of minor importance (sermons, for example) and currently low commercial value would be included, though a stack searching program to locate and transfer such volumes should have low priority.
3. First or early editions of United States fiction to 1865. Inexpensive until recently, material in this category has shown a substantial increase in price. See also paragraph III-B-3; the American Popular Literature collection to some extent continues this category of material. Authors whose works bridge the 1865 cut-off date will have their works assigned to SpCol-American Popular Literature.
4. Confederate States Imprints, 1861-1865.
5. Canadian imprints.
a. Eastern Provinces (Ontario and east): prior to 1851.
b. Western Provinces (west of Ontario): prior to 1900.
6. Latin American imprints before 1851. Although the Spanish introduced the printing press to the new world in the 1540's, production remained small until well into the 19th Century. Special attention should be given to non-religious material printed before 1851.
7. Books printed in Australia, New Zealand and Africa before 1871. Printing was introduced at a late date in these areas and early imprints are scarce.
8. Asian imprints before 1851; Asian Imprints in English before 1871. Printing began in Asia (Japan, Korea, and China) ca. 800 A.D. Early imprints are extremely scarce, and even 19th Century imprints present difficult dating problems. It is unlikely that the University Libraries will find or acquire material in this area.
B. Include Volumes of a Market Value of $350 or More.
When it can be satisfactorily determined, the market value (i.e. current retail price) of a book may serve as a good indication as to whether or not a book should be included in the Rare Book Collection. The figure of $350 is arbitrary and subject to revision as inflation directs, but the figure should not be set too low as too many new books will fall into this category. Ascertaining current market value of out-of-print titles requires an awareness of the subtleties of antiquarian book pricing. The various book auction records and published guides should be consulted with careful attention to the relative condition of the copy sold and the copy in hand: "association copies" are always sold as such and fetch higher prices; works in original bindings or in special bindings (morocco, niger, armorial, etc.) bring higher prices; the lack of a dust jacket, blank leaf, publishers' advertisements or half titles, so often removed by binders, may significantly lower the value of a book; trends or fads in collecting may cause wild variations in book prices from year to year.
C. Editions of a Book.
1. First Editions. The fact is that a work is a "first edition" does not necessarily mean that it should be included in the Rare Books Collection. Each title should be individually evaluated and selected on the basis of its literary or historical importance, rarity, current market value, condition of the copy and the Northern Illinois University Libraries' holdings and collecting goals. For textual analysis, it is important in many cases to possess not only the first but later editions of a work.
2. Duplicates. It cannot be this library's policy to collect duplicates. However, it should be noted that books printed in the hand-press period are rarely exact duplicates because numerous in-the-press corrections were usually made in each sheet printed, then the sheets were gathered into books with many possible combinations of variant states of the sheets going into one book. It is therefore suggested that duplicates of pre-1800 imprints be retained until it can be ascertained (by use of the Hinman Collator) that they are exact duplicates. At that point, the poorer copy (considering binding, paper condition, paper size, and freshness) will be considered for exchange as the Rare Books Librarian may decide. For exact duplicates of a later period, retention will be the decision of the Rare Books Librarian on a case by case basis.
3. Limited Editions, Signed Copies. Significant books signed by their authors and/or limited to editions of 500 copies or fewer should be included in the Rare Books Collection. The key word is "significant." Vanity publications do not merit inclusion simply because of limitation of edition size or the presence of the author's signature. Certain publications, though issued in larger limited editions, should be considered on an individual basis, taking into account the date, size of edition, printing quality, association interest (signature of author, designer, printer, illustrator, etc.). The Rare Books Librarian will decide on inclusion or exclusion in such cases.
4. Books In Unusual Or Special Formats Requiring Special Care:
a. Miniature books measuring less than 7.5 cm high (about 3").
b. Early maps not assigned to the map library (e.g. maps designed to accompany volumes in the Rare Books Collection)
c. Early or valuable broadsides, posters, etc.
D. Association Copies.
Copies of books bearing autographs, marginalia, or bookplates of prominent persons. Such books indicate possible influences upon their former owners and can thus be identified as source works for the study of an author. "Prominent" should be taken to mean recognized literary or historical figures, the final decision resting with the Rare Book Librarian.
E. Non-Book Materials.
This category includes material illustrative of the history of books and printing. Such "non-book" materials as scrolls, palm-leaf books, clay tablets, and printing equipment might be included as examples of the development of the book.
F. Fine Printing and Binding.
Material in this category emphasizes the aesthetics of the book as an object rather than its content. In cases of overlapping with the Private Press Collection (SpCol), the volume should be assigned to SpCol-Private Press. The cut-off date for material included under this heading is 1850 (material later than 1850 is assigned to SpCol-Book Arts since 1850).
1. Representative Examples of Fine Printing and of The Work of Noted Printers and Type Designers (e.g. Baskerville, Bodoni, Didot). An exhaustive list of persons whose works would be included would be difficult to compile. Decisions will be made on a case by case basis by the Rare Book Librarian.
2. Books Bound by Famous Binders or Binderies (Edwards of Halifax, for example), including Fore-edge Paintings. Very few items are likely to be added to the collection on the basis of binding alone.
3. Books Bound In Unusual Materials Which Require Special Handling and Care (e.g. especially fragile bindings, bindings with bosses, clasps, etc.).
4. Books Containing The Work of Famous Illustrators In First or Early Editions, Especially Color Plate Books and Those With Tipped-in Illustrations. Illustrators included, for example, would be Blake, Hogarth, Bewick, Vertue, Eisen, etc.
G. Manuscripts.
At the present time, the Rare Books Collection contains a small amount of manuscript material. Future acquisitions of manuscript collections will either be added as separate special collections or processed for the manuscript special collection (see III-B-22, SpCol-Manuscripts). Some volumes in the Rare Books Collection have autographed letters tipped in; in the past such manuscript material has been entered as a note on the catalogue card. For such incidental material, a note will be sufficient. For material which is laid-in volumes, the laid-in material should be removed and, if it is important, placed in a separate folder marked with the same call number as the volume receives. A file of these separate folders will be maintained in the Rare Books Room. The present practice of recording autographs in books with an "autograph" card in the catalogue should be continued.
H. Books On Local History.
At present, the Rare Books Collection does not anticipate making an effort to acquire material in this subject area. When any such material is acquired, the Director of Regional History Center should be consulted to determine whether the material would best be housed in the Archives, in the Regional History Center, or in the Rare Books Collection.
I. Exotica.
Pornography or sensational literature will not be included solely on the basis of its sensationalism, but will be included if it meets other criteria for Rare Books.
A. Introduction.
"Special Collections" should not serve as an inferior rare book collection. A special collection is created to keep together material in one subject area which would be scattered in the Library of Congress classification and might otherwise not meet the usual rare book criteria. "Special Collections" (abbreviated SpCol) is a part of the call number and the collection name serves as one of the tracings on the catalogue card. The complete call number plus the Special Collection name is used on flags, envelopes, and is penciled in the item (e.g. SpCol...Byron).
B. Presently Existing Special Collections.
As of January 2004, the following designated Special Collections existed and will be continued; a brief sketch of each is appended:
1. African-American Collection. A collection of books and other materials in all subject areas by and about African Americans and other people of African descent throughout the world. Special emphases are placed on black history, civil rights movements in the United States, literature by African-American authors and pamphlets by black authors on slavery, emancipation and the black experience in the United States.
2. Horatio Alger Collection. Horatio Alger Jr.’s works originally was a part of the American Popular Literature Collection. In 1994, the Horatio Alger Society (HAS) selected the Northern Illinois University Libraries to be the official Horatio Alger Society Repository. In that same year, the Horatio Alger Collection was created. The main focus of the collection is to include Horatio Alger Jr.’s works published and reprinted by various publishers. The collection was begun with materials by or about Horatio Alger, Jr. owned by the NIU Libraries and added to with newly acquired and donated materials from HAS members. The NIU Horatio Alger collection is now the most comprehensive collection of materials in the world of this all-time, best-selling boy’s series writer.
3. American Popular Literature. Under this designation are combined current SpCol holdings of books by Victor Appleton ("Tom Swift" series), William Taylor Adams("Oliver Optic"), Gilbert Patten (Burt L. Standish, "Merriwell Series"), Charles Fosdick ("Harry Castlemon"), and John H. Goldfrap ("Howard Payson"). Further additions to this collection will be made and it could grow to a rather large size. Material in the Johannsen Collection supplements the American Popular Literature Collection. General dates of inclusion are 1866-1920, but later works of authors whose early works fall within the scope of the collection should be included, (e.g. Booth Tarkington [1869-1946] wrote some 66 titles published between 1900 and 1947. All first edition Tarkington material, even those published after 1920, should be included in SpCol-American Popular Literature.) The same principle should hold for authors who began publishing before 1866 (e.g. Harriet Beecher Stowe). The American Popular Literature collection includes first or early editions of best sellers of the period 1866-1920, but it also reflects America's reading habits over the period including popular history, gift books, poetry, and other publications with mass appeal. An indication of popularity would be the number of editions of a work issued within a few years of its first appearance. Three or four trade editions should fairly well define "popular." Much of the material acquired for this collection is now little known and should be relatively inexpensive. It is to be expected, however, that prices will rise in this subject area.
4. Edward Ardizzone. An extensive collection of publications written and illustrated by Edward Ardizzone, a note contemporary English author and illustrator. This collection was purchased by the Friends of NIU Libraries. No cut-off date has been set and some additions may be made.
5. Autographed Books. A heterogeneous autographed collection of authors, writers and artists which has no existing special collection of its own. These authors, writers and artists are either famous or have received special achievement or literary awards in their respective fields. Limited editions with authors' autographs will also be included in this collection. Beginning September 1993, the University Press of Northern Illinois University has agreed to deposit a copy of all its publication to expand this collection. Seeking authors' autographs for the collection will be the Rare Books Librarian's responsibility.
6. William Blake. Work by and about the author, including critical works and variant issues of single and collected works. No cut-off date has been set. The Martin Kallich Library Endowment is established to support this collection.
7. Book Arts since 1850. This new category meant to bring together the work of famous printers, type designers, book designers, and illustrators. In case of overlapping with SpCol-Private Press, books should be assigned to the Private Press Collection. No cut-off date will be set.
8. Robert Burns. Works by and about the poet, including critical works and variant issues of single and collected works. No cut-off date has been set.
9. Lord Byron. Works by and about the poet, including critical works and variant issues of single and collected works. No cut-off date has been set.
10. Chess Magazines. A depository for chess magazines from the Midwestern Regional Chapters of U.S. Chess Federation and the U. S. Chess Federation. As to date, the University Libraries has received fifty nine titles. It is unlikely that the University Libraries will acquire material in this area.
11. Chicago Opera Collection. The collection contains the scenes, costumes, maguettes and archival material of the Chicago Civic Opera. The archival material reflecting the productions of Chicago Civic Opera for the period 1910-1931. It consists of production notebooks, programs, photographs, touring information, drawings, inventory records and funding lists, correspondence, expense records, design plates, pictorial source material, and miscellaneous. One-hundred and seventy-nine especially noteworthy production notebooks that reflect the productions of seventy-seven operas in great detail are part of this collection.
12. Colorado-Henkle. En-bloc purchase of a private collection relating to the state and territory of Colorado. No cut-off date has been set and some of the material is quite recent.
13. Comic Book. A collection of approximately 1,200 titles of books, magazines and fanzines, including "Pogo," "Archie Series," "Millie the Movie Classics," and "Magazine Classic Illustrated" published by Gilberton Co., in New York. The library is unlikely to make any further purchases in this area.
14. Alan Denson. Manuscript material, mostly letters to and from Denson in correspondence with English literary figures (up to about 1960). The manuscript material is still unprocessed and some restrictions were placed on its use.
15. John Dos Passos. Books by and about John Dos Passos, in various editions. Many manuscript materials, periodicals, and newspaper criticisms are also included. No cut-off date has been set.
16. Fine Arts. A collection of the works of various artists. Before 1992, many of its titles were included in the Book Arts collection. "Art Books" or portfolios of fine or loose plates of recent date will be considered for this collection. Works included in this collection are recommended or consulted by Arts Librarian.
17. Gender Studies. A collection of books, manuscripts, and other materials pertaining to gender studies, including gay, lesbian, transgendered, bisexual, and women’s studies. Special emphases will be on gender studies materials as they relate to religious organizations, winners and nominees of the Lambda Literary Foundation’s Lammie Awards, and winners and nominees of the American Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Round table (GLBTRT) Awards, now called the Stonewall Award. Emphases will also include periodicals of the Midwest not already held in microfilm. Also includes first editions, limited editions and signed copies whenever possible. Materials include and supplement items in the In All Things Charity Collection on homosexuality and religion, and other items already held in Rare Books and Special Collections. No cut-off date has been set, and material continues to be added to the collection.
18. Graham Green. Works by and about the poet, including critical works and variant issues of single and collected works. No cut-off date has been set.
19. James Hanley. A collection of manuscripts (some of them unpublished) and books by Hanley (1901-). The collection has the potential to become an important one, and opportunities to add to it should be seized. No cut-off date has been set.
20. Imprint Society. A collection of various works reprinted by the Imprint Society of Barre, Massachusetts. Many items in the collection are travelers' accounts of North America in the late 1700s and 1800s along with other topics of that time period, such as items written by Benjamin Franklin.
21. Johannsen Collection. Copies of "Dime Novels" and similar American publications of the late 19th Century. Also includes Prof. Johannsen's working papers and notes for his History of the House of Beadle & Adams, as well as papers, notes, glass plate negatives, and memorabilia from his career as a geology professor. Much of this latter material is now in process.
22. Edward T. LeBlanc Collection. A collection of American and British dime novels, story papers, novels, and novelettes ca. 1850-1925 acquired by the NIU Libraries in 1998. Titles such as Aldine Half Holiday Library, Boys of the Empire, Dick Turpin, Gem Library, Happy Days, Lovell's Library, New York Ledger, Oliver Optic's Magazine, Pluck and Luck, Rocket, Seaside Library, Secret Service, Wide Awake Library, Yank, Young Britain, and Young Glory are well represented in this collection, many with fairly complete runs. The above list is a small fraction of the titles contained in the LeBlanc Collection, the majority of which is still in the process of being unboxed, preserved, and cataloged. This collection complements the Horatio Alger, American Popular Literature, Albert Johannsen Dime Novel, Merriwell, and Edward Stratemeyer Collections.
23. H. P. Lovecraft. A collection of material by and about Lovecraft. Includes some manuscript material. A few additions may be made to this collection. No cut-off date has been set.
24. Manuscripts. The University Libraries currently has little material that would fall into this classification without being assigned to the Archives. Nonetheless, provision is made for a collection of individual pieces or small groups of letters, ledger books, and other manuscript documents which are judged to be worth preserving but do not form a large enough body of material to form their own Special Collection. Eventually, "SpCol-Manuscripts" will contain a very heterogeneous collection, but it is far more practical to store such material together than to try to put it on the shelves with the books.
25. Maps. A collection of rare and historical maps from all over the world from the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. There is a special emphasis on maps from Southeast Asia.
26. Merriwell Collection. A collection of books and serials of Frank and Dick Merriwell stories. Some first editions are included in this collection. Serials such as Tip Top Weekly and Merriwell Series are present in complete runs. The majority of this collection was a gift from Fred King and Edward T. LeBlanc. This collection complements the Horatio Alger, American Popular Literature, Edward T. LeBlanc, Albert Johannsen Dime Novel, and Edward Stratemeyer Collections.
27. Willard Motley. Works by and about the author, including length manuscripts of his books, phonographs, recording, articles, correspondence, and diaries.
28. Music Manuscript Collection. A collection of cello music previously held by Raya Garbousova, original manuscripts by Frank Skinner, and other sheet music. Materials in the Garbousova collection of music for cello performance along with some exercises for the cello. There is a particular emphasis on works for solo cello and cello with piano accompaniment. Many items have Ms. Garbousova's annotations and cello bowings. There are a small number of ephemeral materials related to the Cello Congress.
29. Nisbet-Snyder Drama. A collection of some 2,000 late 18th Century and 19th Century English and American plays, many of them acting copies or annotated prompt books. The collection is supplemented by University Library Drama.
30. Private Press. A growing collection of material issued by private presses, particularly in the Middle West. An authority file for private press names is maintained in the Catalogue cards. Many additions are current publications and no cut-off date will be set.
31. Radical Pamphlets. American publications, ca. 1880-1955, by or about the radical labor movement, socialists, communists, and the radical right (including American Nazis). Material is uncatalogued, but there exists a computer index for the material. Large scale additions by purchase are unlikely, but pieces will be added from various sources from time to time.
32. Science Fiction. An expanding collection of currently published books deposited by the Science Fiction Writers of America, a retrospective collection of "Sci-Fi" magazines, 1926-1967, and a selection of significant, currently published "Sci-Fi" magazines. Complemented by "fantasy" holdings in the Lovecraft Collection.
33. Franklin Skinner. The collection was donated to University Libraries in 1989 by an individual who requested anonymity. The collection consists of musical scores from motion pictures. With one exception, they are all original pencil manuscripts in Skinner's hand. The exception is Magnificent Obsession, which is an ozalid copy of a studio copyist's manuscript. Excepting My Man Godfrey and Written on the Wind, which are fragments, the scores are believed to be complete representations of all the music Skinner wrote for the respective films.
34. Southeast Asia. This collection now includes several types of Southeast Asia related materials, including some original manuscripts or field notes, some old and rare books, some large and expensive illustrated folios, etc. The materials to be included in this section are to be made by the appropriate area specialists. It is a present policy that Burmese books published before 1945 be considered for SEA Special collections. Books or materials with controversial religious or political contents are also included in this collection.
35. Vincent Starrett. Works by and about this author of the "Chicago Renaissance." First editions, limited editions, and signed copies. No cut-off date has been set.
36. Edward Stratemeyer Collection. A collection of first editions by Edward Stratemeyer acquired from a noted collector. The Friends of NIU Libraries made this purchase possible. This collection complements the Horatio Alger, American Popular Literature, Edward T. LeBlanc, Albert Johannsen Dime Novel, Merriwell Collections
37. Jeremy Taylor. Collection of the writings of the 17th Century English divine, including books referring to Taylor and influencing him as well as his own works (some editions in multiple copies). A strong and unique collection including some manuscript material and supplemented by some of our rare book holdings.
38. Tobin Collection. A collection of materials on Japanese woodblock prints collected by James D. Tobin, specializing in prints of the late Meiji, Taisho, and Showa periods (from about 1890). Included in this collection are books on prints, photographs and negatives, extensive notes, rare brochures and catalogs, correspondence, and some tapes and films made at conferences.
a. A recent donation from the Van Zelst Family enhances the collection by documenting the lives and works of Japanese woodblock printers Un-ichi Hiratsuka and his daughter Keiko Moore, including personal letters between the two families, exhibition materials, materials on printmaking, and catalogs of Hiratsuka's works. An inventory is available.
39. University Library Drama.
a. Part I. (212 vols.). 18th and early 19th Century comic operas and acting editions of plays popular on the English stage.
b. Part II. (124 vols.). 19th Century plays and 45 programs for the St. James Theatre (London) covering the period 1879-1888.
Additions to the Drama collections should be made when possible.
40. Western Fiction Magazine Collection. This collection contains many titles such as Gunsmoke Western, Frontier Stories, Range Riders Western, The Lone Ranger, and others in runs of varying lengths ca.1905-1955.
41. Whitman. Works by and about the poet, including critical works and variant issues of single and collected works. A collection of approximately 237 titles. Includes virtually all editions of Leaves of Grass. No cut-off date has been set.
42. Angus Wilson. A collection of material by and about Angus Wilson, including many periodical articles and contributions. No cut-off date has been set, and some additions may be made.
43. Wordsworth. Works by and about the poet, including critical works and variant issues of single and collected works. No cut-off date has been set.
C. As a general policy, the University Libraries will continue to expand the existing collections when allocated budget permits.
It is a general policy that the new collections will only be created with the consultations of the Associate Director of Collection Development and the Director of the University Libraries. As new Special Collections are formed, a "Specification sheet," briefly stating the contents and sketching the criteria for possible additions to the new collection will be prepared by the Rare Books & Special Collections Librarian to bring the present document up to date.
A. The University Libraries will consider accepting an entire collection as a gift from any donor to support the instructional and research missions of the University.
B. Books and materials purchased to be housed in the Rare Books & Special Collections by subject bibliographers or librarians should consult with the Rare Books Librarian before the book acquisition. This also applies to transfer books from open shelves.