Rare Book Collections

A six volume collection including books such as "Some Edgar Allen Poe Letters," volumes one and two of Walden by Thoreau, and works of Charles Dickens.

When the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections opened in 1962, the WashU Libraries owned a small rare book collection, the finest pieces of which had been donated by St. Louis collector William Keeney Bixby. The Rare Book Collections now include over 70,000 printed pieces representing all the disciplines the Libraries collect.

The Rare Book Collections include books from all Special Collection areas. The collections’ primary strengths are in literature, the material culture of the book, including the history of printing, graphic design, and the book arts, and aspects of American and world history.

These collections span seven centuries of written and visual communication. They support teaching and discovery across WashU and are freely accessible to students, scholars, and visiting researchers.

The Art and Architecture, Music, East Asian, School of Medicine, and School of Law libraries house additional collections of rare materials.

Collecting Areas

Digital Collections

Digital Collections highlight those portions of the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections that have been made or born-digital.

Dowd Illustration Research Archive

The Dowd Illustration Research Archive (formerly Dowd Modern Graphic History Library) at WashU includes original art and printed material from many popular American pictorial graphic culture fields.

East Asian Library Special Collections

The East Asian Library's special collection includes about 900 volumes of rare and special books, manuscripts, and other materials.

Film & Media Archive

The Archive is committed to the preservation of documentary film and other media which chronicles America's great political and social movements with a particular emphasis on the African-American experience.

Kranzberg Art & Architecture Library Special Collections

The Art & Architecture Special Collections is a 4,200-volume collection of rare and unique art and design printed materials located at the Kranzberg Art & Architecture Library. The main focus is illustrated books, prints, and photographs from the 18th and 19th centuries and contemporary book design.

Local History Collections

The local history collecting area focuses on the history of St. Louis and the surrounding region.

Manuscript Collections

WashU Libraries' Julian Edison Department of Special Collections Manuscript collections contain a broad range of materials dating from the 2nd century BC through the present.

Modern Literature Collection

The Modern Literature Collection includes more than 175 authors, presses, and journals, more than 125 of which are represented by manuscript materials.

Music Special Collections

Special Collections at the Gaylord Music Library include sheet music, manuscripts, rare books, and digital materials.

Rare Book Collections

The Rare Book Collections include books from all Special Collection areas. The collections’ primary strengths are in literature, the material culture of the book, including the history of printing, graphic design, and the book arts, and aspects of American and world history.

Washington University Archives

The University Archives chronicles the history of WashU from 1853 to today with over 300 unique collections, including campus publications, reports, photographic prints and negatives, books, film, sound recordings, oral histories, architectural plans, and artifacts.