Pre-1800 Collection

Access to pre-1800 books and serials can be obtained through the Library Catalogue. A listing of eighteenth century journals is also available.

The early printed materials in the Division number over 30,000 volumes and encompass a wide range of subject and author collections. The emphasis is on eighteenth-century English and European imprints, covering the literature of that period as well as the biographical, philosophical and historical output. Literature and Social History are great strengths. Particular author strengths include the works of Swift, Johnson, Goldsmith, Dryden, Defoe and Pope in addition to significant holdings of numerous other dramatists, novelists and poets.

Also noteworthy are the Italian Renaissance books in the Caselli Collection, a fine selection of early periodicals and newspapers, rare English and Irish pamphlets, and a large collection of early maps. A number of manuscripts and books found in this section provide examples of important developments in the history of illustration, printing and bookbinding.

Contact: archives@mcmaster.ca
Last Reviewed: February 4, 2005
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