Introduction
Many major libraries worldwide are actively working to produce digital copies of their early printed books. This is beneficial not only because it improves access to the texts from any location, but also because it helps to preserve these cultural treasures for future generations. Furthermore, it reduces the need for researchers to handle these fragile old books. New materials are regularly added to most of the collections below, so keep checking back.
This list is by no means exhaustive, and the focus is on photographic reproductions of the books, rather than transcriptions. Many of the websites include lists of links to other digital collections. Please contact your area librarian if you find a digital collection you think should be added to the list.
Major Collections
- Munich Digitization CenterThe glorious digital collection of the Bavarian State Library, with more than 10,000 digitized incunabula and nearly 300,000 digitized printed books from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Extensive collections in German, Latin, and the Romance Languages are online.
- Biblioteca Digital HispánicaThe digital collections of the Biblioteca Nacional de España feature more than 134,000 printed books, manuscripts, drawings, maps, and more.
- Gallica This link opens in a new windowThe digital collections of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France feature more than 600,000 books, manuscipts, images, musical scores, letters, periodicals, and more.
- Early English Books Online (EEBO) - TCP This link opens in a new windowThe collaborative efforts of more than 200 libraries worldwide to provide facsimile editions of almost every book printed in English from 1473 to 1700.
- Early European Books This link opens in a new windowA collaborative effort between the Royal Library of Denmark, the Wellcome Library in London, and the National Libraries of France, Italy (Florence), and the Netherlands.
- Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes This link opens in a new windowThis large digital collection is the result of the collaborative work of numerous university and other libraries and foundations in the Spanish-speaking world and elsewhere.
- Internet CulturaleThe portal of the Italian National Library Service combines a unified catalogue of the physical holdings with access to digital collections.
- Biblioteca Digital del Patrimonio IberoamericanoA collaborative project between the National Libraries of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Spain, Panama, Portugal and Uruguay.
- Zentrales Verzeichnis Digitalisierter DruckeA joint project of three networks of German libraries, the collection features 1.5 million digitized items from the fifteenth through twenty-first centuries, easily browsable by era.
- National Library of PortugalThe digitized collections of Portugal's National Library are easily browsable by year.
Other General Collections
- E-RaraA joint project by a group of Swiss universities. More than 500 incunabula and nearly 20,000 books printed between 1501 and 1700 are online. Rich in texts in Latin and German, with good collections of French and Italian. Easy to browse by date.
- Biblioteca Patrimonial Digital de la Universitat de BarcelonaThe digital collections include manuscripts, incunabula, and early printed books on a variety of subjects. You can browse collections on topics such as agriculture, chemistry, and a variety of categories related to medical science.
- University of CoimbraThe large Digital Collections of the Rare Books Collection at the University of Coimbra are not readily browsable, but a simple search will help you find something specific.
- World Digital LibraryA collaboration between the Library of Congress, UNESCO, and many libraries all over the world to provide a sampling of digital content.
- Deutsche Drucke des 16. JahrhundertsA collective site for various digital collections featuring digitized sixteenth-century German printed books.
Literature and the Arts
- Biblioteca Digital Siglo de OroOrganized by the University of La Coruña, this digital collection features emblems, the history of books and libraries, and "relaciones de sucesos."
- Folger Shakespeare LibraryThe Digital Image Collection includes early printings of Shakespeare's works and a variety of illustrations and photographs from more recent productions.
- Digital Collections of l’Institut National d’Histoire de l’ArtA large collection of images, manuscripts, archives, and printed books from the collections of various French art museums and institutions.
- EuropeanaThis collective site of various European institurions is especially rich in art history and music, with browsable collections related to those fields.
- Bibliothèques Virtuelles HumanistesA project of the Centre d’Etudes Supérieures de la Renaissance (Center for Renaissance Studies) at the University of Tours in France.
Science and Medicine
- The Wellcome LibraryCollections primarily of medical history, including alchemy, cookbooks, and many more. Fun and accessible website. Wonderful features for exploring the collections are currently in development.
- U.S. National Library of MedicineYou can browse by collection, author, and by period. Features 1,102 items from before 1600 in various languages, including the disquieting "Here beginneth the seinge of urynes, of all the coloures that urynes be of."
- Royal Botanical Garden of MadridFeatures a rich collection of botanical texts from the sixteenth through twenty-first centuries. You can choose from a list of subjects including “botanical illustration,” “cryptograms,” “Pre-Linnean works,” and “useful or poisonous plants.”
- Linda Hall LibraryThe digital collections include early works on the sciences. Easy to browse collections on astronomy, the history of mathematics, early works of physics, and more.
- Bibliothèque numérique Medic@Digitized editions of old medical texts, with a nice subject index to help you find things. A presentation is available for major subjects (Anatomie, Mélancolie) or figures (Galien, Hippocrate).
- Ars AnatomicaAn online collection of books on human anatomy in the collections of Edinburgh University Library and the library of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
- ECHO – Cultural Heritage OnlineClick on a timeline to access manuscripts and printed books on many topics such as Islamic sciences, the history of mechanics, and and optics, and more.
History
- Imago HistoriaeDesigned by the National Institute of Renaissance Studies in Italy, this digital library collects humanistic Renaissance Italian historiography.
- Primeros Libros de las AméricasA digital collection of the books printed in the Americas before 1601, mostly in Mexico. Easily browsable by date, author, keyword, and more.
- Biblioteca Virtual del Ministerio de DefensaThe digitized collections of the Spanish Ministry of Defense.
- EuroDocsExtensive list of historical sources available online, compiled by Richard Hacken at Brigham Young University.
Religion
- Digital Vatican LibraryThe Vatican Library's digitization project is focused on manuscripts, but the site also features digital copies of 658 incunabula from the Vatican collection.
- Bibliotheca Imaginis FigurataeThe Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium has digitized a small collection of early Jesuit printed books.
- The Laures Virtual LibraryA collection of books and documents from early Christian missions in Japan, featuring more than 260 books from the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries.
- Mexican Incunabula (1559-1600) at the Latin American LibraryThe digital library at Tulane University's collection of early Mexican imprints. Many are intended to help instruct the indigenous people in Catholic doctrine.
