Collections in North America
Printing in the New World began in 1539 in Mexico City. The term "incunables americanos" is used in Spanish to refer to books printed from 1539 to 1600 (as opposed to incunables in the European sense, books printed from 1455 to 1500). Scholars and religious figures of New Spain also acquired significant collections of printed books during the colonial period.
More recently, private collectors and institutions have purchased a number of early European books that are now housed in libraries throughout North America. The focus of this guide is on books printed in Western Europe, but many of these libraries have collections both of early European books and of books from the earliest years of printing in the Americas. Here are just a few of the most important collections.
United States
- The Newberry Library (Chicago)Located on the north side of Chicago, the Newberry houses especially important collections on Medieval, Renaissance, and early modern studies (particularly in English), European colonization of the Americas and early American materials, and histories of printing and the book.
- Rare Book & Manuscript Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignOne of the largest repositories for rare books and manuscripts in the United States. The collections are strong in the broad areas of literature, history, art, theology, philosophy, technology, and the natural sciences.
- Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)Holds around 5,600 incunabula, the largest collection in the Western Hemisphere. Also home to the first known book printed in the British American colonies, “The Bay Psalm Book” (1640).
- The John Carter Brown Library (Providence, Rhode Island)Home to peerless collections in European imprints related to the colonization of the Americas; books printed in Mexico and Peru before 1700; work in Native American languages from before 1800; and much more.
The John Carter Brown Library in Providence, Rhode Island
- The Hispanic Socety of America (New York City)The Hispanic Society holds one of the largest collections of early modern Spanish books outside of Spain, including 30,000 books printed before 1830 and some 250 incunabula. Various printed catalogs are available in the Regenstein Library.
- The Morgan Library and Museum (New York City)The Morgan Library & Museum's holdings encompass a large number of high points in the history of printing. Areas of exceptional strength include incunabula, early children's books, fine bindings, and illustrated books.
- Houghton Library (Harvard University, Cambridge, MA)Home to more than 3,000 incunabula and extensive collections of early printed books, especially in English. Houses a special collection of the work of Samuel Johnson.
- Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library (Yale University, New Haven, CT)Early printing is represented by nearly 4,000 incunabula and an extensive collection of sixteenth-century imprints, with substantial holdings in Greek and Latin classics, Italian, French, English, and Neo-Latin literature, Reformation theology, and New World exploration.
- The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens (San Marino, CA)The Huntington holds 5,500 incunabula, the second-largest collection in the Western Hemisphere (after the Library of Congress). The collections focus on British and American history and literature, the history of science and technology, and the history of the book.
- The Getty Research Institute (Los Angeles)The special collections contain rare and unique materials in selected areas of art history and visual culture. Predominately works on paper, these collections include rare books, prints, and photographs.
- The Latin American Library at Tulane University (New Orleans)The rare book collection is one of the most comprehensive in the United States for Latin America and the Caribbean. A rich resource for research on the history, painted books, and cultures of central Mexico.
- The University of Texas at AustinThe library system includes both the Harry Ransom Center, which collects rare books, and the Benson Latin American Collection, which holds early American imprints.
Mexico
- Biblioteca Nacional de México (Mexico City)The National Library of Mexico is home to 170 European incunabula and many early Mexican imprints.
- Biblioteca Palafoxiana (Puebla)Founded in 1646 by Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, the Bishop of Puebla, the Palafox Library holds a rich collection of early printed books from Europe and Mexico, housed in a colonial Baroque building.
Interior of the Palafox Library in Puebla, Mexico
- Patrimonio Cultural Tecnológico de MonterreyThe rare book collections of the library of the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey include a Cervantes Collection featuring all of the early Mexican editions of Don Quixote.
- Biblioteca Histórica José María Lafragua (Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla)With collections dating back to 1587 and the founding of the Jesuit university in Puebla, the library holds 55,000 books printed before 1900, including numerous early imprints from Europe and the Americas.
- Biblioteca Armando Olivares Carrillo (Universidad de Guanajuato)The rare books library at the University of Guanajuato contains early printed books from Europe and New Spain (Mexico).
- Biblioteca Francisco de Burgoa (Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca)The Francisco de Burgoa Library holds many collections that once belonged to monastic libraries around Mexico during the colonial period. The library's website notes that most of the books arrived from Europe, having "endured the interminable hours of voyage, storms, shipwrecks, and pirate attacks."
- Primeros Libros de las AméricasA digitized collection of books printed in the Americas before 1601.
Canada
- Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library (University of Toronto)Strengths of the collection include more than 200 incunabula, Spanish and Italian plays of the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, Italian Renaissance poetry, and special collections of Rousseau and Voltaire.
- McGill University Library (Montréal)The Rare Books division holds around 140 incunabula, and the Osler Library of the History of Medicine holds about 150 more. Both libraries also have collections of books printed between 1501 and 1700.
