The Manuscript Collection consists of historically significant nineteenth and twentieth-century business records, personal papers, and other ephemeral items produced in southeast Pennsylvania by individuals or organizations located in the region. The collection primarily focuses upon unpublished materials from Lancaster, Chester, Berks, Lebanon, Dauphin and York counties. Included in the collection are diaries, ledgers, notebooks, photographs and other miscellaneous materials relevant to the history and cultural development of southeastern Pennsylvania.
For information on the reproduction of publications held in the Rare Book Collection, click here: FAQs
Search our manuscripts finding aids here: Finding Aids
The Special Collections Unit acquires several different categories of Rare Books, including miniature books, autographed editions, first editions, limited editions, private press publications and books with unique bindings.
To view rare books that have been digitized, click here: TIND
Examples include:
Woodbridge Collection
The Margaret Woodbridge Collection includes books, articles, published correspondence, exhibition catalogs, photographs, playbills, manuscripts, reviews, and broadsides by and about 19th and 20th century women authors.
Rousseau Collection
The Joseph Rousseau Collection includes books, ciphering books, periodicals, and ephemera covering arithmetic, algebra, geometry, mathematics education, and associated disciplines such as business mathematics, geography education, measurement, and surveying, from 1561 to 1986
Pennsylvania Imprint Collection
The Pennsylvania Imprint Collection includes books published in Pennsylvania prior to 1850. The collection contains books printed in Lancaster, Philadelphia, and other counties in the region.
Wickersham Pedagogical Collection
This collection was the private library of James P. Wickersham, the second principal of the Normal School and one of the founders of Millersville University.
For information on the reproduction of publications held in the Rare Book Collection, click here: FAQs
