Special Collections & Research

Special Collections Overview

Special Collections Overview

Pequot Library has housed a rare books and manuscripts collection since it opened in 1894.  The initial rare books collection was developed with a focus on early Americana and local history.  Today, thanks to a number of significant private gifts/donations, the library’s Special Collections include a diverse set of materials that range in date from a set of cuneiform tablets acquired by the Monroes on their travels to twentieth century first editions of American literature.  The rare books and manuscripts collection housed at the library includes incunabula (books printed before 1501), medieval manuscripts and manuscript fragments, notable volumes of nineteenth century color lithographs by John James Audubon, John Gould, and others, and a collection of World War I and World War II ephemera.

The Americana collection assembled by Rev. William Holman, Virginia Marquand Monroe, and Elbert Monroe, with a later contribution by Mary Catherine Hull Wakeman, focused on early American imprints, with an emphasis on New England.  Highlights include a collection of early American primers, pamphlets from the Revolutionary War, editions of printed edicts, and manuscript compendia of local laws.  A portion of this collection was placed on long-term deposit at Yale’s university library in 1952, and these materials are currently housed onsite at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library.  The 855 printed books and 1063 manuscripts are described in a catalog produced in 1960, titled “Americana of the Pequot Library”, and can also be found online through the Beinecke Library’s catalogs and finding aids.  However, many significant items from the Americana collection remain onsite at Pequot Library, such as our 1776 Norwich edition of Common Sense, sermons and other theological works from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, a selection of early primers, and ephemeral materials like early printed colonial and United States currency and edicts.  The Monroes were also enthusiastic collectors of material on Native Americans from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.

The Children’s Historical Collection was born from the growing circulating collection of children’s books acquired over the decades at Pequot Library, and includes editions from the late nineteenth to twentieth centuries.  This collection includes early editions of periodicals like Chatterbox, first editions of Louisa May Alcott’s works, and Kate Greenaway editions.  A notable feature of this collection is the provenance evidence from young readers that it contains.  Researchers working on this collection may also find the eighteenth and early nineteenth century primers and chapbooks in the Americana collection useful. 

In addition to the institutional records of the Library, the archival holdings within Special Collections include papers and manuscripts from other local institutions, as well as collections of papers and records compiled by friends of Rev. Holman and the Monroes.  These papers include legal documents, business records, letters, and other manuscripts from the Southport and Fairfield area from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.

Notable other Collections include:

• The George Platt Brett, Jr. collection, a collection of books and papers Brett amassed while serving as chairman of the American division of Macmillan Publishing.  This includes Margaret Mitchell’s manuscript of the final four chapters of Gone with the Wind. as well as an impressive collection of international editions. 
• The Claire Leighton collection, which includes notes, sketches, personal correspondence, and trial prints, as well as editions of books illustrated and signed by Leighton.
• The Dean Stockett Edmunds collection, a major donation of Shakesepeareana that includes a partial First Folio, and complete Second, Third, and Fourth Folios.
• A collection of Fine Press imprints including 40 Kelmscott Press editions, and books from the library of Eric Gill.

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Scheduling an Appointment

The Dillon Reading Room is available by appointment from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, unless otherwise noted.  All reading room appointments must be supervised by a member of staff.

To make an appointment, you must first complete our Reader Registration Form.  Upon completing the registration form, please send an email to specialcollections@pequotlibrary.org, indicating the materials requested and the desired date(s) and time(s) to view them.  Appointments should be scheduled at least one week in advance.  Some items in the collection are stored offsite, and require advance notice to ensure retrieval of all materials.  This delivery window is generally one week, but may vary.

Readers will be asked to provide a photo ID at each visit to the reading room.

Groups of three or more people will require at least two week’s notice.  For these larger groups, it may be advantageous to consider our School Program offerings as an alternative to a Reading Room appointment.

Readers are permitted to take digital images of items in our collection with their personal devices.  However, prior permission must be obtained from library staff before shooting, and flash is not permitted.  There are no restrictions on images intended for personal research use.

Pequot Library does not charge publication fees for scholars incorporating images and excerpts from our holdings into their published work.  Researchers and readers who wish to use our materials in their publications must notify the library in advance, in order to ensure proper credit is given.

Reference Inquiries
For general questions about our holdings, including information on unprocessed collections, please send an email to specialcollections@pequotlibrary.org.  

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Bring Your Students

Pequot Library hosts sessions using Special Collections materials for a wide variety of school groups from middle school to postgraduate-level classes.  We offer a variety of programs based on previous exhibitions, as well as custom programs upon request.Visit our Education Programs page for more details.

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