Special Collections  Tags: history humanities primary_sources literature medieval middle_ages renaissance judaica special_collections brandeis_library_information  

See images from the World War I and World War II Propaganda Posters Collection at Special Collections Spotlight. A detailed finding aid is available here, and an online exhibit is available here.

Fifteenth-century Flemish Book of Hours at Brandeis University Special Collections

The Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections department, located on level 2 of Goldfarb, houses the gems of the Brandeis library. Special Collections consists of both rare books and original manuscripts. The rare book collection includes incunabula; books published in the 16th - 18th centuries on such subjects as history, English and American literature, philosophy, and Judaica; first and limited editions; and fine press publications. Book collections of note include the Baldwin Shakespeare collection and the McKew-Parr Collection on Magellan and the Age of Discovery. Special Collections also holds literary manuscripts of European and American authors such as John Cheever and Joseph Heller, as well as music collections and photographic collections. In addition, it includes collections of materials on the Spanish Civil War, left- and right-wing movements in the United States in the latter half of the twentieth century, anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, twentieth-century anti-alien and anti-radical movements in the United States, and Zionism. The department also includes the papers of prominent political figures such as Louis D. Brandeis, Benjamin Disraeli, and Daniel Webster. 

A list of collections is available on our website. You can search for rare books by doing Advanced Search in LOUIS, where you can limit by date as well as by collection (choose "Rare Books and Special Collections"). Also see Special Collections Spotlight, which provides a close online look at rare and fascinating individual items from the special collections of Brandeis Libraries, including unique manuscripts, rare books, and unusual ephemera. Click on the link from the Archives and Special Collections home page, or go directly to http://brandeisspecialcollections.blogspot.com. Many of the detailed descriptions are written by Brandeis graduate students and faculty.

The Special Collections department is open from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. Please call or email (contact information at right) to make an appointment. We welcome students, faculty members, and outside researchers.

Looking for manuscript collections related to Brandeis University, such as university and student publications, faculty papers, yearbooks, photographs, theses and dissertations, alumni publications and papers, architectural plans, memorabilia, et cetera? Go to the Archival Resources Libguide for help.