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Rare Books Collection at the Center for Archival Collections: Named Collections

Named Collections

The Robert Aickman Collection (Rare, SC-A, SC-B, others) is the private library of the noted British theater critic and writer of occult fiction.  It includes works on the supernatural, the theater, opera and ballet; England’s inland waterways; and nineteenth and twentieth century literature and history.  

The Carol Berge Collection (Rare, SC-A, SC-B) is the private library of American poet Carol Berge, focusing on her work and the work of her friends from about 1975 to 2000.  

 The George Washington Cable Collection (SC-A) contains first and early editions of many of this Creole writer’s books.  

 The William Dean Howells Collection (Rare) includes first and signed editions of most of Howell’s works.

 The Robert R. Hubach Walt Whitman Collection includes copies of works by Walt Whitman, biographies, criticism, and periodicals. Related materials in the general Rare Books Collection include copies of each edition of Leaves of Grass published during Whitman’s lifetime, including the first edition.

 The Philip F. O’Connor Collection (Rare, SC-A, SC-B, others) includes first or second printings of books which were Pulitzer Prize nominees in fiction when O’Connor served on the Pulitzer Committee.  A large number of books from O’Connor’s professional library have been added.

The Eugene F. Ockuly FDR Collection (Rare) is an extensive collection of books, periodicals, pamphlets, campaign materials, correspondence, press releases and photographs relating to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s life and times.

 The Parnell Collection (Rare, SC-A, SC-B) was part of a private library focusing on eighteenth and early nineteenth century British literature, collected by a retired BGSU professor of English.

 The Maxfield Parrish Collection (Rare, SC-A) includes books, periodicals, calendars, and other material containing works by the noted American illustrator, most dating from the period 1890-1930.  The collection is highlighted by a number of Parrish prints.

 The Robert Peters Collection (Rare, SC-A, SC-B) includes poetry books and periodicals with a strong emphasis on late twentieth century poetry.  

The Sam Pollock Collection (Pollock, Rare, SC-A, others) was a private library of a prominent Cleveland labor leader with a strong emphasis on labor history, Communism, socialism, health care, and the fine arts.  

 The Professor H. Glendon Steele Collection (Rare, SC-A, SC-B, others) was a private library of several thousand volumes, with an emphasis on limited editions of nineteenth and twentieth century literature and the history of religion.

 The Nancy G. Steen Collection (Rare, SC-A, SC-B, others) was a part of the private library of BGSU’s first Rare Books librarian.  The collection highlights include small press publications, first editions, and poetry.  A manuscript collection supplements the books.

 The Stranahan Poetry Collection (Rare, SC-A) is the gift of a private library of poetry and poetry-related materials.  It includes many first and early editions of predominantly nineteenth and early twentieth century poets.