Special Collections Rare Books Unit
Thee rare book collection, amounting to over 50,000 volumes, includes books dating from 1481 to the present.
Outstanding collection strengths are int he fields of Tennesseana, Native American History, 19th Century American Literature (with many important first editions), Early Voyages and Travels, and Early Imprints (examples from notable presses).
American history from 1820 to 1870 (the period embracing the Presidencies of Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and Andrew Johnson) forms another major area of concentration.
And there are definitive collections of the works of William Congreve and Jane Austen, as well as a fine, growing collection of 18th and 19th century hymn-books and shape-note song books and a collection of 18th and 19th century medical books.
For more information, please contact the Special Collections Library.
Title page of a Tennessee Hymnal
showing the rare Pumpkintown imprint
Selected Bibliographies
For the convenience of those interested in working with this collection, the library has prepared several bibliographies covering our most prominent collections.
A Bibliography of James Agee's Work