AGSL Rare Materials Collection

Nicolas Fremont d'Abla[i]ncourt. Suite du Neptune Francois, ou Atlas Nouveau des Cartes Marines, Amsterdam: Pierre Mortier, 1700.

The AGS Library contains items ranging in date from the fifteenth century to the present day. Many of these items are extremely rare and valuable. An example is a world map dated 1452 by Giovanni Leardo, which is one of only three known world maps by this Venetian cartographer; also a 1478 Rome edition, on vellum, of Ptolemy’s Cosmographia. In general, a cut-off date of 1900 separates those materials in the AGS Library which are considered "rare" from the so called "working" collection. Age, however, is not the only factor used in assigning an item the "rare" designation. Uniqueness, special format, or fragile condition can all lead to an item’s classification as "rare".

The AGSL’s holdings of rare books, periodicals, maps, and atlases are housed in a special environmentally controlled and monitored room within the Library. An extensive collection of early Western photography is also housed there.

Theodore de Bry: America sive novus orbis Frankfurt: 1596 This beautifully engraved map is decorated with corner portraits of our famous explorers, including Christopher Columbus in the upper left corner. Decorative lettering, sea monsters, and sailing ships are depicted on the map itself. This is one of the best of the widely distributed maps of the New World to be published in the late 1500's showing European knowledge of the world at that time.

While recognizing the necessity of preserving these rare materials for future generations, the AGS Library staff strives to make them as accessible as possible to patrons. A reading room adjacent to the Rare Materials Room provides an area for research and study. Although photocopying of rare items is generally not permitted, photography or scanning can sometimes be used as alternatives.

 

 

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