Rare Books

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Lafayette’s rare book holdings of some 20,000 titles include incunabula—among them the magnificent Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493—and other early imprints reflecting the development of printing during the hand-press period (ca. 1450-1800). The collection also includes important works from the last two centuries—first editions of Charles Dickens, productions from William Morris’s Kelmscott Press, and photogravures of Edward S. Curtis’s The North American Indian. The rare books are searchable by author, title, subject, and keyword in the library’s catalog.

Marquis De Lafayette

Skillman Library maintains a growing collection of published works about the man for whom the College is named. Particular strengths include biographical sources, children’s literature, 18th century imprints concerning Lafayette in the French Revolution, works documenting Lafayette’s 1824-25 "Farewell Tour" of America, and works on Franco-American friendship, particularly the assistance rendered by France to America during the American Revolution and America to France in World War I.

Slavery and Abolition

A new collecting area for Skillman, this collection concentrates on the period from the late 18th century to 1850 and includes a variety of texts—abolitionist poetry, anti-slavery periodicals, colonization-related publications, and artists’ books and broadsides that provide contemporary reflections on slavery, as well on issues of race and civil rights.

Angling

The library's angling collections include the three named collections—the Tinsman, Conahay, and Fox Collections—as well as recently acquired holdings. Areas of emphasis include British and American angling classics, fine bindings, angling literature, women in angling, and fish-themed artists' books.

Artists' Books

Skillman Library actively collects contemporary artists' books—books that reflect the creative vision of individual artists. Holdings include works by prominent book artists and private presses. Represented in the collection are a wide range of physical formats from flip books to book sculptures.

Howard Chandler Christy

Howard Chandler Christy (1873-1952) was an American artist and illustrator and one of the most popular artists in the American book and magazine market in the early 1900s up to the beginning of World War I. During this period, he created the famous “Christy Girl”—his interpretation of the ideal American woman.

Food Studies Collections

Food studies is a burgeoning field to understand the daily experiences and economic lives of people in the past, intersecting closely with history, English, science and technology studies, anthropology, and gender studies. Food implicates questions of power, inclusion, and exclusion in its own right and in relation to other studies of commodities, cultures, and identities.

Miniature Books

The nucleus of the collection was the gift from the Jane W. Conneen Estate in 2008, containing over 400 volumes of miniature books. The collection includes mostly works from 20th century American miniature book presses, including Conneen's Little Farm Press imprint.

Modern Literary Collections

The Modern Literary Collections began with several large book donations from Lafayette College alumnus Joseph E. Nechasek '62 that focused on first editions by American authors William Faulkner and Robert Stone. Additional donations expanded the collection to include works by international authors, the writings of African American women, and contemporary immigration literature.