Overview
The Special Collections Books are located on the 5th floor of Harriet Irving Library and housed in the closed stacks of the UNB Archives & Special Collections unit. This library unit collects and preserves UNB institutional records as well as the private, historical and literary papers, books, and other published materials relating to New Brunswick and the Maritime provinces. In addition to unpublished, archival materials, UNB A&SC holds over 30 book collections ranging in publication period from early modern to contemporary and in subject coverage from arts to natural sciences. Detailed description of select collections can be found on the Book Collections page. Work is ongoing to provide additional descriptions to make holdings more transparent and findable.
The following guide focuses on research resources about books produced in the early era of printing, prior to mechanization, and highlights original works in UNB Archives & Special Collections. Books from this period were uniquely crafted objects shaped by the varied conditions of their production. Located across the following five collections, there are approximately 160 items printed between 1496-1700 and over 1,300 items printed in the 18th century:
Rare Books Collection (HIL-SPECRB): contains most of the library's holdings from the hand press period covering a variety of subject fields from late 1400s to late 1700s. It includes the 1496 incunable Perceptorium diuine legis venerabilis fratis Johannis Nider de ordine predicatorum, the earliest printed book in Special Collections.
Lord Beaverbrook Collection of Rare Books (HIL-SPECBC): contains 16th- and 17th-century Bible commentaries, sermons, theological treatises by Calvin and Knox, and over 100 works published in the 18th-century, mostly British colonial histories including 50 works designated as early Canadiana.
King's College Book Collection (HIL-SPECKC): contains several 17th-century sermons and theological treatises by mostly British, post-reformation scholars as well as 180 works published in the 18th-century covering the fields of theology and other subjects in the curriculum at King's College (1829 –1859), such a mathematics, engineering, physics, and optics.
Montgomery-Campbell Book Collection (HIL-SPECMC): contains several 16th- and 17th-centry works on ancient Greek, Roman, and British history and over 90 works from the 18th-century covering mostly English literature and European history.
Leo Ferrari Book Collection (HIL-SPECLF): contains several uncatalogued 17th-century works of post-reformation theology, church history, and reprints of early theological works.
Teaching with Early Printed Books
In my role as Special Collections Librarian, I welcome opportunities to give customized presentations on topics related to book history that include hands-on sessions in the library where students work with book artifacts aided by worksheets with questions to help guide book exploration. My go-to resource for instruction is Sara Werner's online portal Early Printed Books: Resources for Learning and Teaching as well her book, listed below. Her pedagogical tools, such as the "Looking at Books" worksheet, help craft meaningful learning experiences with early printed books for students.
Book History and Bibliography: Useful Starting Points
Browse this sample of key overview sources from UNB Libraries' collections in the fields of book history and bibliography. Bibliography, in this context, means "the study of the lives of material books, widely defined, including their production, circulation, and reception" (Maruca and Ozmet, 2022, 231).
Keep in mind that books with a HIL-REF or a HIL-SPCREF location code can still be signed out of the library.
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Dane, Joseph A. What Is a Book?: The Study of Early Printed Books. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2012. [print and e-book; HIL-STACKS Z1001 .D227 2012 ]
- Fleming, Patricia, and Yvan Lamonde, eds. History of the Book in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004. [HIL-STACKS Z206 .H58 2004, v. 1-3]
- Gameson, Richard, Nigel J. Morgan, Rodney M. Thomson, Lotte Hellinga, J. B. Trapp, John Barnard, David McKitterick, et al., eds. The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999. [print and e-book; HIL-STACKS Z8 .G7 C36 1998, v. 1-7]
- Gaskell, Philip. A New Introduction to Bibliography. [Corr. ed.]. Winchester, UK, New Castle, Del., New York: St. Paul’s Bibliographies ; Oak Knoll Press ; Distributed in the USA by Lyons & Burford, 1995. [HIL-SPCREF Z116 .A2 G27 1995]
- Howsam, Leslie, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the History of the Book. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015. [e-book}
- Maruca, Lisa, and Kate Ozment. 2022. “What Is Critical Bibliography?” Criticism 64 (3/4): 231–36. doi:10.1353/crt.2022.a899716.
- Pearson, David. Provenance Research in Book History: A Handbook. London, New Castle, De.: British Library ; Oak Knoll Press, 1998. [HIL-STACKS Z994 .G7 P43 1998]
- Suarez, Michael F., and H. R. Woudhuysen, eds. The Book: A Global History. First edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. [e-book]
- Suarez, Michael F., and H. R. Woudhuysen, eds. The Oxford Companion to the Book. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. [print and e-book; HIL-REF Z4 .O946 2010]
- Tanselle, G. Thomas. Bibliographical Analysis: A Historical Introduction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009. [HIL-SPCREF Z1001.3 .T36 2009}
- Tanselle, G. Thomas, and University of Virginia Bibliographical Society. Descriptive Bibliography. Charlottesville: The Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia, 2020. [HIL-SPCREF Z1001 .T244 2020]
- Werner, Sarah. Studying Early Printed Books, 1450-1800: A Practical Guide. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell, 2019. [HIL-SPCREF Z124 .W47 2019]
