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ENGLISH BOOKS, EARLY PRINTED, 1475-1700

  • The Library has substantial holdings of early printed English books. Access is through the public catalogues and copies of STC and Wing marked for the Library's holdings. STC and Wing are shelved in the ExB collection. See also: Landmarks of English Literature; a Checklist of an Exhibition. (Princeton, 1965) [(ExB) 0639.739 no. 35] [full text]..

    Records of books purchased or given in the fields of English literature and history (which, of course, includes English books printed 1475-1700) are to be found in the various recent issues of the Chronicle. As a point of departure, refer to the Princeton University Library Chronicle XXV,2 (Winter, 1964) p. 160-172; [ full text], XXVII, 3 (Spring, 1966) p. 194-5 [ full text]; XXVIII, 3 (Spring, 1967) p. 193-4 [ full text]; XXIX, 2 (Winter, 1968) p. 156-60 [ full text]; XXX, 2 (Winter, 1969) p. 132-141 [ full text]; XXXI, 2 (Winter, 1970) p. 139-148 [ full text]; XXXII, 3 (Spring, 1971) p. 180-83 [ full text]; XXXIV, 1 (Autumn, 1972) p. 80-84 [ full text]; XXXIV, 3 (Spring, 1973) p. 186-191 [ full text]. Also, every Autumn issue of the Princeton University Library Chronicle between 1974 and 2011 (except 1976) has listed books relevant to this topic in the section called 'New & Notable.'

    Statistics on STC holdings, according to the latest census taken in 1972: the Library has about 1400 titles; the Robert H. Taylor Collection has about 285; the Scheide Library has 70. Details are in a folder on STC books in the files of the Curator of Rare Books. Note: At Special Collections in the VanPelt Library of the University of Pennsylvania, there are about 23,000 items from the STC Collection of books and broadsides in xerographic form available for consultation by readers. Princeton faculty and students have access to the UPenn library.

    In 2003, the Library subsrcribed to EEBO, Early English Books Online. This service gives access to digital images of STC and Wing period books. 

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