British & American Religion and Politics
The Rare Book Collection houses over 20,000 seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth century English tracts, pamphlets, broadsides and ephemera. They are especially rich in works about English religious life and controversies. For example, more than 200 deal with the Popish Plot of 1678. Anonymous pamphlets on a variety of political topics now attributed to Daniel Defoe are also available. Selected pamphlets can be accessed online through the HathiTrust.
Guides to selected tracts include:
English Dissent; Catalogue to an Exhibition of Eighteenth Century Pamphlets, 18 October to 18 November 1979 by Margaret A. Howell and Charles F. Mullett.
These materials are of particular interest to scholars of religious history and press freedom.
How to Use the Collection
With a few exceptions, the collections can be accessed and requested through the library catalog. Finding aids for individual collections are linked on this website. Materials are available for use in the Special Collections Reading Room (room 401) during regular hours. Materials do not circulate.
Finding Aids for British & American Religion and Politics
Daniel Webster Speeches Collection, 1806-1932.
Scope and Contents The Daniel Webster Speeches Collection contains pamphlets of speeches made by and about Daniel Webster, for the most part…
Fourth of July Orations Collection.
The Fourth of July Orations Collection contains published pamphlets of addresses made on Independence Day from 1791-1925. The speeches explore topics…
John Tinney McCutcheon Collection of Editorial Cartoons.
Biographical Sketch John Tinney McCutcheon (1870-1949) is often referred to as “the Dean of Cartoonists” and is best known for his political and…
Rare Books
The Rare Books Collection is the default designation for materials in Special Collections that are acquired as individual items. Like Special…
Walter Williams Library.
Historical Note Walter Williams (1864-1935) was President of the University of Missouri from 1930 – 1935 and served as Dean of the School of…
Selected Items
1776-1876, July 4th, City of New Haven, Centennial Celebration under direction of the Joint Special Committee of the City Council : for the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of American independence : programme.
Contents: Fourth of July parade. General order of the Chief Marshal ; Order of procession ; Programme of fireworks -- Grand centennial concert :…
A thanksgiving sermon : preached at St. Lucia, the Sunday after the hurricane in October, 1780, on board His Majesty's Ship Vengeance, Capt. Holloway, and before Commodore Hotham / by the Rev. P. Touch.
vii, 1 unnumbered page, 35 pages, 1 unnumbered page ; 21 cm (8vo)
Signatures: [A]-E⁴ F².
Scotland's sin, danger, and duty : faithfully represented in a sermon preach'd at the West-Kirk, August 23d, 1696 : being a solemn fast-day upon occasion of the great dearth and famine / by Mr. David Williamson ... ; then, taken from his mouth in short-hand ; and now ... publish'd, as a word in season, by Mr. John Williamson.
44 pages ; 20 cm (4to)
Signatures: A², B-I⁴.
On texts: Proverbs XIII, 6; Joshua VII, 13; Ezekiel XXXIII, 1-6.