Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room (Library of Congress)

The Library of Congress : Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room : Rare Book and Special Collections Division

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Notice: All Library of Congress research centers are closed to the public (including researchers and others with reader identification cards) until further notice to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 coronavirus. All Library-sponsored public programs are also postponed or cancelled until further notice. Online resources and reference services, such as Ask a Librarian, will continue to be available during this time. For more information, see: www.loc.gov/coronavirus.

Fresh Off the Digital Press

Healthful sports for young ladies: illustrated by eleven elegant engravings from drawings by J. Dugourc ... accompanied by descriptions. London: Printed for R. Ackermann, Repository of Arts, 101 Strand, by W. Clowes, Northumberland-Court, [1822]

Featured Finding Aid

McManus-Young Clipping Collection of Materials on Magic

Also see the McManus-Young Magic Collection

Featured Event

Beginning on October 26, the Rare Book & Special Collections Division launches its first crowdsourcing transcription campaign:

Seers, Spiritualists, and the Spirit World: The Experiments of Frederick Hockley

The campaign will focus on Frederick Hockley (1808-1885), British Spiritualist, Freemason, and member of the Rosicrucian Society who spent over 60 years researching Spiritualism and experimenting with ways of communicating with “the beyond.” These rare and unusual manuscripts are housed in the Harry Houdini Collection in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.

Featured Blog
Old Copyright Submissions — Hawthorne, Twain, Douglass and Thousands More

Location:
101 Independence Ave. SE
Thomas Jefferson Building, LJ 239
Washington, D.C. 20540-4740
Contact Information
Map showing location

Hours:
Weekdays, 8:30am-5:00 pm
* Final book requests at 4:15pm
Closed Sat/Sun & Federal holidays

Ask a Librarian
Want to ask our reference staff a question about the rare book & special collections?

Featured NEW Digital Collection

Early Copyright Records Collection 1790-1870

The documents in this collection are the result of the first federal copyright laws in 1790 and 1831 (as amended) and contain the early copyright records and material held by the federal district courts and numerous government offices in Washington, DC.

The unique materials of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, now totaling over 800,000 items, include books, broadsides, pamphlets, theater playbills, prints, posters, photographs, and medieval and Renaissance manuscripts. At the center is Thomas Jefferson's book collection, which was sold to Congress in 1815.

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The Library of Congress >> Researchers
October 21, 2020

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