Enquiries to:

Tel +44 (0)20 7848 2701

Fax +44 (0)20 7848 2887

booklib@courtauld.ac.uk

 


The Book Library’s Special Collections consist of a number of bequests from former members of staff of the Institute and scholars who have been associated with The Courtauld over the years. There is also a general collection comprised of rare and fragile material.

NEW: February 2010 Newsletter

 

October 2009 Newsletter

 

The majority of the items held in Special Collections are accessible through the card catalogue or the computer system. All material acquired since 1992 is available through the Book Library’s online catalogue and can also be searched using the COPAC catalogue.

Paul Gauguin. Noa Noa. Berlin
Paul Gauguin. Noa Noa. Berlin, 1926

 

The Book Library also holds archives bequeathed to it mostly by former members of staff. The largest collections are research papers of Anthony Blunt, Johannes Wilde and T.S.R. Boase; but there is also correspondence by Lord Lee of Fareham, one of The Institute founders; correspondence and diaries of the artists Augustus Callcott, Philip Wilson Steer and James Duffield Harding, as well as, the architect Philip Webb. Contact the Special Collections Librarian to request more complete lists of the archives. Alternatively, the archives are listed on AIM25 for archives in the London and M25 area.

 

Consulting Special Collections material

 

Researchers are advised to read the Guide to the Special Collections [PDF] or the Archives Guide [PDF] for information on admissions before visiting the Library. Please also check the computer catalogue to ensure the titles you wish to see are available. Material from the archives needs to be requested a week in advance, while books from the special collections can be ordered on the day by completing the request form.

The collection times for special collection and archive requests are as follows:

Term-Time
10.30am, 14.15pm, 17.00pm Monday-Friday


Vacations
11.00am, 14.15pm, 16.00pm Monday-Friday

Readers are asked to take great care when handling items from the Special Collections as items are often in a fragile condition. All material must be consulted at the special collections table by the issue desk. Book rests are available in the Library and readers should only use pencil when making notes. Photographing from Special Collections material (without using a flash) is permitted for private research and study. Photocopying may be permitted on the advice of the librarian, depending on the age, condition and size of the item.

 

The collections

 


General Collection (CABS)
The general CABS collection comprises approximately 3500 items acquired either by donation or purchase since the Institute was founded in the 1930s. The subjects covered reflect those of the Book Library in general, i.e. art and architecture in the Western tradition from classical times to the present day. The collection includes books, exhibition catalogues, sales catalogues and pamphlets published between the 16th-century and the present day. Noteworthy items include a copy of the first illustrated edition of Vasari's lives (1568), Galleria Giustiniani (163-?), Colen Campbell's Vitruvius Britannicus (1715) and Piranesi's Vedute di Roma (1748).


Blunt Collection
Professor Anthony Blunt (1907-1983) was Director of the Institute from 1947 to 1974. His library comprises approximately 700 antiquarian volumes, the earliest dating from the 16th-century and a similar quantity of 19th- and 20th-century material. Particular strengths include Italian Baroque architecture and 17th-century French art and architecture.


Seilern Collection
A general art historical collection bequeathed to the Institute by Count Antoine Seilern (1901-1978). The collection reflects Seilern's art collecting activities, especially Venetian artists of the 16th- and 18th-centuries and Peter Paul Rubens.


Wilde Collection
Professor Johannes Wilde (1891-1970) was Deputy Director of the Institute from 1948 to 1958. The particular strengths of his library include Renaissance art, Michelangelo, 16th-century Venetian painting and Florentine art.


Antal Collection
The collection reflects the scholarly interests of Dr. Frederick Antal (1887-1954), a former lecturer at the Institute. Particular strengths include British 18th- and 19th-century artists including Hogarth and Fuseli.

Boase Collection
Dr.Thomas Sherrer Ross Boase (1898-1974), Director of the Institute from 1937 to 1947, bequeathed his collection to The Institute. The items in this collection are mainly concerned with the history of the Crusades, Islamic and Christian monuments and architecture in the Middle East. The collection also includes some 19th-century travel guides.

Portfolios Collection
There is an extensive collection of portfolios that reflects the subjects contained in the book collections. They range from reproductions from museum collections to architectural series on chateaux in France; from Byzantine wall paintings to publications of the Dürer Society; from embroidery to the drawings of Hans Holbein. This collection is not on the online catalogue and requests require advance notice.