Occidental College
Library
Collections
Overview
We have significant collections on the following topics: poet Robinson Jeffers, rare books printed before 1800, fine printing, artists' books, printing history, miniature books, master printer Ward Ritchie '28, mystery and detective fiction, English romantic poets, Abraham Lincoln, aviation, railroads, California history, Northeast Los Angeles, Latin American history, and the Japanese American relocation during World War II.
And there's more: please scroll down to see all our holdings. The list is in alphabetical order by collection name.
15th through 17th Centuries Imprints
Among the library's treasures are 143 rare works published between 1450 and 1699, such as a page from the Gutenberg Bible and several Aldine editions. Oxy History Professor Maryanne Horowitz has prepared online studies about two of Oxy's rare atlases by notable early cartographers:
Abraham Ortelius, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Plantin Press, 1579
John Speed, Theater of the Empire of Great Britaine, 1611
18th through Early 19th Century Imprints
Includes many classics, and works that were important in the development of printing and typography such as books printed by John Baskerville and Giambattista Bodoni.
Artists' Books Collection
Over 240 examples of books designed, published, printed and illustrated by artists. This genre represents the evolution of book design as a creative endeavor.
William Jennings Bryan Collection
Books, family letters, newspaper clippings, sound recordings, and mementos by and about former statesman and Scopes trial prosecutor, William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925). The official correspondence of Bryan is housed at the Library of Congress.
Robert E. Carney Collection of John F. Kennedy
Mr. Robert E. Carney presented the College with a fine collection of about 110 books on the late President John F. Kennedy. Many books are about the assassination, and there are about 20 photo books illustrating the Kennedy White House, Cape Cod Compound, and Jacqueline Kennedy. The majority of titles are out of print; some are scarce.
Robert Glass Cleland Collection on Latin America
Robert Glass Cleland, class of 1907, was an authority on Mexican and Californian history and a professor, dean, and vice president at Oxy. His collection of 1,200 books contains early bibliographies, histories, and government reports on Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, Peru, Uruguay and El Salvador in English, Spanish, French, and German.
Carl Dentzel Collection
Carl Dentzel was director of the Southwest Museum of the American Indian (now part of the Autry National Center) in Northeast Los Angeles. He assembled an excellent collection on World War II propaganda, consisting of research, published reports, booklets, radio broadcasts and correspondence from international, national, and local government sources.
E. L. Doheny Research Foundation Collection
The E. L. Doheny Research Foundation funded a team of experts in several disciplines to go to Mexico and analyze the economic, political, and social climate of the country, circa 1917. Several Oxy-related historians were part of the team. There are primary materials, notes, typewritten reports, original interviews and studies.
Nelson Eddy Music Collection
Several 20th century operatic scores, sheet music and books on music from the personal library of actor and singer Nelson Eddy. The 47 document boxes (39 linear feet) of indexed sheet music provide a diverse representation of world music.
Fine Printing Collection
Over 3,000 books and several boxes of ephemera created by small private presses dedicated to the craft of fine printing and bookmaking, with an emphasis on California printers.
General Rarities Collection
Single gifts and purchases assembled in one general collection. There are first editions, unique and fragile bindings, autographed works, items purchased to enhance other collecting areas, or gifts from prominent donors.
Anthony F. Greno Collection
Books, maps, tourist information, travel brochures, magazines and newspapers, focusing primarily on Mexico, California and the West, and Los Angeles interurban rail lines.
The Ned Guymon Mystery and Detective Fiction Collection
About 16,000 volumes of first editions, plus manuscripts, film scripts, periodicals and photographs pertaining to mystery and detective fiction, from 1740 to 1975. The collection is very rich in Sherlock Holmes; highlights of Gothic fiction are also well represented. Donated by Oxy alumnus E. T. Guymon, Jr., this is one of the world's largest collections in this genre.
The Max and Virginia Hayward Californiana Collection
Max E. Hayward of Hayward Lumber & Investment Co., and his wife Virginia donated in 1937 about 500 volumes of narratives and histories of early exploration of California, its settlement, gold rush, missions, natural history, and tourism.
Osgood Hardy Collection
Dr. Paul Osgood Hardy was professor of Hispanic-American history at Occidental. The collection includes his manuscripts, speeches (1913-1930), travel papers (1912-1919), and publications; also his personal diary of summer travels in Mexico containing postcards, photographs and ephemera of the region. Of special interest are documents related to the 1913-1916 Yale Peruvian Expedition to excavate Machu Picchu.
Bill Henry Collection
Materials preserved from the personal library of Los Angeles Times columnist and Olympic historian, William Mellors "Bill" Henry (1890-1970), class of 1914. Includes manuscripts, letters, press clippings, photographs, ephemera and memorabilia documenting Olympic games from 1932 to the present, 20th century Los Angeles history, presidential campaigns, and the development of aviation in Southern California. To browse a selection of materials from the Bill Henry Collection, please visit the digital collection. To learn about Bill Henry and the development of Los Angeles during the 20th century visit the online exhibit. For a full list of Oxy's Bill Henry collection visit our finding aid.
K. Garth Huston Plantin Press Collection
Approximately 150 books printed by the Plantin Press, the influential Los Angeles press of Saul and Lillian Marks. Collection includes boxes of ephemera and some correspondence between K. Garth Huston, M. D., and the Marks.
Japanese American Relocation Collection
Letters, pamphlets, newspapers, and other publications related to the forced internment of people of Japanese heritage during World War II. The core of the collection is the correspondence of Oxy President Remsen Bird as he worked to protect Oxy students of Japanese descent. A complete research guide to the collection and selected letters and papers are available in the Online Archive of the Japanese American Relocation during World War II. To navigate the collections use our Japanese American Relocation finding aid.
Robinson Jeffers Collection
Jeffers graduated from Oxy in 1905. His wife Una Jeffers, collector Albert Bender, and UCLA University Librarian Lawrence Clark Powell '28 were instrumental in starting the core of this collection in the 1930s. The collection now contains several editions of his work, foreign translations, manuscripts, and portraits of Jeffers taken by Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and other great photographers. The Robinson Jeffers online exhibition page celebrates this great poet. Use the Robinson Jeffers finding aid to learn more.
Charles D. Klamm Stereograph Collection
Extensive collection of 10,000 stereographic views, covering the Civil War, San Francisco earthquake, Los Angeles environs, California National Parks, Colorado landscape, Alaska Gold Rush, scenic pictures of Africa, Europe, South America, and Asia. The bulk of the photographs were taken during 1890-1911.
To browse a selection of stereographs described and analyzed by Oxy students in a 2008 History of Photography class, please visit the digital collection or the Callimachus collection.
John Lloyd-Butler Railroadiana Collection
Lloyd-Butler, a California rancher, had a passionate interest in American railroading. His collection covers the history and development of American railroads from 1846 to the early 1970s. There are over 1,000 books, plus railroad periodicals, scrapbooks, and 45 document boxes of ephemera, such as timetables, advertising brochures and tickets. To learn more about the Railroadiana Collection visit the online exhibit.
Charles Fletcher Lummis Daily Journal (1912-1926)
Charles Lummis was a journalist, author, editor, presidential advisor to Teddy Roosevelt, advocate of Native American rights, ethnographer, and head librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library. This Daily Journal is a typescript record of his life.
John K. Northrop-Richard W. Millar Aviation Collection
Northrop and Millar, class of 1921, were pioneers in the aviation industry and Occidental trustees. Northrop founded Northrop Aircraft, Inc; Millar was its director. Millar’s collection of over 1,900 items contains aeronautical literature, pamphlets, posters, reports, handbooks, annuals, histories, dictionaries, works on aerodynamics and medical aspects of flight, government bulletins, conference reports, bibliographies, flight fiction, and anthologies of poetry.
Miniature Books Collection
An enticing collection of 346 very small books, shelved in the reading room for better preservation, display and enjoyment of these delicate works. Connect to the Miniature Books online exhibit.
Barack Obama '83
Special Collections is collecting and preserving materials related to alumnus Barack Obama. Students in "Obama and the Issues" class, Politics 265, in spring 2010 collected contemporary images of Barack Obama in global popular culture. This initial series launches a digital archive to preserve different perspectives and research related to Barack Obama, President of the United States and Alumnus of Occidental College. Selected items are organized in the digital collection.
Oxy Corps
In the Summer of 2012, the Occidental College Special Collections department and four undergraduate interns set out to document college life at Occidental by capturing personal stories of alumni. Starting in the 1930s, the interviews span 70 years and represent at least four generations of the Oxy family. The OxyCrops Student/Alumni Interviews Collection comprises 58 digital video files and transcripts created by interns, students and staff for a series of oral histories conducted in the Summer of 2012.
This collection exhibit includes biographies and other interview information for each of the alums who participated in the OxyCorps project. It also includes biographies of the four interns, and current Oxy students, who conducted the interviews. For more information on OxyCorps please visit the OxyCorps page, the collection exhibit and the finding aid.
The Pauley-Voorhis Western Americana Collection
About 300 volumes about the exploration and settlement of the West, collected by Charles B. Voorhis, a Pasadena civic leader. Holdings include first-hand accounts, works by Bancroft, the magazines Land of Sunshine and Overland Weekly, and significant works related to the Mormon religion, including a very rare edition of the Book of Mormon.
Dr. Paul Popenoe Collection
Research in eugenics, most of it from European publications of 1920s and 1930s, gathered by Dr. Paul Popenoe, who studied and taught at Occidental. Subjects include disease, heredity, multiple births, fertility, and problems in eugenics.
Public Information Collection
Collection comprises of 34 boxes (21 linear feet) of international publications, mostly World War II propaganda, organized by country. It includes national publications, pamphlets, and radio broadcast transcripts, from 1939 to 1950s.
F. Ray Risdon Collection of Lincolniana and American Political Life
Approximately 4,000 volumes, pamphlets, photographs, newspapers, scrapbooks, presidental campaign ephemera, songsheets, autographs, daguerrotypes, and other materials pertaining to Abraham Lincoln, and in a broader sense, to the Civil War and to American presidents and political campaigns. To learn more please visit the online exhibit and the finding aid.
The Ward Ritchie Collection
Ritchie '28 was a printer, a major figure in the local culural scene, and a dedicated alumnus of the College. The collection is comprised of over 800 works from his various presses, works written by him, biographical materials, and boxes of galley proofs, mock ups, and ephemera. As a commercial printer, Ritchie published many works about Los Angeles, thus providing resources for regional history research. Click here for this collection's finding aid.
Upton Sinclair Collection
About 1,000 books by and about writer and social activist Upton Sinclair, including foreign translations and early titles published by the author's imprints. There are also periodicals and newspaper clippings, and many rare materials documenting Sinclair’s run for governor of California in 1934. Major titles are in first editions and warmly inscribed from Sinclair to Bell, who was his physician. Of particular note is the very rare “Fig Leaf Edition” of OIL!
The Earle V. Weller Romantic Literature Collection
Earle V. Weller was son of one of the founders of Occidental, and an avid collector of works by and about the English Romantic poets, with a special focus on John Keats. There are over 2,000 volumes and an assortment of pictures, pamphlets and periodicals.
Jacob & Josephine Ver Brugge Zeitlin Collection on Bookselling, Publishing, Book Collecting and Printing
Jake Zeitlin was a prominent bookseller who helped establish a literary and artistic community in Los Angeles in the 1930s, continuing through the 1980s. Zeitlin had close personal ties to Occidental, and donated part of his collection of materials describing the history of libraries, collecting, and rare books, focused on Europe and the United States.