Collections

The Williams, Jonathan mss., 1738-1869, consist of letters and papers of Jonathan Williams, 1750-1815, merchant and soldier, grand-nephew of Benjamin Franklin and first superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The Sieveking mss., 1724-1971, consists of the papers of Lancelot (Lance) de Giberne Sieveking, 1896-1974, author, playwright, and pioneer of BBC radio programming.

The Porter mss., 1799-1850, are the papers of Sir Robert Ker Porter, 1777-1842, artist and diplomat, and his sister Jane Porter, 1776-1850, novelist.

The Gilder mss., 1781-1984 consists of correspondence and papers of poet, editor Richard Watson Gilder and his wife, the artist Helena de Kay Gilder, and their family.

The Gerstein mss., ca. 1795-1824, consists mostly of portraits of General Lafayette collected by Jacob and Sylvia Finn Gerstein.

The Delany mss., 1728-1760, consists of an anthology, a volume of original drawings, and the manuscript of Marianna by Mary (Granville) Delany, 1700-1788, artist and writer.

The Ricketts mss., 9th-19th cent., are illuminated medieval and renaissance manuscripts assembled by Coella Lindsay Ricketts, 1859-1941, calligrapher, of Chicago, Illinois. Most of the material relates to religious matters.

Consists of individual items acquired separately either as a gift, purchase, transfer, or removal from a variety of sources, relating to English literature. Additions continue to be made.

The American literature mss., 1789-2000, consists of an ongoing collection of individual items related to American literature.

Consists of individual items acquired separately either as a gift or purchased from a variety of sources, relating to or by French literary figures. Additions continue to be made.