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 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 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 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 Lincoln mss., ca. 1798-1959, consist of letters, documents, and facsimile copies of documents by and about Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865, his ancestors, immediate family, members of his cabinet, and other persons closely connected with him.
The Fess mss. consists of nineteen black and white undated photographs of paintings by artist Theodore Clement Steele, 1847-1926, and one of his studio in Brown County, Indiana. The photographs were made by Frank Michael Hohenberger, 1876-1963, also of Brown County, Indiana.