Collections : [Lilly Library]

The Johnson, J. mss., ca. 1740-1759, consists of materials devised by Jane (Russell) Johnson primarily for the instruction of her son, George William Johnson. The materials consist of 438 items and are arranged in 24 groups. Included are alphabet cards, religious and secular lesson cards, all hand-made. Some contain colored illustrations and are decorated with multi-colored Dutch paper.

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.

The Near Eastern mss., 700-1915, consist of a collection of individually acquired manuscripts pertaining to the region formerly known as the Near East, now referred to as the Middle East.

The Medieval and Renaissance mss., 700-1600, consists of individual items acquired from time to time either as a gift or purchased from a variety of sources.

The Miscellaneous mss., 2100 BCE-1970, consist of individual items acquired individually either as a gift or purchased from a variety of sources.

The Poole mss. are a collection of 137 ancient, medieval and renaissance manuscripts and single leaves ranging from the 3rd to the 16th century. The collection was formed by George Amos Poole, 1907- , printer, of Chicago, whose interest was in the development of scripts which have had a direct influence on the design of Western printing types, rather than in illumination and decoration. Most of this material relates to religious matters.

The Adomeit mss., 2000 BCE - 1995 CE, consists of miniature manuscripts collected by Ruth Elizabeth Adomeit, 1910-1996.

The Phifer mss., 1978-1982, consist of the letters of Virginia (Scott) Miner, 1901-1982, poet and teacher, to Kenneth Wood Phifer, Unitarian-Universalist minister at Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Eliade/Ricketts mss., 1966-1986, consist of correspondence between religion scholars Mircea Eliade and Mac Linscott Ricketts.

The Mongolian mss., late 18th-early 20th century, consist of Buddhist manuscripts written in Mongolian script. Includes one in palm leaf format.