The Newberry has a rich and varied collection of manuscripts ranging from medieval Books of Hours to twentieth century scrapbooks and letters.
The library has over 700 Modern Manuscript Collections, 1700 to the present totaling 15,000 cubic feet. See Modern Manuscript Collections to search or browse the collections by name or subject. Subjects include arts, business, Chicago, clubs and organizations, dance, family papers, Indians and the West, journalism, literature, music, the Newberry, photographs, politics, printing history and book arts, railroads, religion, social action, theater, and women. Many manuscript collections are also listed in the online catalog. In addition, some of the Newberry’s modern manuscript collections are included in ArchiveGrid, in the free and subscription versions of WorldCat, and in the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC).
Newberry librarians have compiled Research Guides containing bibliographies, checklists, and other resources helpful in directing research at the Newberry. The below guides may be helpful for those beginning their manuscript research at the Newberry.
- The Newberry has about 260 pre-1500 European manuscripts, several dozen individual documents and charters, and hundreds of fragments.
- There are approximately 2,000 post-1500 European manuscripts at the Newberry. Lists of post-1500 manuscripts are available in French, Italian, and English. Many more European manuscripts, in these and other languages, are listed in the Online Catalog.
- To complement its unmatched holdings of printed books on calligraphy and handwriting, the Newberry has assembled over 600 original Calligraphic Manuscripts for study and exhibit. These represent a comprehensive, representative selection of scripts and formats from all periods from the fifteenth to the mid-twentieth century.
- The Newberry’s manuscript holdings relating to North American Indians and the history of the American West are contained almost entirely in two special collections, the Edward E. Ayer Collection and the Everett D. Graff Collection.
- The library has about 400 Spanish-American Colonial Manuscripts, mostly in the Ayer Collection.
- More than 500 Philippine Manuscripts are included in the Ayer Collection.
- Over 500 manuscript maps and 2,200 manuscript map reproductions are described in the Cartographic Catalog.