Specialized Subject Collections

The Portrait File

There is limited indexing of portrait prints in the Print Collection, but there is also an un-indexed Portrait File, with images filed by sitter. These can include original woodcuts, engravings, etchings and lithographs, but for the most part are comprised of images clipped from periodical publications from the 19th through the early decades of the 20th century. Portraits of international political, religious, cultural, literary and artistic personalities, with an emphasis on the 16th through the 19th centuries, can be found in this file.

Schlosser Collection on the History of Papermaking

This collection of approximately 3,000 books, drawings and other items from 770 A.D. to the present day documents the history of papermaking with old and new books on the subject, paper samples and specimen books. This comprehensive collection was assembled by Leonard B. Schlosser, former Chairman of Lindenmeyr Paper Corporation. Items from The Schlosser Collection are catalogued in the Library's online catalog and are available in the Prints and Photographs Study Room (308).

Spencer Collection

The Spencer Collection surveys the illustrated word and book bindings of all periods and all countries and cultures, from medieval manuscripts, Japanese scrolls, and Indian miniatures to monuments in Renaissance printing, illustration and binding to contemporary livres d'artistes.

Readers wishing to consult the The Library's Renaissance and Medieval Manuscripts are required to request and receive permission in writing before their research visits. Please see this page for more information.

Although not administratively part of the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, the Spencer Collection materials are available through the Prints and Photographs Study Room (308) with 24 hours notice and a card of admission obtained from the Print Collection. Spencer Collection items catalogued after 1972 can be found in the Library's online catalog . For pre-1972 holdings, consult the Dictionary Catalog and Shelf List of the Spencer Collection of Illustrated Books and Manuscripts and Fine Bindings. (Boston: G.K. Hall, 1971), found at the Print Room Desk in Room 308 and in the General Research Division, Room 315 with the call number Pub. Cat. Z1023 .N572 1971

For further information or to request material from the Spencer Collection: 212-930-0817; fax: 212-930-0530; email: prints@nypl.org