Special Collections
Explore Our Collections
WashU Libraries collect, preserve, promote, and make accessible rare, archival, and primary source materials that enrich teaching, learning, and research for the university community and beyond.
The Julian Edison Department of Special Collections focuses on seven primary areas: the Dowd Illustration Research Archive, Film & Media Archive, Local History, Manuscripts, Rare Books, Sports & Culture, and the University Archives. An active program of class visits, exhibitions, workshops, and public events highlights the department’s vital role in scholarship at WashU and the wider community.
To search our collections, visit the Special Collections Research & Access page.
To learn more about giving to Special Collections, visit the Donating to Special Collections page.
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Collection LGBTQ+ History
WashU Libraries joined the St. Louis LGBTQ+ History Project's Collecting Initiative to ensure this history is preserved.View Collection about LGBTQ+ History -
Collection Business History
Corporate archives for several St. Louis-area businesses are archived at Special Collections.View Collection about Business History -
Collection The Great Depression Interviews
Each video and transcript details the stories of those struggling and surviving through The Great Depression.View Collection about The Great Depression Interviews -
Collection Materials for the Book of Ephraim
The James Merrill Digital Archive provides digital access to a cross-section from the James Merrill Papers housed in Special Collections.View Collection about Materials for the Book of Ephraim -
Collection America’s War on Poverty
Documentary and interviews covering events that took place after President Johnson declared an "unconditional war on poverty."View Collection about America’s War on Poverty -
Collection Russell Sturgis Photograph Collection
Focuses on European architectural details, topographical views, sculpture, and painting, there are also images from other cities and archaeological sites.View Collection about Russell Sturgis Photograph Collection -
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Collection Japanese Special Collection
The Japanese Special Collection contains pre-Meiji (pre-1867) watoji bon, wakoku bon kanseki, and titles produced after 1868.View Collection about Japanese Special Collection -
Collection Historic St. Louis Maps
19th century St. Louis fire insurance maps by Whipple and Sanborn.View Collection about Historic St. Louis Maps -
Collection Music Archive Collections
Originating with the purchase of Ernest C. Krohn library in 1966, the archival materials in the Krohn Collection include notebooks,...View Collection about Music Archive Collections -
Collection Music Rare Books and Scores
The Gaylord Music Library's Special Collections continues to grow to add many 18th and 19th century items to increase holdings.View Collection about Music Rare Books and Scores -
Collection Sheet Music Collections
The Gaylord Sheet Music Collection represents the accumulation of many private and publisher’s collections, a large segment of which is...View Collection about Sheet Music Collections
Collecting Areas
Digital Collections
Digital Collections highlight those portions of the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections that have been made or born-digital.
Dowd Illustration Research Archive
The Dowd Illustration Research Archive (DIRA) at WashU includes original art and printed material from many popular American pictorial graphic culture fields.
East Asian Library Special Collections
The East Asian Library's special collection includes about 900 volumes of rare and special books, manuscripts, and other materials.
Film & Media Archive
The Archive is committed to the preservation of documentary film and other media which chronicles America's great political and social movements with a particular emphasis on the African-American experience.
Kranzberg Art & Architecture Library Special Collections
The Art & Architecture Special Collections is a 4,200-volume collection of rare and unique art and design printed materials located at the Kranzberg Art & Architecture Library. The main focus is illustrated books, prints, and photographs from the 18th and 19th centuries and contemporary book design.
Local History Collections
The local history collecting area focuses on the history of St. Louis and the surrounding region.
Manuscript Collections
WashU Libraries' Julian Edison Department of Special Collections Manuscript collections contain a broad range of materials dating from the 2nd century BC through the present.
Modern Literature Collection
The Modern Literature Collection includes more than 175 authors, presses, and journals, more than 125 of which are represented by manuscript materials.
Music Special Collections
Special Collections at the Gaylord Music Library include sheet music, manuscripts, rare books, and digital materials.
Rare Book Collections
The Rare Book Collections include books from all Special Collection areas. The collections’ primary strengths are in literature, the material culture of the book, including the history of printing, graphic design, and the book arts, and aspects of American and world history.
Sports & Culture Collections
The Sports and Culture Collections highlight the historical and cultural impact of sports and fandom throughout the United States, with a particular emphasis on the St. Louis region.
Washington University Archives
The University Archives chronicles the history of WashU from 1853 to today with over 300 unique collections, including campus publications, reports, photographic prints and negatives, books, film, sound recordings, oral histories, architectural plans, and artifacts.