Skip to main content

Rare Books & Special Collections

Main collection
About our main collection

Our main collection includes:

    • Approximately 56,000 books printed in Europe between the late 15th century to 1801
    • One of the largest Short Title Catalogue and Wing collections (material printed between 1475 and 1700) in Australia
    • First and early editions of 17th and 18th century English literature, literary criticism and philosophy, particularly works by John Dryden and Thomas Hobbes (Macdonald Collection)
    • Early Australiana, including books about Australia and voyages of exploration in the Pacific published before European settlement
    • 19th and early 20th century Australian literary and historical works, with an emphasis on New South Wales publications
    • Early American, Asian, New Zealand, Pacific Island and USSR publications
    • Original editions of 19th century fiction, particularly English "three-decker" novels
    • First and important editions of books by 20th century English and American authors
    • Historic works on the occult sciences, demonology and witchcraft
    • Historic scientific works, particularly on the pure sciences, astronomy and thermodynamics
    • Works by specific authors: William Blake, Aleister Crowley, Lewis Carroll, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Thomas Eliot, Henry Havelock Ellis, John Galsworthy, Mary Gilmore, John Gould, Aldous Huxley, James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, Henry Lawson, Norman Lindsay, Georgiana McCrae, Hugh McCrae, Katherine Mansfield, Henry Miller, George Moore, William Morris, Isaac Newton, Joseph Priestly, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats
    • Modern limited editions, fine binding and printing
Subject bibliographies

These bibliographies include materials from our main collection.

Address
Rare Books & Special Collections
Level 1, Fisher Library
Eastern Avenue F03
Camperdown Campus
University of Sydney NSW 2006
Hours
Wed - Fri   10am - 2pm
By appointment only
Phone
+61 2 9351 2992
rbsc@usyd.libanswers.com
Contact the Library
Live Chat, call or send us a question

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this website may contain images, voices and names of people who have died.

The University of Sydney Library acknowledges that its facilities sit on the ancestral lands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who have for thousands of generations exchanged knowledge for the benefit of all. Learn more