Glasgow University Library, Special Collections Department
The Library's Special Collections Department has one of the finest collections of rare books, manuscripts, and photographs in the UK. Built up over a period of more than 500 years by purchase,gift and bequest, the collections now contain more than 300,000 manuscript items and around 200,000 printed works. Included are some outstanding local collections, such as the Murray Collection, with many items of relevance to Scottish history, and the Scottish Theatre Archive.
Special features: Science Year, Cabinet of Curiosities, James McNeill Whistler (1834 - 1903), Festivals
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- 4 volumes of manuscript bagpipe music compiled by Donald MacKay, Major General Charles Simpson Thomason, John MacDougall Gillies and Ewen Henderson
- A collection of holograph poems and letters of two Renfrewshire poets: Robert Tannahill (1774-1810) and William Motherwell (1797-1835), from the collection of David Stephen Robertson
- Account book of Patrick Warner, minister of religion, fl.1694-1725, Ardeer, Ayrshire, Scotland
- Album of photographs of a tour, 1876
- Album of press cuttings relating to the British Association for the Advancement of Science visit to Australia, 1914
- Autograph scores of music by Sir John Blackwood McEwen, 1868-1948, composer
- Autograph scores, works and related papers of Hamish James MacCunn, 1868-1916, composer
- BBC Scotland Scripts collection
- Chinese and other oriental books, manuscripts, and papers of Theophilus Bayer, 1694-1738, sinologist
- Collection of correspondence to and from Adam Smith, 1723-1790, political economist
- Collection of material relating to Edinburgh International Festival, arts festival, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Collection of material relating to Edward Boyd (1916-1989), playwright
- Collection of material relating to Gordon Bottomley, 1874-1948, playwright
- Collection of material relating to John Cairney (b1930), actor, director and playwright
- Collection of material relating to Margaret Morris, 1891-1980, ballet dancer and choreographer
- Collection of material relating to the centenary of the birth of Joseph Lister, 1927-1912, surgeon
- Collection of miscellaneous mathematics notebooks from the University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Compositions and correspondence of August Hyllested, 1856-1946, pianist and composer
- Compositions and papers of Frederick Lamond, 1868-1948, pianist and composer
- Copy of the last will and testament with codicil of William Hunter, 1718-1783, anatomist and obstetrician
- Copy of'Criticisms of Sir George Gilbert Scott's Design for the Building for the University of Glasgow' by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson (1817-1875)
- Correspondence and ephemera of Sir George Gilbert Scott, 1811-1878, architect
- Correspondence concerning the acquisition David Octavius Hill photographic materials by the Glasgow University Library from Robert Dougan
- Correspondence from John Young, 1750-1820, Professor of Greek, University of Glasgow, Scotland, to Charles Stuart, 1779-1845, Baron Stuart de Rothesay, diplomat
- Correspondence from Joseph Lister, 1927-1912, surgeon, to Dr James Finlayson, 1840-1906, physician
- Correspondence from Professor William Dunlop, 1692-1720, to Professor Alexander Dunlop, 1684-1747
- Correspondence of Gustav Holst, 1874-1934, composer, from William Gillies Whittaker, 1876-1944, composer
- Correspondence of James Laver, 1899-1975, art critic
- Correspondence of Osborne Henry Mavor, 1888-1951, playwright as James Bridie
- Correspondence of William Dixon, 1788-1859, coal and iron master of Govan Colliery, Glasgow, Scotland
- Diary of George Langton, 1647-1727, farmer
- Election speeches of David Wylie Gibson, fl.1904-1959, Bailie of Glasgow, Scotland
- Farm account book for farms adjacent to Newton Stewart, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland
- Five epigrams by William Soutar, 1898-1943, poet
- Fragments of Greek papyri (Oxyrhynchus Papyri)
- George Henderson Collection of Gaelic MSS and working papers
- James F Arnott Collection
- James Inglis Collection of material relating to the Wilson Barrett Company at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Journal of a tour to the Highlands of Scotland by Elizabeth Diggle
- Lecture notebooks of James Cromarty Smith, 1863-1944, Church of Scotland minister
- Lecture notes of John Caird, 1820-1898, theologian and Principal, University of Glasgow, 1873-1898
- Lecture notes on the Gravid Uterus, taken in the lectures of William Hunter, 1718-1783, anatomist, delivered c1774
- Lecture notes taken in the anatomy and chirurgical lectures of William Hunter, 1718-1783, anatomist, delivered c1770
- Lecture notes taken in the anatomy and chirurgical lectures of William Hunter, 1718-1783, anatomist, delivered in 1768
- Lecture notes taken in the anatomy lectures of William Hunter, 1718-1783, anatomist, delivered in 1752
- Lecture notes taken in the anatomy lectures of William Hunter, 1718-1783, anatomist, delivered in 1781
- Letter from Lobegott Friedrich Constantin von Tischendorf, 1815-1874, orientalist and Biblical critic, to Williams, of Williams & Norgate, publishers, London, England, and Edinburgh, Scotland
- Letters and papers of William Thomson, Baron Kelvin of Largs (1824-1907), Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Letters of William Thomson, 1824-1907, Baron Kelvin of Largs
- Letters relating to the Roxburghe Club, 1812-?, bibliophile club
- Manuscripts from the personal library of David Murray, 1842-1928, lawyer, archaeologist and antiquary
- Manuscripts from the personal library of John Ferguson, 1837-1916, bibliographer and Regius Professor of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Manuscripts from the personal library of Sir William Hamilton, 1788-1856, metaphysician
- Manuscripts from the personal library of William Euing, 1788-1874, insurance broker, Glasgow, Scotland
- Manuscripts from the personal library of William Gillies Whittaker, 1876-1944, composer
- Map of the Battle of Cornelis, Java, 25 August 1811
- Maps of the Luss Estate belonging to Sir James Colquhoun, 1714-1786
- Menie Jamieson Collection of material relating to the Wilson Barrett Company at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Michael Elder Collection of television scripts and theatre programmes
- Molly Macewan Collection
- Notebooks of James Dean Ogilvie, c1867-1949, merchant, book collector, historian and bibliographer
- Notes made in preparation for a treatise on wine production [London, England]
- Notes taken at a lecture of John Adair Lawrie, 1801-1859, professor of Surgery, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers and compositions of William Beatton Moonie, 1883-1961, composer
- Papers and correspondence of Henry George Farmer, 1882-1965, musician and orientalist
- Papers and drawings of James Douglas, 1675-1742, physician
- Papers and manuscripts from the library of William Hunter, 1718-1783, anatomist
- Papers by or relating to William Dunlop, c.1649-1700, Church of Scotland Minister, Principal of the University of Glasgow
- Papers of Adam Smith, 1723-1790, political economist
- Papers of Agionly Ross Carson, 1780-1850, Classical Scholar, Rector of Edinburgh High School, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Papers of Alec Lawrence Macfie, 1898-1980, economist, Emeritus Professor of Political Economy, 1945-1958, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of Alec Lawrence Macfie, 1898-1980, economist, Emeritus Professor of Political Economy, 1945-1958, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of Alexander Maxwell, student of the University of Glasgow, Scotland, fl.1676-1677
- Papers of Alexander McCallum Scott, 1874-1928, Member of Parliament, Bridgeton, Glasgow, Scotland, 1910-1918
- Papers of Allen Thomson, 1809-1884, Professor of Anatomy, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1848-1877
- Papers of Andrew Hutcheson, fl.1706, butcher
- Papers of Andrew Robert Burn, 1902-1991, historian, senior lecturer in Ancient History, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1946-1968
- Papers of Archibald Gardner, fl.1848-1849, arts student of the University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of Bernard Hague, 1893-1960, Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of Carl Paul Barbier (d.c1993), Professor of French, University of Edinburgh, relating to the author Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-1898)
- Papers of Constance Helen Brock, medical historian, d2000, relating to her research on William Hunter, anatomist and obstetrician
- Papers of David Emery, fl.1831-1838, physician
- Papers of David Kydd, fl.1859-1911, student of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland
- Papers of Denys Miller Sutton, 1917-1991, art critic and editor of Apollo
- Papers of Donald McNicol, 1735-1802, minister
- Papers of Dr Donald Macphail, c1853-1931, physician
- Papers of Dr Rudolf Schlesinger, 1901-1969, Marxist theoretician, lecturer and co-founder of the University of Glasgow Institute of Soviet and East European Studies
- Papers of Dugald Sutherland MacColl, 1859-1948, painter, critic and art gallery director
- Papers of Duncan Harkness Weir, 1822-1876, Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of Edward Caird, 1835-1908, philosopher and minister
- Papers of Edward Provan Cathcart, 1877-1954, Emeritus Professor of Physiology, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1928-1947
- Papers of Edwin George Morgan, b1920, writer and professor of English
- Papers of Francis John MacCunn, c1887-1915, assistant in department of History, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of Francis Robert Topping, c.1903-1971, student at the University of Glasgow
- Papers of Gabriel Neil, fl.1830s-1862, archaeologist
- Papers of George Calder, 1859-1941; lecturer in Celtic, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1912-1935
- Papers of George Chalmers, 1742-1825, antiquary and clerk to the Board of Trade
- Papers of George Henderson, 1866-1912, Gaelic scholar and lecturer in celtic studies, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1906-1912
- Papers of George Jardine, 1742-1827, Professor of Greek and Logic, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of George John Learmont Drysdale, 1866-1909, composer
- Papers of George Munro (1901-1968), playwright and journalist
- Papers of George Neilson, 1858-1923, legal historian
- Papers of George Palmes, 1776-1851, arts student of the University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of George Pepplewell, fl.1776, surgeon, student of William Hunter, 1718-1783, anatomist and William Cumberland Cruikshank, 1745-1800, anatomist
- Papers of Glasgow Council of Tenants' Associations, 1925-1958, Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of Harold James Lean Wright, 1885-1961, art historian
- Papers of Harry Gordon, 1893-1957, entertainer and theatre manager
- Papers of Horatio Nelson, 1758-1805, Viscount and First Admiral
- Papers of James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 1834-1903, American-born painter and graphic artist
- Papers of James Bonar, 1852-1941, political economist and historian
- Papers of James Bridie (1888-1952), playright and pseudonym of Osborne Henry Mavor
- Papers of James Carmichael, 1894-1966, labour MP, Bridgeton Division, Glasgow, Scotland, 1947-1961
- Papers of James Dunnachie, 1835-1921, justice of the peace
- Papers of James Findlay Hendry, 1912-1986, author, poet and translator
- Papers of James Gourlay, 1804-1871, accountant
- Papers of James Henderson, fl.1807-1808, student of the University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of James I Smith, fl.1876-1886, chemistry students of Anderson's University, Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of James J MacLehose, 1857-1943, publisher and bookseller
- Papers of James Lorimer Halliday, d.1983, medical doctor and playwright
- Papers of James Marr, c1877-c1955, arts graduate of the University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of James McNeill Whistler, 1834-1903, painter
- Papers of James Mearns, 1855-1922, hymnologist and vicar
- Papers of James Moffat, 1870-1944, theologian
- Papers of James Parker-Smith, 1854-1929, warden, Winchester College, 1915-1920
- Papers of James Watson, fl.1834-fl.1837, stockbroker
- Papers of Jessie Marion King, 1875-1949, designer and illustrator and Ernest Archibald Taylor, 1874-1951, designer and artist
- Papers of Jimmy Logan (1928-2001), comedian
- Papers of Joan Ure (1919-1978), playwright, pseudonym of Elizabeth Carswell
- Papers of John Brash, c1877-c1941, arts graduate of the University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of John Caird, 1820-1898, theologian and Principal, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of John Carnegie Eaton, d1972, mathematician and biographer of Colin Maclaurin, 1698-1746, mathematician
- Papers of John Carnegie Eaton, senior lecturer in Mathematics at the Royal Technical College, Glasgow, Scotland, 1915-1972
- Papers of John Charlton Steen, 1898-1967, Church of Scotland minister
- Papers of John Cooper Ashton, fl.1890-1935, amateur photographer
- Papers of John How, fl.1700-1702, student of the University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1700-1702
- Papers of John Kennedy, 1855-1910, and Alexander Cameron, 1827-1888, ministers of the Free Church of Scotland and Gaelic scholars
- Papers of John Swinnerton Phillimore, 1873-1926, Professor of humanity, University of Glasgow, 1906-1926
- Papers of John Waugh Scott, 1878-1974, Professor of Logic and Moral Philosophy, University College, Cardiff, 1920-1944, Lecturer in Moral Philosophy, University of Glasgow, 1905-1920
- Papers of John White, 1867-1951, minister
- Papers of John Young, c1750-1820, Professor of Greek, University of Glasgow, Scotland.
- Papers of Joseph Whistler Revillon, 1886-1955, civil engineer and great-nephew of James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
- Papers of Josiah Bull, 1806-1885, student of the University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1827-1828
- Papers of Lobegott Friedrich Constantin von Tischendorf, 1815-1874, orientalist and Biblical critic
- Papers of Molly S Urquhart, (1906-1977), actress and theatre owner
- Papers of Philip Hobsbaum, b.1932, poet, editor, literary scholar and Professor of English Literature
- Papers of Pittendrigh MacGillivray, 1856-1938, sculptor and poet
- Papers of Professor Robert Simpson Silver, 1913-1997, engineer, poet and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of Reg Allen (b1916), theatre set designer
- Papers of Robert Andrew Moody, fl.1881-1882, law graduate of the University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of Robert Bain (1865-1955), playwright
- Papers of Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham, 1852-1936, politician and author
- Papers of Robert Lock Bremner, 1862-1918, lawyer
- Papers of Ronald David Laing, psychotherapist, 1928-1989
- Papers of Ronald Gregor Smith, 1913-1968, minister, professor of Divinity, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1956-1968
- Papers of Scottish Council of Tenants' Associations, fl.1948-1958, Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of Sir Denis William Brogan, 1900-1974, historian and political scientist
- Papers of Sir Donald MacAlister, 1854-1934, physician, Principal of the University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1907-1929
- Papers of Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, 1883-1972, writer and rector of the University of Glasgow
- Papers of Sir Francis Seymour Haden, 1818-1910, Knight etcher and surgeon
- Papers of Sir James Black Baillie, 1872-1940, philosopher
- Papers of Sir John Graham Kerr, 1869-1957, relating to the protective coloration of War ships during the 1914-1918 World War
- Papers of Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb, 1841-1905, classical scholar and Professor of Greek, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1875-1889
- Papers of Sir Robert Peel, 1788-1850, 2nd Baronet, statesman, rector
- Papers of Sir William Symington McCormick, 1859-1930, Professor of English
- Papers of the Trustees of the estate of William Richardson, 1743-1814, Professor of Humanity, University of Glasgow, Scotland 1773-1814
- Papers of Thomas Anderson, 1819-1874, regius professor of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of Thomas Anderson, 1819-1874, Regius Professor of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of Thomas Chalmers, 1780-1847, minister of religion
- Papers of Thomas Hunter Weir, 1865-1928, lecturer in Arabic, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of Thomas Jamison, fl.1702, logic student of the University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of Thomas Kirkpatrick Monro, c1895-1960, Professor of Practice of Medicine, University of Glasgow, 1913-1936
- Papers of Thomas Moffat Murchison, 1907-1984, Church of Scotland minister and Gaelic scholar
- Papers of Thomas Thomson, 1773-1852, chemist
- Papers of Walter Alexander Raleigh, 1861-1922, Professor of English Literature, Glasgow University, Scotland
- Papers of William Cullen (1710-1790), lecturer in Chemistry and Professor of Medicine at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, used by John Thomson, MD, (1802-1852) in preparation of his'An account of the life, lectures, and writings of William Cullen, MD'
- Papers of William Gillies Whittaker, 1876-1944, Professor of Music
- Papers of William James Baxter, 1884-1772, United Free Church of Scotland minister
- Papers of William James Millar Mackenzie, b.1909, Professor of Politics, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of William M. Crone, fl.1930-1934, councillor of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of William Paterson, 1658-1719, founder of the Bank of England
- Papers of William Paton Ker, 1855-1923, literary scholar
- Papers of William Ranulf Brock, b.1916, Professor of Modern History, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of William Romaine Paterson, 1871-1942, novelist 'Benjamin Swift'
- Papers of William Smart, 1853-1915, Professor of Political Economy, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1896-1915
- Papers of William Smith, 1832-1921, Church of Scotland Minister and graduate of the University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers of William Watson, 1858-1935, poet
- Papers of Zachary Boyd, 1585-1653, minister, rector of the University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Papers relating to the career of Bruce McClure (1925-1989), choreographer
- Photographic negatives and contact prints by John Vere Brown, b.1925, theatre and portrait photographer
- Photographs of Glasgow International Exhibition, 1901
- Playbills from the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Poems, letters and addresses of Henry Scott Riddell, 1798-1870, Scottish poet
- Records of 7:84 (Scotland) Theatre Company, touring theatre company, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Adam Smith Club, learned society, London, England
- Records of Arts Theatre Group, theatre group, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Bedford Lemere & Co, fl.1865, photographers
- Records of Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Curtain Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Dundee Repertory Theatre, Dundee, Scotland
- Records of Falcon Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Forth & Clyde Canal Navigation Co, canal company, Port Dundas, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Glasgow Free Church Students' Theological Society, student society, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Glasgow Jewish Institute Players, theatre company, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Glasgow Philosophical Society, learned society, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Glasgow Philosophical Society, learned society, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Glasgow Philosophical Society, learned society, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Glasgow Unity Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Glasgow University Missionary Association, student society, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Glasgow University Students' Settlement Society, student voluntary association, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Glasgow, Paisley & Ardrosson Canal Co, canal company, Scotland
- Records of Hislop, Welsh & Humphrey, architects, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of James Paterson Museum Archive, museum collection, Moniaive, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland
- Records of John Hopkins & Co, whisky distillers, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of M C Thomson & Co, Neilston, East Renfrewshire, Scotland
- Records of Mayfest, popular music and theatre festival, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of New Clyde Shipping Co, shipping company, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Park Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Prince's Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Records of Scottish Ballet, ballet company, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Scottish National Players, theatre company, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Scottish Repertory Theatre, theatre company, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of Scottish Theatre Company, touring theatre company, Scotland
- Records of the 2000 & 3 Estaites, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of the Association of University Teachers (Scotland), trade union, Scotland
- Records of the Church Service Society, learned society, 1865- , Scotland
- Records of the Festival Fringe Society Ltd, arts festival company, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Records of the Gaiety Theatre and Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of the Metropole and Empire Theatres, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of the National Incomes Commission, government commission, London, England
- Records of the Ruskin Society of Glasgow: Society of the Rose, literary society, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of the Scottish Conjurors' Association, Glasgow, Scotland
- Records of the Scottish Society of Playwrights
- Records of the Scottish Universities' Unionists Association, political organisation, 1906-1947
- Records of Wildcat Stage Productions Ltd, touring theatre company, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Robins Millar Collection,(1889-1968), journalist, critic and playwright, Glasgow, Scotland
- Scrapbook albums compiled by Elizabeth Maria Margaret Story, 1866-1941, secretary of the Scottish National Red Cross Hospital Ladies Executive Committee
- Scrapbooks of Norman Mackinnel, 1870-1932, actor
- Speeches given at the Extraordinary Session of the United Medical Societies, Berlin, Germany, December 1918
- The Dougan Collection of the photographic work of David Octavius Hill (1802-1870) and other pioneers of photography
- Theatrical costume designs of Berkeley Sutcliffe, c.1918-1979, theatrical costume designer
- Travel journal of John Allen, 1771-1843, historian and political writer
- Typescript article and correspondence of Sir Denis William Brogan, 1900-1974, knight, historian and political scientist
- Typescript of a biography of the poet James Thomson, 1834-1882, by Norman McKim, fl.1965
- Works and papers of Josef, Wenceslas and Ladislao Zavertal, musicians and composers, with a collection of Mozart material
