Please Help Us Preserve Our Collection by Adopting a Book
Researchers from the Vassar community as well as visiting scholars come to the Special Collections Library regularly to examine items from our rich and diverse collection of rare books. They gain insights about the books that can only be realized when they work with them in their original format. Additionally, volumes from the collection are regularly used in the teaching of classes in disciplines ranging from Geography to Africana Studies to Education. In order for others to continue to enjoy this same level of access, however, many books in the collection must be repaired and restored.The Adopt-a-Book Program is intended to encourage donor support as the Library endeavors to pursue conservation treatment for fragile and damaged items. We hope that you will consider making a tax-deductible contribution that will enable us to preserve these volumes for Vassar's current and future scholars. All donors will be recognized with special bookplates. If you have questions about the program, feel free to contact the Associate Director of the Libraries for Special Collections Ronald Patkus at patkus@vassar.edu or 845-437-5798.
Subject Index:
All---
Art
Economics
Fashion
Fine Printing
Geography and Travel
History
Jewish Studies
Literature
Mathematics
Medieval Studies
Natural History
Religion
Women's History
Hours of the Virgin. France, probably Paris, 1420-1443. Adopted!
This early book of hours was written in Gothic script and includes a number of large and small miniatures. It features colorful borders that depict vines, flowers, and birds.
($850)
Hours of the Virgin. France, for use of Amiens, circa 1500. 
Written in Gothic script, this volume includes large and small miniatures, colored initials, and decorated borders.
($1,750)
The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed. London, 1542. Adopted!
This volume of collected works is Vassar’s earliest by Chaucer. It is one of the so-called “blackletter folios,” so named for the heavy Gothic type that was used.
($1,800)
Der achte Teil der Bücher des Ehrwirdigen Herrn D. Martini Lutheri. Vol. 8. Wittenberg: Hans Luft, 1556. Adopted!
This is a set of the collected works of Martin Luther, the printing of which began during the reformer’s lifetime. Volume 8 features several of Luther’s biblical commentaries.
($3,800)
The Bible, Translated According to the Ebrew and Greeke... London: C. Barker, 1582. 
The “Geneva Bible” marked a mileston in Reformation printing. It was first printed in 1560 for English Protestants who had escaped to Switzerland to avoid persecution in their homeland. Hundreds of editions of the text were available; some, such as this one, were printed in London.
($850)
Acts and Monuments of Matters Most Special and Memorable. Happening in the Church: With an Universal History of the Same… London, 1684. 3 vols. 
More commonly known as Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, this is a chronicle of the persecution of Protestants, especially English Protestants. First published in 1563, the work went through many editions; this ninth edition is the first to appear in a Roman font.
($7,340)
The Athenian Gazette. London: Printed for John Dunton at the Raven in the Poultry, 1691. 2 vols. 
This journal, which later became known as the Athenian Mercury, was published by John Dunton’s Athenian Society. Known for answering questions on a wide variety of topics, it marks an important point in the history of the English periodical press.
($4,275)
D‘Amboinsche Rariteitkamer. Amsterdam: Printed by François Halma, 1705. 
This first edition of this classic work of natural history is a “curiosity cabinet” of tropical shellfish, rocks, minerals, and fossils featuring many wonderful plates of these items.
($3,350)
Persian Letters. London: Printed for J. Tonson: and sold by Thomas Combes ... and James Lacy ..., 1722. 2 vols. 
Montesquieu was an important early figure of the Enlightenment; his Persian Letters offers epistolary exchanges between two Persians traveling through France, and includes critiques of western politics and society. This is the first English edition of the work.
($3,800)
The Dunciad, Variorum : with the Prolegomena of Scriblerus. London: Printed for A. Dod, 1729. Adopted!
Pope was perhaps the most significant poet of his age, and The Dunciad was one of his greatest satires. The Dunciad, Variorum was based on the original Dunciad, but included additional material.
($725)
The Ceremonies and Religious Customs of the Various Nations of the Known World . . . London: Printed by Wiliam Jackson for Claude Du Bose, 1733-1739. 6 vols. 
This is the first English edition of Picart’s encyclopedic (though sometimes fanciful) work. Vassar’s set has been used by faculty and students with particular interest in plates dealing with the worship practices of eighteenth century Jews.
($12,100)
Vedute di Roma. Roma, 1748. 2 vols. 
Piranesi’s views of Rome are gathered here in two large folio volumes. The eternal city’s great buildings are depicted, often in ruins.
($10,800)
The Rambler. London: Printed for J. Payne and J. Bouquet, 1751. 2 vols. 
One of the great serial publications of eighteenth century England, The Rambler appeared twice a week from 1750-1752. This first edition is a nice complement to our collection of Johnson dictionaries.
($4,500)
Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. Coloniae Allabrocum (Geneva): Sumptibus Cl. Ant. Philibert, 1760. 3 vols. 
This is a later printing of Newton’s classic work, which was originally published in 1687. The 1760 edition features extended commentary as well as additional works by other mathematical thinkers.
($4,250)
Wealth of Nations. London, 1776. 2 vols. 
This is a first edition of one of the most important texts in the field of economics. Smith’s book, which advocated free markets, had a great influence on individuals and governments.
($1,150)
General Synopsis of Birds. London, 1781-1801. 8 vols. 
Latham was a physician and a founding member of the Linnean Society. This work was his first on ornithology and features over one hundred colored plates and descriptions of many new species.
($9,800)
Lady’s Magazine. London: Printed for GGJ and J:Robinson, 1792 and 1811. 2 vol. 
This British magazine for women was published between 1770 and 1837; it features stories, poetry, music, and colorful fashion designs.
($1,450)
A History of British Birds. Newcastle: Printed by Edward Walker, for T. Bewick: sold by him, and Langman and Co. and J. White, London, 1809. 2 vols. 
Bewick was a talented wood engraver who produced illustrations for a number of books. A History of British Birds was his greatest work; our copy is the third edition.
($3,050)
Voyage Pittoresque de la Gréce. À Paris. De l’imprimerie de Leblanc, 18--. 2 vol. 
Authored by a French diplomat and scholar, Voyage Pittoresque features many impressive engravings. This large, multi-volume work helped stimulate a revival of interest in ancient Greece in France during the late eighteenth century.
($9,200)
Fragments on the Theory and Practice of Landscape and Gardening. London: printed by T Bensley for J. Taylor, 1816. Adopted!
Repton, one of Britain’s most significant landscape architects, published three works on gardening. Our Fragments is a first edition and features over forty color aquatints and other engravings.
($5,350)
Ornithological Biography. Edinburgh, 1831-39. 5 vols. 
This is the valuable first edition of the text companion to Audubon’s Birds of America (Audubon published his text separately to avoid British copyright law).
($8,500)
Le Monde Elegant. 1866-1868. 
This is a wonderful set of mid-nineteenth century colored fashion plates which, despite the title, seems to derive from a London-based periodical.
($675)
Leaves of Grass; Passage to India. [New York : J.S. Redfield and 3 others]; Washington, D.C. : [Sold by Walt Whitman], 1871. Adopted!
Though many editions of Leaves of Grass appeared during Whitman’s lifetime, our copy of this classic work is especially prized because it features a handwritten inscription from the poet to his friend, the nature writer John Burroughs.
($725)
Le Petit Messager/Le Bon Ton. Paris. Société des journaux de modes réunis, n.d. 
This is another set of colored fashion plates that derive from two French fashion periodicals popular in the mid-nineteenth century.
($900)
Holy Bible. The Doves Press, no. 1 The Terrace Hammersmith, 1903. 
The Doves Press was one of the most important English fine presses of the early twentieth century. Its Holy Bible is a masterpiece of Arts and Crafts printing.
($4,850)
Vassar College Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Box 20, 124 Raymond Ave., Poughkeepsie, NY, 12604-0020
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