Yale Center for British Art Rare Books and Manuscripts Department records

The Rare Books and Manuscripts department holds approximately 35,000 volumes. The collection represents a broad range of material relating to the visual arts and cultural life in the United Kingdom and the former British Empire, dating from the fifteenth century to the present. Particular strengths include illustrated “color-plate” books from the renowned J. R. Abbey collection, drawing manuals, sporting books and manuscripts, early maps and atlases, early printed books by William Caxton and his contemporaries, private press and contemporary artists’ books, as well as archival and manuscript material relating to British artists, writers, and travelers of all periods.