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Notable collections

Our Subject Librarians collect, curate, and maintain unique and important collections in all formats and subjects, ranging from rare books, maps, and manuscripts to web archives and data sets. Selected notable collections are highlighted here; SearchWorks contains many others.

Jim McRae and KZSU Project South volunteers, 1965

Transcripts and audio recordings of interviews with Civil Rights workers in the South recorded by Stanford students during the summer of 1965.

First-person histories of the pioneering individuals who challenged the ways women were seen by the reigning art establishment.

Down, Marmaduke! / Brad Anderson

The collection contains 2500 individual paperback humor and joke books in a variety of subject areas.

Ma Ragtime Baby, by Fred S. Stone. NY: Myll Bros., 1899

Sheet music depicting African Americans, or written by African American composers.

Alan Farley

The Alan Farley Collection consists primarily of recordings made for the radio program Book Talk on KALW 91.7 FM in San Francisco, California.

Aldine printer's device

Books from the Aldine Press, founded in 1494 by Aldus Manutius and continued by his grandson, Aldo, until his death in 1597.

Ambassador Auditorium, Pasadena, CA

Files of the organizational departments of the Ambassador Auditorium as well as audio and video recordings.

YWCA photo

Miss Elsie Anderson spent seventeen years in China as a Secretary for Young Women's Christian Association of China (YWCA) 中華基督教女青年會 between 1920s-1940s.

Africa / Libya / Morland / mit allen kunigsreichen so zu unsern zeiten darin gefunden werden (Basel, ca. 1545)

Antiquarian maps from all over the world.

The Schmidt Collection contains primarily photocopies of original and transcribed music for lute gathered from a variety of libraries and archival repositories.

Blanche Thebom as Laura, in La Gioconda

The Blanche Thebom Collection consists of scores, correspondence, publicity, production notes, and media from the mezzo-soprano's post-Met career as teacher and director.

The Williams Quartette

Bob Arnold was a popular music historian and collector in Albany, California.

Cesar Chavez, 1973

The Bob Fitch photography archive is the complete archive of activist photographer Bob Fitch of Watsonville, California.

California State Capitol, Sacramento

Reports and documents from 1855 to 1893 on topics such as land use, natural resource management, health and welfare, transportation, and finance.

Ambolina Snow, by Bodine and Maywood. London: Wickens & Co., 1896

White perceptions of African American as portrayed in the cover illustrations of sheet music.

Bai Mao Nü

Chinese comic books (连环画) are a popular medium to entertain and to educate the public in China.

Searchable copyright renewal records received by the US Copyright Office between 1950 and 1993 for books published between 1923 and 1963

Seal of the United States Foreign Bondholders Protective Council (FBPC) on their annual reports.

The collection contains CFB Annual Reports (1868-1988) and FBPC Annual Reports (1934-1967). Archival materials detail the economies of various countries.

Primavera [1928], manuscript detail

Includes manuscripts of musical compositions, and correspondence (1924-1973)

The David Rumsey Map Collection at Stanford University Libraries

18th and 19th century North and South American cartographic materials

Denis Condon (1933-2012) trained at the Sydney Conservatory and became a music teacher and educator.

Nemo, King of the Tramps

Complete texts of 100 books from the series, Secret Service, illuminate perceptions of race in turn-of-the-century America.

Official logo of "DttP: Documents to the People," the official publication of the Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) of the American Library Association (ALA).

The collection includes 138 digitized journal issues (1972-2002) documenting the emergence of the government documents specialization within the field of librarianship.

Computer science professor Donald E. Knuth at the Gates Center.

Papers reflect his work in the study and teaching of computer programming, computer systems for publishing, and mathematics.

Donald Pippin, Artistic Director of Pocket Opera

The Donald Pippin Collection consists primarily of Pippin's English translations of opera librettos available as pdf files.

Steve Jobs, 1986

Photojournalism, fine art documentary work, and commercial photography capture the people and places of an emerging Silicon Valley.

The Drink Problem and its Solution

This collection consists of over 1200 items, published roughly between 1800 and 1980. It contains 845 pamphlets, 110 journals and periodicals, and 325 books.

This collection includes original Muybridge glass plate negatives and prints, as well as modern day copy prints of his photographs.

Edward A. Feigenbaum, circa 1970s

Primarily concerns his work in artificial intelligence at Stanford University.

Photo: Ya'akov Benor-Kalter

A virtual exhibit and digital collection celebrating the centennial of the founding of "The First Hebrew City."

"Cuando tu vuelvas a mi," words by Fernando Fernández, music by Abel Domínguez, 1944.

Includes popular sheet music, often either in manuscript or with annotations.

Florence Underwood

Florence Underwood studied with Darius Milhaud at Mills College in the 1940s.

MacFarland Collection book plate

MacFarland's long and intensive study of the nudibranchs brought him world-wide recognition as an authority on the life and habits of these animals.

Progymnasmata alchemiae, 1607

Books and manuscripts related to Isaac Newton and the development of the physical sciences in the 17th century.

Frederick E. Terman, Dean of Engineering.

The books in the Terman collection were left to the Engineering Library that bears his name by Dr. Terman upon his retirement.

Frederick Emmons Terman

Documents all phases of his long and influential career as an educator, electronics engineer, administrator, and author.

Lehmann  as the Marshallin

Includes correspondence and research notes related to Hickling's discography of Lehmann's performances.

Over 59,000 public documents and 300 publications of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade on topics related to post-WWII international trade.

Antheil's signature

George Antheil was born on July 8, 1900 in Trenton, New Jersey. He studied briefly with Constantin von Sternberg and Ernest Bloch.

Gerhard Samuel

Papers and recordings from American conductor and composer Gerhard Samuel (1924-2008), particularly from his years conducting the Oakland Symphony, Minneapolis Symphony, and University of Cincinnati Philharmonia Orchestra.

This collection of 17th and 18th century maps depict California as an island.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Correspondence, blueprints, drawings, photographs, and other records relating to the planning, design and construction of the campus home of Professor and Mrs. Paul R. Hanna designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Anne Parker Wigglesworth, Portrait of Henry Cowell. 1964. Oil on canvas, 92 x 60 cm. Gift of Henry Cowell Coolidge Wigglesworth.

This collection contains Sydney Cowell's donations of published scores and recordings of her husband's music.

This is the collection of former Yale professor Herbert Matter, known for his films, photography, and experimental art printing.

"Lunar Vehicle Remote Control" (n.d.): still from the earliest film in Stanford Collections showing a prototype lunar rover

Streaming audio and video of a variety of events and activities from Stanford, Silicon Valley, and the larger artificial intelligence community.

Hopkins Marine Station Logo

Papers done by Stanford undergraduates along with student papers from other institutions where Hopkins Marine Station was the study site.

Ba Xian dang an

Philip C. C. Huang and Kathryn Bernhardt are Professors of Chinese History at UCLA. Prof.

Head shot of Paul Hurd

The Paul DeHart Hurd Collection on Science Education includes materials on the teaching of science, science education policy, curriculum, and related topics.

Two important early 20th century reports from the US Serial Set.

Front cover image from Nothing Left in my Hands by Kazuko Nakane

The Issei Oral History Project in Watsonville consists of interviews conducted by Kazuko Nakane from 1978 to 1983 with fifteen Japanese-American residents in Watsonville, California.

Arturo Toscanini poses on a ship's deck (undated)

The Jack Lund Collection contains personal papers of Jack Lund, an avid classical music collector, as well as numerous newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs, and music books.

James Schwabacher

The James Schwabacher Collection consists of sound recordings, correspondence, scores, scrapbooks, clippings, programs, teaching material and other papers from San Francisco philanthropist and lyric tenor James Schwabacher.

Jane Stanford

Documents the founding and administration of Stanford University, along with her personal and social affairs.

A selection of cover images from the Japanese DVD and BluRay Collection.

Starting in 2014, the Japanese collection at Stanford started acquiring noteworthy movies. Currently this collection boasts over twenty recent Japanese documentaries and award-winning films.

An image from one of the books in this collection, Akushu da, shows a boy trying to shake hands with a massive storm.

There have been many publications related to the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident, but among the most poignant are the efforts of authors to explain this incident to children.  Stanfor

An example of an Edo-period woodblock print from our collection.  This souvenir print is from Karasaki Shrine in Shiga province.

The Japanese collection boasts a large collection of prints from the 17th through the mid-20th century.

A few examples of the materials in the Stanford textbook collection

Stanford has over 400 Japanese textbooks from the early twentieth century (and some more recent ones also!).  Perform a subject search for "Stanford kyokasho collection" to review the list!

Privately produced Leopold Auer recording, signed by the artist on June 7, 1920.

The Heifetz Collection features recordings by the violinist and a rare unpublished recording by Leopold Auer.

Detail from Lind's vocal exercise book used at the Royal Conservatory.

The collection includes correspondence (1835-1897), financial papers, musical compositions, and other papers.

l to r: Jim Cullum Sr., Willson Davis, Louis Armstrong, Harvey Kindervater, and Jim Cullum Jr., 1965.

The Happy Jazz Band was formed in 1962 by Jim Cullum with his son, Jim Cullum, Jr. in San Antonio, Texas.

John McCarthy

Materials pertaining to McCarthy's research and his teaching at Stanford and MIT.

Plot of the effects of a 83 kiloton nuclear attack on Washington, DC (centered on the White House). From a briefing to the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy by the US Atomic Energy Commission, February 18, 1953, following the successful detonation of the first hydrogen bomb in late 1952. Source: Legislative Archives, National Archives, Washington, DC.

This digital library contains 144,000 pages of source materials from the hearings of the committee from 1946 to 1977.

Grażyna Bacewicz

The Judith Rosen Collection consists of unpublished recordings of performances, lectures, and radio programs concerning classical music, focusing on twentieth century composition, as well as women musicians and composers.

Detail from Danza Tropical (1922)

The collection includes over 100 music manuscripts by Spanish composer Julio de Osma.

Earl Hines, New York, ca. Mar. 1947

The Ken Ackerman Collection consists of broadcast recordings of live jazz performances from the 1950s and 60s, captured at various clubs in San Francisco, particularly Club Hangover.

Kirsten Flagstad

Kirsten Flagstad (1895-1962) was known as the premier Wagnerian soprano of her time.

Kline Roethke Field Room collection case

Eighteenth and nineteenth century books of English literature, international politics, and illustrated works.

Kronos Quartet (l-r: Hank Dutt, David Harrington, Jeffrey Zeigler, John Sherba)

The Kronos Quartet has donated part of its collection of chamber music to the Music Library.

KSFO logo circa 1950-1965

The KSFO collection consists of audiovisual material and ephemera from this San Francisco radio station's years owned by Golden West Broadcasting, 1956-1983.

Sitsky piano roll catalogs

The noted Australian composer and pianist, Larry Sitsky, is also the author of The Classical

Leigh Ortenburger was an American mountaineer and photographer. He wrote the classic mountaineering guidebook, A Climber's Guide to the Teton Range.

Leland Stanford, 1824-1893.

Materials relating to the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad, Stanford's political career, business and financial interests, and the founding and construction of Stanford University.

Engravings, etchings, mezzotints, lithographs, and acquatints, circa 1600-1850.

Melinda's Wedding Day, by Goodwin/McCarthy/Piantadosi (c. 1913)

Lucie King Harris, born in Sonoma in 1883, was an arts patron, a philanthropist, and an ardent horsewoman.

Detail from engraving by P. Mignard.  In Lully, homme d'affaires, propriétaire et musicien : notes et croquis à propos de son hôtel de la rue Sainte-Anne et de son mausolée aux / Radet (1891)

The Lully Archive is a repository of primary sources on microfilm originally gathered in support of publication of the complete works of Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687).

Antiquarian maps of Africa from the collections of the late Dr. Oscar I. Norwich and the Stanford University Libraries.

Mario Ancona

The Mario Ancona Collection includes photographs, memorabilia, sound recordings, and more related to Ancona's career.

Schofield collection bookplate

Mary L. Schofield Collection of Children's Literature in Special Collections

Gaetano Donizetti. Excerpt from Betly (La capanna svizzera). Original manuscript. 1836. MLM 264

Scores of operas, symphonic works, chamber music, and choral works by major composers from the 17th to 20th centuries.

Law School

Photographs of Stanford University buildings done by Baer for the architects for the University.

Catgut Acoustical Society logo

The MARL collection consisting of nearly 60 linear feet of materials is dedicated to the study of all aspects of musical acoustics.

Letter from Debussy to G. Moureg, 1919

Letters, manuscripts and printed works by composers including Brahms, Debussy, Cimarosa, Piatti, and Franchomme.

A hidden jewel of the Japanese collection is

Philip G. Zimbardo

Research and teaching files, professional files and correspondence, audiovisual materials, professional papers, and materials documenting the Stanford Prison Experiment.

John Perry & Ken Taylor

Philosophy Talk is a talk radio program co-hosted by Stanford professors John Perry and Ken Taylor.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

This collection from Dr. David A. Hamburg includes the documentary, Preventing Genocide, and videotaped interviews with world leaders in the prevention of mass violence.

R. Buckminster Fuller

Fuller's versatile career as an architect, lecturer, mathematician, writer, and social critic is documented extensively.

San Francisco city views, public buildings, and landscapes, as well as San Jose, Stanford University, the U.S. Navy Yard at Mare Island, San Diego, and San Luis Rey.

Richard Bonelli

The Bonelli Collection includes letters, programs, scores, scrapbooks, recordings, posters, and news clippings.

Richard Crooks as Pinkerton

Richard Crooks was a tenor with the Metropolitan Opera Company.

Richard Finnie and colleagues

Open reel tape recordings made by documentary filmmaker, photographer, ethnographer, and historian Richard Sterling Finnie.

Richard Hadlock

Open reel tape recordings of the “Annals of Jazz” radio program produced and hosted by historian and educator Richard Hadlock, broadcast on KCSM, San Mateo between 1982 and 1991.

Tape container for Wind (1961)

The Richard Maxfield Collection consists of electronic music written by Maxfield on open reel tape from 1959 to 1964. Some tape boxes appear annotated by the composer.

Riverwalk Jazz logo

Riverwalk Jazz: Live At The Landing educated and entertained public radio listeners with a program devoted to celebrating traditional jazz and popular music of the pre-war era.

Ruth and Mario Chamlee in Manon

Tenor Mario Chamlee sang at the leading opera houses in the United States and abroad. His wife Ruth was a soprano and noted singing teacher.

Bookplate for the Samson collection of Judaica

Samson collection of Judaica once belonging to the Jewish Community of Copenhagen, Denmark.

A part of the East Asia Library's robust collection of award-winning Japanese-language books for children.

The East Asia Library has started to collect award-winning Japanese children’s books.

1971 Rose Bowl program

Stanford football game program covers, 1892-2013.

Geology of the Pine Mountain area, Ventura County, California

450 maps and 50 field notebooks survey and map parts of California, Nevada, and Utah.

Stanford family

More than 16,000 images documenting Stanford University and its founders.

Jing Lyman

Explores the institutional history of Stanford, with an emphasis on the tranformative post-WWII period.

A few titles from the collection of Japanese manga held at the East Asia Library.

Stanford has a robust manga collection boasting more than 330 titles.  To review the titles, search for "Stanford manga collection."

Library

Drawings of campus buildings and other properties owned by the university and faculty.

Campus planning

Audio recordings of Stanford events and activities.

Maps of campus, other lands owned by Jane and Leland Stanford or the University, and adjacent communities.

Bruce Connor, Three Films

Documents academic and student life, including athletics, drama, lectures, films, musical events, organizations, dances, parties and other social events, and political activities.

Stanford songs

Online access to selected catalogs and administrative publications of Stanford University published between 1891 and 2001.

Television in classrooms

Video recordings documenting Stanford University events, 1934- .

An image from Stanford's collection of hanpon


Stanford has a nearly 550 titles of Japanese books printed during the 18th and 19th century.  To review the list of titles, perform a subject search for "Stanford hanpon collection."

Stephen Timoshenko Collection

Books from the collection of Stephen Prokofyevich Timoshenko (1878-1972), often referred to as the father of applied mechanics in the United States.

Steven Chu, professor of physics, in laser lab.

Papers pertain primarily to topics in physics and include notes, overhead transparencies from his lectures, reprints, articles, memos, proposals, correspondence, charts, drawings, notebooks, and au

Dupuis, Charles-François. Planches de l'origine de tous les cultes, ou Religion universelle: par Dupuis. Paris: H. Agasse, 1794.
Image: Dessiné par Ducondray, gravé à l’eau-forte par Pauquet, terminé au burin par P. H. Triere.

Thirty-six digitized texts, written in French between 1716 and 1835, investigate the mysterious perimeters of knowledge beyond Locke.

Completed life history questionnaires and other materials document investigative work done in California in the 1920s.

Taube-Baron collection of Jewish studies and culture, from the library of Professor Salo Wittmayer Baron.

Durand-Lesley Propellers

The Durand-Lesley propellers are the surviving artifacts of an experiment in early aviation history which defined a methodology still in use today.

Monterey Jazz Festival logo

Recordings of live performances throughout the history of this enduring American cultural institution.

A glimpse of The Women's Philharmonic scores, shelved in the Music Reference Room.

From 1981 to 2004, The Women's Philharmonic was a San Francisco-based professional orchestra dedicated to the promotion of women composers, conductors, and performers.

Ted Fagan

This is the personal collection of Theodore Fagan, United Nations translator, author, and music collector.

Richard Venezky

The Venezky Collection contains primers and readers published in the U.S. between the end of the eighteenth century through the early decades of the twentieth century.

French Horn

The William C. Lynch Dennis Brain Collection principally consists of commercial and unpublished recordings of the world renowned British horn player, Dennis Brain (1921-1957).

Broadside advertising Belasco's Girl of the Golden West, at the New Alcazar Theater (San Francisco, 1908)

2,532 individual pieces of sheet music, sheet music lithographs, and music related broadsides from the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

William Shockley

Professional and personal papers documenting research on transistors and electronics; genetic influences on intelligence; and science education.

Yehudi Menuhin

The Menuhin Collection contains many test pressings of Menuhin's performances as a violin soloist.