Rare and Wonderful
The
United Library has several collections of antique and rare items. In
addition to the institutional archives of Garrett-Evangelical, there are rare books, a few museum pieces, and even a
Geneva Bible. Viewing items from the special collections is by appointment
only and are scheduled on weekdays between 8:30 and 4:30 when staff are on
duty. Please e-mail the
Library Director with your request.
Hibbard Rare Book Collection
Between
1907 and 1920, Lydia Beckman Hibbard (1834-1920), who was a faithful
Episcopalian in Chicago, gave about $23,000 to the Hibbard Egyptian Library at
Western Theological Seminary. Two professors of the school, Olaf Toffteen
(Professor of Semitic Languages and Literature 1907-1910) and Samuel A. B Mercer
(Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Literature 1910-1922) were responsible
for the initial development of this library whose rich holdings encompassed the
fields of Egyptology, Semitic Languages, and Near Eastern archaeology.
Holdings include Description l'Egypte (Paris 1809-28) Rosellini's
I monumenti
dell'egitto e della Nubia (Pisa 1832-44), Lepsius's Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und
Aethiopien (Berlin, 1849-54) and Botta's Monument de Ninive (Paris, 1849-50).
The Hibbard Rare book collection (and the Mummy) are now housed at
Garrett-Evangelical.
Keen Bible Collection
This
collection, initiated by Paul Edwin Keen, Professor of New Testament and
Exegesis at the Evangelical Theological Seminary from 1927-1957, includes over
700 English Versions and Revisions of individual testaments or the entire Bible.
Of 275 extant Bible Translations, 225 are available in the Keen collection.
Among the outstanding First Editions are Matthews Bible (1537), The
Taverner Bible (1539), The Geneva Bible (1560), the Bishops Bible (1568), the
Rheims New Testament (1582), the King James Version (1611), and the Douai Old
Testament (1610). Holdings also include Short Bibles, Translations of the
Apocrypha, Vulgate Texts, and several Resultant Greek Texts of the New
Testament. Also present in the Keene Bible Room is the personal library of
Bishop John Seybert, an Evangelical Association bishop of the mid-nineteen
century.
Methodist Special Collection
The manuscripts in this archive fall into three groups. The first consists of the papers of former Garrett-Evangelical Presidents and faculty members including Milton Terry, Charles Stuart, and Georgia Harkness. The second portion of the collection contains a varied set of materials embracing Methodism from its inception in the 18th century to the present day. Of note are the journals, letters and papers of Ezekiel Cooper and William Colbert. Of particular interest are several letters written by John Wesley. The final portion of the collection includes a large number of books, pamphlets, and periodicals including approximately 500 titles of 18th Century imprints by John and Charles Wesley. Other authors and subjects in the collection include John Fletcher, George Whitfield, and polemical pamphlets originating from early controversies in the American church and from Wesley's reaction to the American Revolution.
Northern Illinois Conference Archives
The Commission on Archives and History of the Northern Illinois Conference (
The archives are largely comprised of the records of closed
local churches from the geographical region approximating the northern third of
There are a few manuscript collections, largely sermons of former ministers from the area and some of the marriage, death and baptism records were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah. As the archives are not digital, viewing is by appointment. Please contact Mr. Leonard for more information.