Special Collections & Research


Welcome

For reference inquiries, questions regarding our collections, or to make a research appointment, please email specialcollections@pequotlibrary.org.  

15th century illuminated antiphonal

Special Collections Overview

Pequot Library and its special collections are often called “a treasure,” and for good reason. Rare books and manuscripts have been at the heart of Pequot Library since 1889, when the founders set their minds to building a spectacular collection of Early Americana that would document American exploration, the colonial era, revolutionary period, and early republic. While Gilded Age figures like J. Pierpont Morgan, Henry Clay Folger, and Henry E. Huntington were also amassing collections of rare books and manuscripts, Pequot Library’s remarkable collections were acquired not to be hidden away in a private collection, but made free to all, in hopes that the library “might teach and uplift as many as are willing to use it.”

In the 1890s, Southport resident Mary Catherine Hull Wakeman joined this mission by funding the purchase of additional Americana for the collection, and by commissioning a new wing for these growing collections designed by the original architect of the library, Robert H. Robertson. The stacks wing features a Tiffany stained glass triptych that, fittingly, depict two giants in the history of books and printing, Aldus Manutius (1449–1550) and William Caxton (c. 1422–c. 1491), who stand under the tree of knowledge.

Pequot Library’s special collections quickly became well-known to scholars and appeared in authoritative catalogs such as A Check List Of New England Election Sermons, Check List of Connecticut Almanacs 1709 to 1850, and The New England Primer Printed in America Prior to 1830. Belle da Costa Greene, J. P. Morgan’s now-famous personal librarian, appears in a Pequot Library guest book, visiting in 1909.

In the years since, the collections have continued to grow, thanks in part to the generosity of local collectors:

  • Southport resident Dean Stockett Edmonds donated his Shakespeareana collection, including a 1623 First Folio (partial), 1632 Second Folio, 1663 Third Folio, and 1685 Fourth Folio.
  • Fairfield resident Margaret Rudkin, founder of Pepperidge Farm, donated a collection including the first known printed cookbook—produced in Venice in 1475—and a handwritten recipe book, circa 1710, that includes remedies for sick infants and women experiencing difficulties in childbirth.
  • Southport resident Edward Deacon donated his collection of incunabula (books printed before 1501) and other early printed works, as well as a 15th century illuminated manuscript antiphonal.

(Back to top)

Pequot Library’s archives hold the library’s institutional records, as well as papers of local organizations and families.  These papers include deeds, ledgers, correspondence, and other manuscripts from the Southport and Fairfield area from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.

Collections include:

  • Ledgers from the Marquand & Co silver company, documenting early 18th century sales of jewelry to customers in New York City, Savannah, and Charleston.
  • The papers and library of former Pequot Library president George Brett Jr., who served as president of Macmillan Publishing, including Margaret Mitchell’s typescript of the final four chapters of Gone with the Wind.
  • The Cyrus S. Bradley collection, which includes many colonial and Revolutionary War-era documents, such as a letter that Simon Couch wrote to his father in June 1779 describing an attack by loyalists on his Greens Farms home.
  • The Claire Leighton collection, which includes notes, sketches, personal correspondence, and proof prints, as well as editions of books illustrated and signed by Leighton.

A portion of this collection was placed on long-term deposit at Yale’s university library in 1952, and these materials are currently housed at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library.  The 855 printed books and 1063 manuscripts are described in a catalog produced in 1960, titled “Americana of the Pequot Library”, and can also be found online through the Beinecke Library’s catalogs and finding aids.  

(Back to top)

How to Search the Collections

Published works can be found via the same catalog that we use for circulating books.  This catalog is shared with the Fairfield Public Library and the Fairfield Museum and History Center and the best way to search our Special Collections is to select “Pequot Special Collections” from the first drop-down menu in the search bar, or select “Pequot Special Collections” from the “Limits” in “Advanced Search”.

Archival materials are described in Pequot Library’s finding aids portal.  Users can browse individual collections, or search the entire repository for specific people, topics, or keywords.

The library also holds a collection of early photographs of Southport and the surrounding area.  The entire collection has been digitized and can be searched via Connecticut Digital Archives.

(Back to top)

Search the Special Collections Catalog

“I love Pequot Library because of its excellent history archives and genealogical materials.”

 

Scheduling an Appointment

The special collections are available for research by appointment, in the Dillon Reading Room, Monday through Friday.  All reading room appointments must be supervised by a member of staff.

To make an appointment, please email specialcollections@pequotlibrary.org, indicating the materials you wish to view, and the desired date(s) and time(s) to view them. Appointments should be requested at least one week in advance. Some items in the collection are stored offsite, and require advance notice to ensure retrieval.  This delivery window is generally one week, but may vary.

Researchers must first complete our registration form, and will be asked to provide a photo ID at each visit to the Dillon Reading Room.

Visitors are permitted to take non-flash photographs of items in our collection for research purposes. Researchers and readers who wish to use our materials in their publications must notify the library in advance, in order to ensure proper credit is given.

Reference Inquiries
For general questions about our holdings, including information on unprocessed collections, please send an email to specialcollections@pequotlibrary.org.  

(Back to top)

Complete the Registration Form

Exhibitions

Pequot Library’s Special Collections department curates three exhibitions a year, drawing on material from our collections.  

Click here to learn more about our current exhibition.
Click here for information about past exhibitions.

(Back to top)

Explore our Exhibitions

Bring Your Students

Pequot Library hosts exhibition tours and primary source workshops and seminars for K-12 classes.  Visit our Education Programs page for more details.

Higher ed instructors wishing to use Pequot Library’s special collections may contact specialcollections@pequotlibrary.org.

(Back to top)

Bring Your Students

Dillon Fellowship

Pequot Library in Southport, CT is pleased to announce the 2025 Dillon Fellowship, which will provide support to researchers or librarians working on the library’s collections for projects lasting one month. 

Learn More

Special Collections


English/Language Arts

  • Shakespeare Collection including a partial First Folio (1623) and complete Second (1632), Third (1666), and Fourth (1685) Folios
  • Grammars and Primers by Noah Webster
  • International Editions of Gone with the Wind

History/Social Studies

  • Collections on Civil War, World War I, and World War II
  • Antiquities of Mexico. Published by Edward King, Lord Kingsborough, in the early 19th century
  • Early American sermons

Rare Manuscripts

  • The Sancti Gregorii magni epistolae (the Letter of Pope Gregory I, c. 540-604), the oldest book found in a public library in Fairfield County
  • 15th century illuminated antiphonal