Historical Collections
Kress Collection
The Kress Collection of Business and Economics is recognized as one of the premier rare book collections in the world. Included are rare books, pamphlets, broadsides, manuscripts, and prints, ranging from the fifteenth through the twentieth centuries. Researchers will find not only the great classics of economic thought but also an extensive selection of ephemeral material that provides a historical context for the growth and dissemination of ideas.
Among the collection's traditional strengths are the history of political economy, economic philosophy, business theory, commerce, finance, taxation, money and banking, trades and manufactures, agriculture, transportation, labor, and socialism. In addition, new directions in research continue to bring to light valuable resources for an expanding range of disciplines, including the history of technology, philosophy, African-American studies, gender studies, history of science, and social and cultural history.
There are several special collections within the Kress Collection:
Bancroft Collection
Focuses on the speculation mania, particularly the South Sea Bubble, that swept England and the Continent around 1720.
Bleichroeder Print Collection
Extensive grouping of prints from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries on the subjects of money, banking, and financial history.
Vanderblue Memorial Collection of Smithiana
One of the most comprehensive collections in the world of works by and about Adam Smith.
Planning a Visit
If you wish to visit, please notify us as far in advance as possible.
Locating Materials
Card Catalog – Most complete point of access until conversion to the online catalog is finished.
Printed Catalog – Widely available, contains citations for materials in the collection prior to 1967.
HOLLIS – All recently cataloged materials, plus records for items in the Goldsmiths'-Kress microfilm series.
Other Formats: Digital and Microfilm
Many, but not all, of the titles in the Kress Collection may be found in these other formats:
Making of the Modern World: Goldsmiths'-Kress Library of Economic Literature 1450-1850
Access:
- HU PIN
- Authorized Baker visitors
Goldsmiths' Kress Microfilm Series
Kress Library Publications
Services
Photoduplication Material from the Kress Collection may not be photocopied. If the item is in the Goldsmiths'-Kress microfilm series, copies may be made from the microfilm.
Contact Historical Collections