Skip navigation
Close All Milwaukee Public Library Locations Closed...

Friday, March 29*, and Sunday, March 31 for Easter. All libraries open on Saturday, March 30. *View Early Voting Locations & Hours

Milwaukee Public Library Hours & Locations Close

The Rare Books Collection

The Milwaukee Public Library’s rarities collection gathers, preserves, and provides access to significant materials of historic and aesthetic value for the people of the City of Milwaukee and future generations of residents.  Through the rarities collection, the Library acts to preserve Milwaukee’s intellectual heritage and to preserve the collective memory of its cultures.  

Although broad in scope, the collection has certain strengths that are developed as the opportunity arises: 

  • Natural History, especially ornithology
  • Bibles and early religious materials
  • Native Americans, especially tribes native to Wisconsin
  • Local History
  • Milwaukee advertising
  • Book arts and alternative publications

Using the Collection

Materials from the rare books collection do not circulate, and the stacks are closed to the public, however, all materials are accessible for viewing or research upon request. The materials in rarities may be searched by using the library’s catalog and requested here.

 

Finding Aids for Special Collections & Items in the Rare Books Room

A Book of Autographs

Conceived by Milwaukee philanthropist Lydia Ely, A Book of Autographs contains special slips of watermarked paper that were sent to famous people to sign and return. These were then collected into a book, which was sold to Frederick Pabst in order to secure funds for The Victorious Charge, the war monument sculpted by John Severino Conway which sits outside near the Central Library.

Index to A Book of Autographs

Autograph Collection

This collection consists of 121 autographs from 101 individuals that range in date from 1816 through 1989. The collection is primarily comprised of letters and postcards both handwritten and typed. Of special interest are letters from Charles Dickens, John Adams, Ludwig van Beethoven, John F. Kennedy and other figures of national and international importance.

Index to the Autograph Collection

Milwaukee Concert Poster Collection

The posters in this collection advertise a variety of punk, jazz, and jazz concerts in and around Milwaukee during the early 1980s. Some bands represented include the Violent Femmes, Die Kreuzen, the Ken Dolls, and B.B. King.

Index to the Milwaukee Concert Poster Collection

Online Collections

Three collections from the rare books collection are available for viewing online.

Dr. James Cameron Pamphlet Collection

Milwaukee Historic Trade Card Collection

Wisconsin Concert Poster Collection

 

Upcoming Events in the Richard E & Lucile Krug Rare Books Room

 

May 6, 2024
4:30 PM
Art Book Club: Rarities Edition inside the Richard E. and Lucile Krug Rare Books Room at Central

Join us for a special edition of Art Book Club in the Richard and…