Rare Books and Special Collections

Swansea University Libraries' Rare Books Collection

containing a diverse range of printed books and pamphlet

How to Access the Rare Books Collection

Consultation is by appointment only during office hours, 9 a.m. – 4.45 p.m., Monday to Friday. However, if a reader has not made an appointment it may still be possible to consult the collection if a member of staff is available. Items in this collection can only be consulted in the Rare Books room and researchers are asked to abide by the reading room rules.

The Rare Book reading room is situated on level 2 at Singleton Park Library.

For enquiries about the Rare Books collection and to make an appointment, please email the Document Supply Service.

Contents of the Rare Books Collection

All items in the Rare Books collection are listed on the library catalogue, iFind. (After searching, you can refine your search results by selecting the Rare Books Location filters.)

The collection contains over 1,700 printed books and pamphlets from 1473 to the present. There are about 60 books printed before 1600, about 430 printed in the 17th century (such as finely illustrated editions of Camden's Brittanica) and over 550 from the 18th century.

The books published after the 18^th century include, for instance:

Books published in a limited edition of fewer than 500 copies.
Books published by private presses (e.g. Gregynog, Kelmscott and Golden Cockerel Presses)
First editions (e.g. by Dylan Thomas and Rhys Davies)
Books autographed by famous authors (e.g. Dylan Thomas)
Beautifully illustrated books (e.g. The Book of Kells: reproductions from the manuscript in Trinity College, Dublin)
Books of local interest which may be difficult or expensive to obtain (e.g. Rhys Phillips, History of the Vale of Neath)
Books with particularly fine bindings

The Collection includes a collection of over 300 ballads (most of which are in Welsh) printed between 1710 and the early 20th century, each of which is separately catalogued in iFind.

Special Collections in Library Stores

A number of special collections of books, such as the recently donated Allan Milne Collection, are held in Stores at Singleton Park Library. These are mostly bequests or donations. Much of the material is not borrowable, and some may only be consulted under special conditions. Most items may be found in the iFind catalogue. Please ask at Library Information Desk for details of access to this special collection material.

Our Collections

Allan Milne Collection

A collection, donated by Allan Milne, of over 3,000 books and journal volumes on the American Civil War. It includes many primary source materials, such as diaries, autobiographies and soldiers' letters. The Allan Milne Collection, one of the largest collections of materials relating to the Civil War in the United Kingdom, is of great value for many researchers.

Llewellyn Bequest

Books and pamphlets, mainly of Welsh interest, donated to the Library. They include 18th and 19th century biographies, texts and translations and books on Wales and the Welsh border. Most were donated by Llewellyn Llewellyn of Brynhyfryd in 1935 and others were given in 1943 and 1955 by his son and daughter-in-law.

Salmon Collection

Bound volumes of 19th century pamphlets which belonged to David Salmon, who was a Principal of Swansea Training College which became part of the Swansea Institute of Higher Education (now Swansea Metropolitan University).

Dylan Thomas Collection

Translations of some of the poetry and prose works of Dylan Thomas into a number of different languages including Dutch, French, German, Spanish and Italian. It supports the work of the Centre for Research into the English Literature and Language of Wales within the English Department.

Glyn Jones Collection

A collection of books has been donated (1997) from the library of the late Glyn Jones (1915-1995), the Anglo-Welsh poet, short story writer and novelist. Each of the books is a presentation copy with an inscription, and there is valuable work to be found in several volumes (such as a complete poem by John Ormond in Ormond's own hand and extensive annotations by Glyn Jones in various texts by R.S. Thomas and Emyr Humphreys). Several of the texts are also first editions or rare copies.

John Loder / Noel Mortimer Collection

A collection of documents on aviation.

Vivienne Sugar Collection

Material relating to the Richard Commission. Vivienne Sugar, formerly the Chief Executive of the City and County of Swansea was also, from 2002 to 2004, a member of the Richard Commission that examined the powers and electoral arrangements of the National Assembly for Wales.

Egyptology Special Collections

Collections of books, pamphlets and journal articles on Egypt and the Near East given to the university are on Level 2 on the West Wing. They are in the iFind catalogue.

Gardiner Collection

A large collection of pamphlets on Egyptology and the ancient Near East which belonged to the personal library of Sir Alan Gardiner (1879–1963), the distinguished Egyptologist and linguistic scholar. These include many offprints from journals. The pamphlets are on permanent loan from the Sackler Library in the University of Oxford. Many of the writings are in German, French or Italian.

Gwyn Griffiths Collection

A collection of books and journals on Egyptology and the ancient Near East which belonged to Prof J. Gwyn Griffiths (1911-2004), who was in the Department of Classics and Egyptology from 1946 until his retirement in 1979, and his equally distinguished wife Dr. Kate Bosse-Griffiths (1910-1998). They are on a large variety of topics, including religion and mythology. They were donated to the library upon Prof. Griffiths' death.

Francis Llewellyn Griffith Collection

A small collection of over a hundred books and other items on ancient Egypt and the Near East which once formed part of the large library of Francis Llewellyn Griffith (1862–1934), who is rightly described in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography as one of the fathers of British Egyptology. Many of the volumes are concerned with archaeological excavations.

DuQuesne Collection

Books from the library of the Egyptologist Terence DuQuesne donated to the library in 2014 following his death. There are about 300 books and a small number of periodicals.