Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Subheading

Yale University holds a significant (probably the largest) collection of MacDonald materials in the world. It is at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. There are personal papers with 900 letters from MacDonald to his family and more than 2,500 letters from relatives and friends. There are also 50 photographs and scrapbook items such as newspaper clippings and announcements.

This collection was brought together around 1978 with acquisitions as recently as 1998. What is exciting is that as of October 1999 you can access many of the photographs and a detailed description of the contents of the collection over the internet. Those who love MacDonald will be thrilled at what they find there.

To find the information:

1. go to http://www.library.yale.edu/pubstation 
2. click on "library catalogue local and worldwide" 
3. click "archival finding aid project" 
4. search for "George MacDonald" at "Beinecke Library"

To find the images: 

1. go to http://www.library.yale.edu/pubstation 
2. click on "search" 
3. click on "Beinecke" at the botton of the page 
4. click "the collections" 
5. search on-line catalogues - Beinecke Digital Images

Some of these images have only recently been scanned for the first time. There are legal considerations regarding copying of the images, but further guidence can be found within the Yale site. There are many photographs which I have never seen before and one which is especially interesting was an advertisement for a lecture by MacDonald on Robert Burns (35 cents or 50 cents for reserved seating).

This information was provided by Bob Trexler. The church he attends is a block and a half away from this MacDonald treasure and, where possible, he is willing to offer assistance to any MacDonald researchers wishing to access the archive.