is one of the Library’s Special Collections

Drew University Library’s special collection of 19th century pamphlets is large and complex. More than 10,000 pamphlets cover scores of subjects, both secular and sacred.
Religious materials include a significant denominational representation. There are histories, minutes, annual reports, tracts, and various miscellaneous publications from about 30 different religious bodies, among them the Presbyterian, Congregational, and Lutheran Churches; the Churches of England and Scotland; the Reformed Episcopal, Protestant Episcopal, Dutch Reformed, Christian Catholic, and Catholic Churches; and the Mennonites, Shakers, Baptists, Moravians, Seventh Day Adventists, Christian Scientists, Mormons, Quakers, Unitarians, Universalists, and Swedenborgians, as well as Judaism and several eastern religions.
Religious benevolent societies are also significantly represented, including Bible societies, foreign and home missionary societies, organizations working for social reform, and The Salvation Army. In addition, there are 17th, 18th, and 19th century sermons, works on spiritualism, comparative religion, Martin Luther, Calvinism, and publications of at least 30 Sunday school and Sabbath organizations.
Non-religious materials cover a wide range of subjects, including African-American history, slavery, World War I, witchcraft, the American Indian, Masonic orders and secret societies, criminals and criminology, the YMCA, the WPA, Ireland, India, temperance, women’s suffrage and anti-suffrage, and U.S. history. There is also a significant collection of almanacs, with single issues or partial runs of roughly 50 different British and American publications. Work on the collection is on-going.
Drew University Special Collections started an initiative in 2021 to scan the 19th century pamphlet collection. For the collections scanned thus far, please see the following link:
https://digitalcollections.drew.edu/SpecialCollections/19thCenturyPamphlets/
Explore the 19th Century Collection by subject
- 19th Century Dissertations
- Africa
- American Anti-Imperialism
- American Indians (Unprocessed)
- American Tract Society tracts (Unprocessed)
- Baptism
- Baptists (Unprocessed)
- Bible
- Bible in the Public Schools
- Bible Societies
- Burial, Cremation and Cemeteries
- Calvinism
- Capital Punishment
- Chauncey M. Depew
- Child Labor
- Christian Catholic Apostolic Church in Zion
- Christian Doctrine
- Christian Science
- Christian Union
- Church and State
- Church Bells
- Church Finance
- Church History in England
- Church History in France
- Church History in Ireland
- Church History in Mexico
- Church History in Scotland (Unprocessed)
- Church Music
- Church of England
- Citizen’s Union of the City of New York
- Civil Service
- Commerce and Shipping
- Comparative Religion
- Congregationalism
- Cooperation
- Crime and Punishment
- David F. Strauss
- Disciples of Christ
- East India Company
- Ecumenical Missionary Conference
- Education (Unprocessed)
- Erasmus
- Evangelical Alliance
- Faith Healing
- Foreign Missions
- Free Thought Debate
- Free Trade
- Gerrit Smith
- Home Missions and Relief Work with Various Groups
- Immigration
- India (Unprocessed)
- Inland Navigation
- International Arbitration
- Irish History
- Islam
- John Watts de Peyster
- Judaism (Unprocessed)
- Labor
- League of Nations
- Local Sunday School Associations
- Lutheran Church
- Marriage
- Martin Luther
- Masonic Orders
- Massachusetts
- Medical Missions
- Medicine
- Melanchthon
- Memorials and Eulogies
- Mennonite
- Ministry
- Missions in China (Unprocessed)
- Money and Currency Question in the United States
- Moravian
- Mormon
- National League for the Protection of American Institutions
- New York State
- Opium
- Pamphlets and Dissertations (Unprocessed)
- Peace (Unprocessed)
- Pilgrims and Puritanism
- Politics in Great Britain
- Popular Science
- Practical Politics (United States)
- Prayer
- Presbyterian Church
- Presbyterian Church in New Jersey
- Presidents of the United States
- Protestant Episcopal Church (Unprocessed)
- Public School Question
- Quaker
- Railroads
- Reformation
- Reformed Church in America (Dutch)
- Reformed Episcopal Church
- Reformed Presbyterian Church
- Reformed Serials
- Religious Tract Society
- Revivals
- Roads
- Robert G. Ingersoll
- Roman Catholic Church (Unprocessed)
- Russia
- Sabbath (Unprocessed)
- Science and Christianity
- Sermons
- Seventh-Day Adventist
- Shaker
- Slavery
- Socialism and Social Reform
- Society for Ethical Culture
- Southern States
- Spiritualism
- Student Volunteer Movement (Unprocessed)
- Sunday School
- Swedenborgian
- Temperance (Unprocessed)
- Theses
- Unitarian
- Unitarian Tracts (sorted by author and title)
- Unitarian Tracts (sorted by series and number)
- United States History (Civil War)
- United States History (General)
- United States History (Revolutionary War)
- Universalism
- Vices
- Waldensian
- William H. Seward
- Women
- World War I
- YMCA (Unprocessed)
- Zwingli (Unprocessed)
Search the Drew Library Catalog for books and serials in the 19th Century Collection