English and American Literature at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library

The Clark Library's extensive collection of early modern English drama includes all four folio editions of Shakespeare's plays, 18 quarto editions of Shakespeare's plays printed before 1640, and 215 additional playbooks printed before 1660. The Paul Chrzanowski Collection of Shakespeareana expands on this strength. The Chrzanowski collection of printed books and manuscripts is particularly strong in early 16th-century literature, including works by Shakespeare's contemporaries and English translations of Continental literature.

The Library also holds several dozen incunabula (books printed before 1501), including some in the Chrzanowski Collection. 

To find printed books, broadsides, maps, periodicals, bound manuscripts, and other discrete items from this period, go to UC Library Search. To limit by date, click on "Advanced Search." Once you have search results, you can limit to the Clark Library by selecting it from the "UCLA Locations" facet. 

Early Modern English Manuscripts — digitized from the Clark Library's collections

Early Modern Annotated Books — digitized from the Clark Library's collections