Fales Library
Encyclopedia
New York University
's Fales Library and Special Collections is located on the third floor of the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
at 70 Washington Square South between LaGuardia Place and the Schwartz Plaza, in the Greenwich Village
neighborhood of Manhattan
, New York City
. It houses nearly 200,000 volumes, and 10000 feet (3,048 m) of archive and manuscript materials. It contains the Fales Collection of rare books and manuscripts in English and American literature, the Downtown Collection, the Food and Cookery Collection, and the general Special Collections from the NYU Libraries.
The Fales Collection was given to NYU in 1957 by DeCoursey Fales
in memory of his father, Haliburton Fales. It is especially strong in English literature from the middle of the 18th century to the present, documenting developments in the novel. Other related collections held in Fales include the Berol Collection of Lewis Carroll
Materials, the Robert Frost Library, the Nelson F. Adkins collection of American Literature, and the manuscript collections of Elizabeth Robins
, Peter Straub
, E. L. Doctorow
and Erich Maria Remarque
.
The Downtown Collection documents the downtown New York city art, performance, film, and literary landscape from 1975 to the present. In addition to thousands of published books and magazines, the Downtown Collection includes extensive holdings of archival and manuscript material; film and video; original artwork; theatrical models; and other realia
. Archival holdings range from the personal papers of writers such as Dennis Cooper
, Richard Foreman
and Lynne Tillman
to the papers of publishing ventures such as High Risk Books
and Between C & D
to the archives of organizations such as Creative Time
and Mabou Mines
.
An area of recent growth in Fales is the Food and Cookery Collection of well over 15,000 books. The personal libraries of James Beard
, Cecily Brownstone
, and Dalia Carmel form the core of this collection which continues to expand.
The Fales Library preserves manuscripts and original editions of books that are rare or important not only because of their texts, but also because of their value as artifacts.
The Fales Library holds the personal papers and/or archives of the following, among others:
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's Fales Library and Special Collections is located on the third floor of the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
The Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, often referred to as Bobst Library or Bobst, is the main library at New York University. Located at 70 Washington Square South between LaGuardia Place and the Schwartz pedestrian plaza, across from the southeast corner of Washington Square Park, it is named after...
at 70 Washington Square South between LaGuardia Place and the Schwartz Plaza, in the Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It houses nearly 200,000 volumes, and 10000 feet (3,048 m) of archive and manuscript materials. It contains the Fales Collection of rare books and manuscripts in English and American literature, the Downtown Collection, the Food and Cookery Collection, and the general Special Collections from the NYU Libraries.
The Fales Collection was given to NYU in 1957 by DeCoursey Fales
DeCoursey Fales
DeCoursey Fales was a lawyer, banker, collector, bibliophile and yachtsman. DeCoursey attended Harvard University where he developed an intense love for British and American fiction. In the last years of his life, Fales devoted himself full-time to collecting. Fales collected fiction books and...
in memory of his father, Haliburton Fales. It is especially strong in English literature from the middle of the 18th century to the present, documenting developments in the novel. Other related collections held in Fales include the Berol Collection of Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
Materials, the Robert Frost Library, the Nelson F. Adkins collection of American Literature, and the manuscript collections of Elizabeth Robins
Elizabeth Robins
Elizabeth Robins was an actress, playwright, novelist, and suffragette.- Early life :Elizabeth Robins, the first child of Charles Robins and Hannah Crow, and was born in Louisville, Kentucky. After financial difficulties, her father left for Colorado, leaving the children in the care of Hannah...
, Peter Straub
Peter Straub
Peter Francis Straub is an American author and poet, most famous for his work in the horror genre. His horror fiction has received numerous literary honors such as the Bram Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and International Horror Guild Award, placing him among the most-honored horror authors in...
, E. L. Doctorow
E. L. Doctorow
Edgar Lawrence Doctorow is an American author.- Biography :Edgar Lawrence Doctorow was born in the Bronx, New York City, the son of second-generation Americans of Russian Jewish descent...
and Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque was a German author, best known for his novel All Quiet on the Western Front.-Life and work:...
.
The Downtown Collection documents the downtown New York city art, performance, film, and literary landscape from 1975 to the present. In addition to thousands of published books and magazines, the Downtown Collection includes extensive holdings of archival and manuscript material; film and video; original artwork; theatrical models; and other realia
Realia
Realia may refer to:* Realia * Realia * Realia...
. Archival holdings range from the personal papers of writers such as Dennis Cooper
Dennis Cooper
Dennis Cooper is an American novelist, poet, critic, editor and performance artist.-Career:Cooper grew up the son of a wealthy businessman in Arcadia, California. His first forays into literature came early, focusing on imitations of Rimbaud, Verlaine, de Sade, and Baudelaire...
, Richard Foreman
Richard Foreman
Richard Foreman is an American playwright and avant-garde theater pioneer. He is the founder of the Ontological-Hysteric Theater.-Life :...
and Lynne Tillman
Lynne Tillman
Lynne Tillman is a novelist, short story writer, and cultural critic. She is currently Professor/Writer-in-Residence in the Department of English at the University at Albany and is the author of five novels, three collections of short stories, one collection of essays, and two other nonfiction...
to the papers of publishing ventures such as High Risk Books
High Risk Books
High Risk Books was founded in New York City in 1993, as an imprint of Serpent's Tail Press of London. Started by Ira Silverberg and Amy Scholder, who was then an editor at City Lights Books in San Francisco. High Risk Books was dedicated to publishing innovative, provocative, and progressive...
and Between C & D
Between C & D
Between C & D was a Lower East Side quarterly literary magazine edited by Joel Rose and Catherine Texier. Though a geographical reference from New York City, Between C & D has also been suggested to mean "between coke and dope", giving an indication of the transgressive content and ethos. Its...
to the archives of organizations such as Creative Time
Creative Time
Creative Time is a New York-based nonprofit arts organization. It was founded in 1973 to support the creation of innovative, site-specific, socially engaged works in the public realm, especially in vacant spaces of historical and architectural interest...
and Mabou Mines
Mabou Mines
Mabou Mines is an avant-garde theatre company founded in 1970 and based in New York City.-History:Mabou Mines is a collaborative, avant-garde theater company based in New York City...
.
An area of recent growth in Fales is the Food and Cookery Collection of well over 15,000 books. The personal libraries of James Beard
James Beard
James Andrew Beard was an American chef and food writer. The central figure in the story of the establishment of a gourmet American food identity, Beard was an eccentric personality who brought French cooking to the American middle and upper classes in the 1950s...
, Cecily Brownstone
Cecily Brownstone
Cecily Brownstone , was a food writer, who wrote several cookbooks and articles about food over a period of 39 years....
, and Dalia Carmel form the core of this collection which continues to expand.
The Fales Library preserves manuscripts and original editions of books that are rare or important not only because of their texts, but also because of their value as artifacts.
The Fales Library holds the personal papers and/or archives of the following, among others:
- John CanemakerJohn CanemakerJohn Cannizzaro Jr. , better known as John Canemaker, is an independent animator, animation historian, author, teacher and lecturer. In 1980, he began teaching and developing the animation program at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts', Kanbar Institute of Film and Television Department...
- Dennis CooperDennis CooperDennis Cooper is an American novelist, poet, critic, editor and performance artist.-Career:Cooper grew up the son of a wealthy businessman in Arcadia, California. His first forays into literature came early, focusing on imitations of Rimbaud, Verlaine, de Sade, and Baudelaire...
- E. L. DoctorowE. L. DoctorowEdgar Lawrence Doctorow is an American author.- Biography :Edgar Lawrence Doctorow was born in the Bronx, New York City, the son of second-generation Americans of Russian Jewish descent...
- Richard ForemanRichard ForemanRichard Foreman is an American playwright and avant-garde theater pioneer. He is the founder of the Ontological-Hysteric Theater.-Life :...
- Robert HammondRobert Hammond (author)Robert Hammond earned a BA from the University of Rochester , and both an MA and PhD from Yale University. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to France along with numerous other honors, fellowships and grants. Hammond was an instructor, and then professor of French at the University of Arizona...
- Elizabeth RobinsElizabeth RobinsElizabeth Robins was an actress, playwright, novelist, and suffragette.- Early life :Elizabeth Robins, the first child of Charles Robins and Hannah Crow, and was born in Louisville, Kentucky. After financial difficulties, her father left for Colorado, leaving the children in the care of Hannah...
- Peter StraubPeter StraubPeter Francis Straub is an American author and poet, most famous for his work in the horror genre. His horror fiction has received numerous literary honors such as the Bram Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and International Horror Guild Award, placing him among the most-honored horror authors in...
- Lynne TillmanLynne TillmanLynne Tillman is a novelist, short story writer, and cultural critic. She is currently Professor/Writer-in-Residence in the Department of English at the University at Albany and is the author of five novels, three collections of short stories, one collection of essays, and two other nonfiction...
- David WojnarowiczDavid WojnarowiczDavid Wojnarowicz was a painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, and activist who was prominent in the New York City art world of the 1980s.-Biography:...
- Kathleen HannaKathleen HannaKathleen Hanna is an American musician, feminist activist, and punk zine writer. In the early- to mid-1990s she was the lead singer and songwriter of Bikini Kill, before fronting Le Tigre in the late 1990s and early 2000s...
External links
- Fales Library Homepage and Finding Aids
- BobCat online catalog