Collections Overview

Special Collections consists of two general components: archives and rare books. The archives contains both records of the university and historic manuscript collections. Past issues of the Horned Frog yearbooks and The TCU Daily Skiff along with photographs of campus and university activities and numerous TCU publications document the history of the university. The collections of former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Jim Wright, prominent Fort Worth businessman Amon G. Carter, and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition highlight the manuscripts portion of the archives.

 The William Luther Lewis Collection is the heart of our rare book holdings. Composed of approximately fifteen hundred titles, nearly nine hundred of which are first editions, the Lewis Collection represents over three hundred principal authors of English and American literature. Our rare book collecting interests include the work of Southwest writers and children’s literature.

The Pate-Newcomer Collection contains well over 1,200 items covering all aspects of the people, life, and culture of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and rounds out our collection of unique and diverse resources.

 Other collections of interest include the Mayfield Collection of books and pamphlets on Western outlaws and gunmen and the George T. Abell Collection of antique maps. There is also an important collection of the works of Anthony Trollope. Located in the Pate Room are collections of books on Abraham Lincoln, the American presidency, vice presidency, and first ladies—a gift of Dr. and Mrs. A.M. Pate, Jr.