The CCAD Historic Art Book Collection is part of CCAD Special Collections. We used to call it Rare Books, but this somewhat intimidating label for a teaching collection is not entirely accurate. While we do have some truly rare items, many books in our collection are not particularly rare, but they are of historic interest to art students. So we transitioned to a new name: the CCAD Historic Art Book Collection. For the sake of simplicity, we will retain the URL: ccad.libguides.com/rarebooks

The CCAD Historic Art Book Collection consists of over 800 volumes relating to the history of art and design, with particularly strong holdings in printmaking, architecture, pattern design, illustration, and the history of costume.

Highlights include:

A first edition of Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France with a fore-edge painting of Burke and his estate (1790)

A bound folio of prints from Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de’ Romani by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (c.1835-9)

A collection of pattern and ornament books, including Racinet's L'ornement polychrome

The Interaction of Color by Josef Albers (the 1963 limited-edition set with commentary and 150 silkscreened color plates)

The 5-volume Hunter translation of Johann Caspar Lavater’s Essays on Physiognomy (1789-98) containing 537 engraved illustrations, some of which were designed by Henry Fuseli and engraved by William Blake

A bound folio of engravings of statuary from the gardens at Versailles, the Louvre, and the Tuileries, part of the Cabinet du Roi (c.1685-1690)

We had a Tumblr from October 2014 to May 31, 2019.  It's still up, but we aren't posting anything new. Visit us at https://ccadrarebooks.tumblr.com/ to see some of collection!

The CCAD Library staff do not offer valuation services for old books. Please contact a reputable book dealer or appraiser to obtain information on book values.

We also do not provide conservation services. You may find conservators at the American Institute for Conservation website.