University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Rare Book Collection

The Library's Rare Book Collection had its origin in the establishment, in 1929, of the Hanes Foundation for the Study of the Origin and Development of the Book, which was made possible by an endowment from the family of John Wesley and Anna Hodgin Hanes. The Hanes endowment enabled the Library to acquire a fine colleciton of incunabula, which became the core of its rare book holdings. Other endowments were later obtained and valuable collections added, including collections of Shakespeare, Johnson, Boswell, Dickens, and Cruikshank. In 1952 the Library's rare books were brought together in a new Rare Book Room. Lawrence F. London became the first full-time Curator of Rare Books in 1959 and served until 1975. The collection consists of correspondence and other files relating to the establishment of the Hanes Foundation for the Study of the Origin and Development of the Book, and the subsequent development and administration of the Library's Rare Book Collection, as well as posters for events sponsored by the Rare Book Collection from 1982 to 2017.