Special Collections
1 John Carroll Boulevard
Grasselli Library and Breen Learning Center,
Room 324
University Heights, Ohio 44118
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The oldest books in John Carroll University's library, printed in Western Europe between 1450 and 1800 using movable metal type. Books in this collection are largely ecclesiastical.
Before eBooks and dust jackets, there was a moment in publishing history when designers were hired to create colorful graphics for book covers. Most of the designers were women, who were responsible for crafting the look and style of most books published in the United States between the Civil War and the Great War. JCU's collection includes numerous first editions and works by notable female designers.
Books, journals, photographs, microfilm, manuscript materials, some artwork. Includes works by and about G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936), and by members of his "circle," Hilaire Belloc (1870–1973), Eric Gill (1882–1940), Frederick Rolfe ("Baron Corvo") (1860–1913), and Francis Thompson (1859–1907).
Donated by alumnus Robert E. Heltzel, Jr. ’70. Includes documents signed by President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) and other important Civil War era individuals; works by Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), George Catlin (1796–1872), and Walt Whitman (1819–1892).
Alfred Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918) was considered the foremost Catholic poet of his generation. Collection includes photographic prints, poetry, and other works by and inspired by Kilmer.
This small collection highlights how readers accessed language, literature, and opinion in a popular portable form: the paperback! Featuring pocket-sized editions from Penguin, Dell, Pocket Books, and more, these books are rare examples of how people read in English in the postwar period. Included are two titles published by Tauchnitz, a publisher in Germany who printed English-language books sold to Europeans after the second World War.
All of the books in this collection are smaller than 3" tall or wide. The books range in date from the 17th century (1600s!) to the present. The range of subjects is broad, but the tiny tomes demonstrate the arts of the book. All of JCUSC's miniature books have been cataloged and classified in the Libraries’ catalog, Carroline, as of 2025. Searching the catalog using the subject heading “miniature books” will bring up the majority of titles.
This collection demonstrates the authorial process from early stages of publishing to critical assessment. Spotlighting Morrison, who was raised in nearby Lorain, Ohio, this small collection features signed first editions as well as uncorrected proof copies of her works.
Westenhaver was a journalist covering Catholic life in Cleveland and the United States for the Plain Dealer and the Cleveland Record in the mid-twentieth century. She donated her collected clippings to JCU.
Manuscript materials are anything that was created by human hands. The oldest items in JCUSC in this category are estimated to have been written, by hand, in the 1600s. Distinctive collections of manuscripts at JCU include: English land deeds and transfers; coats of arms; the Carroll-Caton Family Papers; nineteenth-century correspondence; letters between Maurice Baring (1874–1945) and Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953); typewritten manuscripts and hand-corrected documents by G. K. Chesterton; the papers of Robert John Bayer; and materials documenting the history and development of JCU Special Collections.
JCUSC's collections of drawings, prints, and photographs began with accessory materials in the Robert John Bayer Memorial Collection. As of 2025, this large category has expanded to include chromolithographic prints from the 19th century; photographic prints; engravings; original pen-and-ink editorial cartoons by Charles Nelan (1859–1904); and pastel drawings by G. K. Chesterton.
America is home to many different immigrant groups, each of which has led to seeking out by researchers of materials illustrative of the unique aspects of these groups. One of the organizations which helps to seek out this material is the Immigration History Research Center of the University of Minnesota. The center has deposited at John Carroll University a copy of their Carpatho-Ruthenian Microfilm Project.
The microfilm file held at John Carroll comprises 15 daily or weekly newspapers, some 40 journals, and 10 or more almanacs. The oldest dates back to 1892, and many are complete runs through the 30s and 40s, up to the 1970s. These newspapers and journals tell a great deal about the Carpatho-Ruthenian community – Its personal tastes and values, literature and linguistic variety, work and economic structure and ideological and religious conflicts.
This archive of nearly sixty newspapers and journals is available at only three locations in the U.S. John Carroll University is pleased to have the entire file at our library where it will be accessible to researchers.
Over time, JCU community members donated artifacts and other physical materials that are not books to Special Collections. Among these items held by JCUSC are Papal Coins, Medals, and Medallions; a set of Vatican postage stamps; a crucifix from Guatemala; and a statue of Guanjin.