The Abernethy Collection of American Literature is built around the original Abernethy Library, a nucleus of books and manuscripts bequeathed to the College in 1923 by Dr. Julian W. Abernethy, class of 1876. Originally some 6,000 volumes, it now consists of over 20,000 volumes, many of them rare first and special editions, pamphlets, periodicals and manuscripts representing more than one thousand authors. Especially strong are the materials relating to Emerson, Thoreau, and other Transcendentalists and writers of the American Renaissance. Robert Frost is represented by first editions of his books, anthologies and critical studies, as well as photographs and audio recordings, most in relation to his association with the Bread Loaf School of English and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference.
Click here to visit the Julian W. Abernethy Collection.