Highlights of the Library Collections
Over 800 manuscript collections are described in  A Guide to Manuscript Collections in the Historical Society of Princeton, New Jersey  (compiled by Joseph J. Felcone), and its regularly updated companion document.  Family papers, records of Princeton businesses and institutions, oral history transcripts and scrapbooks are some of the things a researcher is likely to find in the Historical Society’s manuscript holdings.

Photographic collections include the Rose Collection, a group of 10,000 glass-plate negatives featuring almost every aspect of Princeton life primarily in the late 19th and early 20th century; the Recollector photographs,    images collected and organized by subject, used in the production of The Recollector newspaper; portrait photographs by local photographer Laurie Vance Johnson; and photographs from the 1980s and 1990s taken by Princeton Packet photographers.

More than 2,000 architectural drawings represent the work of Howard Russell Butler, Kenneth Kassler, Rolf Bauhan, James A. Kerr and other prominent architects working in Princeton.

The Historical Society’s vertical files consist of newspaper clippings, brochures, pamphlets and other secondary source material on virtually every aspect of Princeton’s history, from the Aaron Burr Association to Vladimir K. Zworykin.

Researchers can utilize microfilm reels of the United States and New Jersey state census from the 19th century through the early 20th century.

Access to the Collections
Located on the second floor of Bainbridge House and accessible only by stairs, the Historical Society’s library is open on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 1 to 4 pm. Accommodations to use library materials on the first floor of  Bainbridge House for patrons with physical disabilities may be made on Monday afternoons by appointment. Access on other  weekdays also can be arranged by appointment.

Research and photocopying fees:
On-site use of collections:

• Free for HSP members!
• $5 for non-members
• $15 per hour plus photocopies if not present at Bainbridge House

Photocopying is permitted (within copyright limitations) if library materials are in good condition.

• 35 cents per 8 ½ x 11 sheet (letter size)
• 50 cents per 8 ½ x 14 sheet (legal size)

Photographic reproductions:
Photographic reproductions of images and manuscript materials in the Historical Society’s    collections can be provided for a fee.  Public display or publication (in books, articles, feature films,  websites, and other media) requires permission from the Historical Society (separate fees may apply). 

Photo Reproduction Fees:

• 8 x 10 black and white- $40.00
• 11 x 14 black and white- $55.00
• 16 x 20 black and white- $70.00
• Scanned image file- $40.00 (usual specifications 300 dpi, Tiff file on CD)

Library staff:
Curator: Eileen Morales, eileen@princetonhistory.org
Assistant (F/T): Jeanette Cafaro, jeanette@princetonhistory.org
Assistant (P/T): Marcia Lopez

Princeton History Bibliography

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