The Beinecke Lesser Antilles Collection.
Comprises 1400 manuscripts and 1800 printed volumes produced in, or pertaining to, the smaller Caribbean Islands dating from the sixteenth through the early twentieth centuries. Many of the manuscripts contain primary source information relating to slavery.
The Ezra Pound Collection.
Comprises thousands of manuscripts and imprints relating to Pound, his family, and his literary circle. Pound's arrest for treason in 1945, subsequent trial, and imprisonment in St. Elizabeth's Mental Hospital became a cause celebre among the literati of the mid-twentieth century. Primary source materials in this collection include the Omar S. Pound Archives, as well as Pound's own files from his stay at St. Elizabeth's. Pound's case raised many questions about the role, and rights, of artists and writers in the political arena during wartime.
The Communal Societies Collection.
Comprises thousands of manuscripts and books relating to American intentional communities, both religious and secular. Communities represented include the Shakers, Oneida Community, Community of True Inspiration (Amana Society), Harmony Society, Koreshan Unity, Israelite House of David, Rajneeshpuram, Kerista, and many others. The material dates from the eighteenth through the twenty-first centuries. Many of these groups challenged conventional social and sexual mores, gender roles, and economic arrangements, with most favoring economic equality among their membership. Many of these communities also sought innovative ways to make more efficient use of natural resources, thereby creating economic and environmental sustainability.
Christian Goodwillie
Director of Special Collections and Archives
Hamilton College
Clinton, NY 13323
315.859.4447
http://www.hamilton.edu/library/collections/specialcollections