The center has a reading room for scholars and galleries which display rotating exhibitions of works and objects from the collections. In the 2015–16 academic year, the center hosted nearly 6,000 research visits resulting in the publication of over 145 books.[2]
History
Harry Ransom founded the Humanities Research Center in 1957 with the ambition of expanding the rare books and manuscript holdings of the University of Texas. He acquired the Edward Alexander Parsons Collection,[3] the T. Edward Hanley Collection,[4] and the
Norman Bel Geddes Collection.[5][6]
Ransom was only the official director of the center from 1958 to 1961, but he directed and presided over a period of great expansion in the collections until his resignation in 1971 as chancellor of the University of Texas System. The center moved into its current building in 1972.
After Roberts's tenure, John Payne and then Carlton Lake served as interim directors from 1976 to 1980. It was during this time (in 1978) that the center acquired its complete copy of the Gutenberg Bible.
In 1983, the institution's name was changed from the Humanities Research Center to the Harry Ransom Center.[17]
Notable collections
Two prominent items in the Ransom Center's collections are a
Gutenberg Bible[18][19] (one of only 21 complete copies known to exist) and
Nicéphore Niépce's
c. 1826View from the Window at Le Gras, the first successful permanent photograph from nature. Both of these objects are on permanent display in the main lobby.
Beyond these, the center houses many culturally important documents and artifacts. Particular strengths include modern literature, performing arts,[20] and photography.[21] Besides the Gutenberg Bible and the photograph, notable holdings include:
A rare 1904 first edition of The Book of the Law (Liber AL) by
Aleister Crowley (among other original Crowley first editions), also known as the Vellum books but more popularly known as the Holy Book of Thelema.
The
Thomas James Wise collection consists of bibliographies and catalogs created by Wise and miscellaneous manuscripts and correspondence relating to Wise's forgeries and life.
The records of the
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. publishing company.
An extensive library of early modern plays and theatrical books including three
ShakespeareFirst Folios and one of only three known copies of the 1594 quarto of the True Tragedie of Richard the Third published by an anonymous writer.
A historic collection of 19th and 20th century portrait photography of actors and dancers, and production photography holdings including Joseph Abeles and Leo Friedman,
Fred Fehl, and Bob Golby.
^Aldine PressArchived 2013-02-27 at the
Wayback Machine Giorgio Uzielli was a New York stockbroker and book collector, born in Florence, Italy. After a 1982 visit to the Harry Ransom Center, he wrote into his will a bequest to the Center of his 287 books printed by the Aldine Press in Venice in the 15th and 16th centuries. Uzielli's gift was appraised at about $2 million.