Portland State University Library

WHAT ARE THEY?: The Early English Books microfilm collection contains nearly every British book published dating from 1475 to 1700. This collection, based on the short-title catalogs of Pollard and Regrave and Donald Wing, contain materials ranging from official publications hundreds of pages long to single page posters and handbills. Microfilming these texts is an ongoing project of University Microfilms International.

Two catalogs list books printed before 1700 in Britain and its colonies, and books in English printed worldwide before 1700. They are:

Pollard, A.W. and G.R. Redgrave (W.A. Jackson, F.S. Ferguson, and Katharine F. Pantzer, eds.). A Short-title catalogue of books printed in England, Scotland, & Ireland and of English books printed abroad 1475-1640. Second edition, revised and enlarged. 3 volumes. London: Bibliographical Society. 1976-1991. The second edition lists more than 37,000 individual publications.
Reference Area: Z 2002 .P77 1976 Vol. 1-3 (most current edition)

Short-title catalogue of books printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and British America, and of English books printed in other countries, 1641-1700 / compiled by Donald Wing ; revised and edited by John J. Morrison and Carolyn W. Nelson, editors, and Matthew Seccombe, assistant editor. New York, Index Committee of the Modern Language Association of America, 1972-1998.
Reference Area: Z2002 .W52 vol. 1-4 (most current edition)

WHO MIGHT USE EARLY ENGLISH BOOKS?

• Scholars and students of literature - earliest editions of such classics as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Malory's Morte d'Arthur.
• Historians - royal statutes and proclamations, military, religious, legal, Parliamentary, and other public documents
• Social historians - almanacs and calendars, broadsides and romances, plus popular pamphlets such as The Trail of Witchcraft, showing the true and righte method of discovery (1616).
• Religious scholars. host of sermons, homilies, saints' lives, liturgies, and the Book of Common Prayer (1549).
• Science historians - beginnings of modern science. The collection includes books by Boyle, Newton, and Galileo, as well as popular scientific tracts such as Nicholas Culpeper's The English Physician (1652). Some more examples:

  Astronomy - The discovery of a world in the moone, or, A discourse tending to prove, that 'tis probable there may be another habitable world in that planet by Wilkins, John, 1614-1672).

  Biology: The historie of life and death by Bacon, Francis, 1561-1626.

Geology - Remarks on some late papers relating to the universal deluge, and to the natural history of the earth.y Harris, John, 1667?-1719.

• Political scientists - debates on the divine right of kings
• Classicists - Greek and Latin authors in influential Renaissance translations such as Chapman's Homer
• Linguists - definitive data for the study of Early Modern English
• Musicologists - numerous early English ballads and carols
• Art historians and bibliophiles - a unique opportunity to analyze early typefaces and book illustrations

FORMAT & SCOPE: Microfilm. Reel 1 - onward. As of January 2003:

1475-1640: Media: Units 1-70--2,142 reels of 35mm microfilm (ongoing collection). Total titles covered: 30,333 titles; 30,300 volumes (to date). Currently PSU has through Reel 2172.

1641-1700: Media: 2,765 reels of 35mm microfilm through Units 1-119 (ongoing collection),Total titles covered: 64,343 titles; 64,445 volumes (to date). Currently PSU has through Reel 2800.

NOTE: we will not be adding microfilms to this collection after Sept. 2003 when our online subscription begins. Go to: http://wwwlib.umi.com/eebo/search/basic

ORGANIZATION:Microfilm reels are numbered consecutively rather than chronologically. Documents from various years will appear on the same reel of film. The collection is divided, by year, into two segments with slightly different call numbers. The 1475-1640 set: PR1101 .U5. The 1641-1700 set: PR1127 .U5.

FINDING THEM: Most of the Early English Books can be found using the online catalog. When you find the entry, you will need the Call Number, Reel Number and Item Number to find specific documents. For example, a catalog entry would look like this:

Author Redford, Elizabeth.
Title The love of God is to gather the seasons of the earth and their multitudes into peace [microform] : in opening the Scriptures and the mysteries of the revalations to them and their multitudes that they may come to live in obedience to the Gospel power ; doing the work of God through the son of Peace, which Son of Peace is Christ the Lord.
Publisher [London : s.n., 1711?]

Descript 8 p.
Series Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1408:47.
Note Caption title.
Signed at end: Elizabeth Redford.
Imprint suggested by NUC pre 1956 imprints. Wing has 1690 as date of publication.
Reproduction of original in the Harvard University Library.
Reproduction Microfilm. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University Microfilms International, 1983. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm. (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1408:47)
Marc University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106
Subject Society of Friends -- Pastoral letters and charges.
Indexed in: Wing R660A

Note: the items on each reel rarely contain number cards or frames to indicate their position on the reel. The only sure way to locate the right item effectively is to carefully count the start of each new document as you proceed through the microfilm reel.

LOCATION: the microfilms are located on the in the microfilm area.

INDEXES TO EEB's NOT IN THE CATALOG:Although there are entries for a significant number of the Early Engish Book titles are in the online catalog, the most recent acquisitions have not yet been added. Early English Books are indexed in paper supplements or guides as follows:

Early English Books 1475 - 1640: PR1127 .U5
Early English Books 1641 - 1700: PR1127 .U5
These guides provide access to current additions to this project.

EEBO (Early English Books Online. The collection contains over 125,000 titles listed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640) and Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700) and their revised editions, as well as the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661) collection. Additionally, the database inclused the Early English Books Tract Supplement.http://wwwlib.umi.com/eebo/search/basic
For more information go to: http://eebo.chadwyck.com/marketing/about.htm

How the online database compares with the microfilim collection:
As of September 2003, 74 units of Early English Book I microfilm have been issued. Currently, works from the following collections and units are available online:

* Early English Books I (Pollard & Redgrave, STC I), 1475-1640, Units 1-63

* Early English Books II (Wing, STC II), 1641-1700, Units 1-92 (Units 93-99 will be available in November 2003)

* Scanning remaining STCI and STCII titles will take place from 2005-2007

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