A row of case books on the shelf.
Some images are digitized | No jpegs/tiffs display outside Library of Congress | View All
The "Case Book" collection consists of more than 2,200 books and serials spanning the period 1550 to the present, with most published between 1840 and 1970. Illustrations are the featured aspect of these works, and many of the volumes contain original visual materials such as engravings, woodcuts, lithographs, fine photogravures, and photographic prints. The subject matter and country of origin vary widely. Representative examples include: The Designs of Inigo Jones (1767); Suite de vues pittoresques des ruines de Pompéii (1819); The Holy Land ... from Drawings Made on the Spot by David Roberts (1842-44); Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War (1865); Turkestanskii al'bom (1871-1872); Puck (1877-1918); Modern Heliographic Processes (1888); 100 Original Woodcuts by Posada (1947); and Gropper, 12 Etchings (1965).
Library of Congress staff created this filing series in the early 1900s to preserve publications rich in visual information. The designation "Case" reflects the fact that this selection of illustrated publications began with volumes transferred from the general collections to special "book cases" in the Prints & Photographs Division. More recently, titles have been acquired specifically for the "Case Book" collection.
A few volumes have been entirely digitized. For digital images of selected illustrations from Harper's Weekly and other volumes, search "all collections" or go to "Miscellaneous Items in High Demand."
