Rare Book Notable Collections - DeRenne Collection

Wymberly Jones De Renne Georgia Library

Acquired by the University in 1938 from the De Renne family, the Wymberly Jones De Renne Georgia Library is the most complete collection of manuscript and printed materials relating to the early history of Georgia. The fifteen thousand volumes and 35,000 manuscripts, once housed on the Wormsloe plantation, was begun in 1880 and consists of materials dating from Georgia's beginnings as a colony until the 1930s. The library is an invaluable source for the study of Georgia's history. Primary source documents touching various aspects of the state's history are included. For example, the collection contains William B. Maxwell’s "The Mysterious Father," the first Georgia drama printed in Savannah in 1807.

One of a kind materials include the only known copy of the second Georgia Constitution of 1789, which includes the autographs of William Few, one of the two signers of the United States Constitution along with Governor Telfair and other important historical figures: a 1780 Royal Georgia Gazette account of the Siege of Savannah, a rare satin broadside of the Ordinance of Secession of the Republic of Georgia as passed in 1861, and the only extant copy of The Death Song of the Cherokee Indian, published in London in 1762.

The De Renne library also has a rich map collection. John Mitchell's 1755 map of European dominions in North America and William Faden's 1783 map of North America are among the many notable cartographic treasures in the collection. Among the most well known of these is Peter Gordon's view of Savannah as it stood March 29, 1734.

The De Renne Library includes a wide variety of formats: books, manuscripts, engravings, newspapers, maps, broadsides, and photographs. The earliest book is dated 1700. This vast collections covers topics ranging from Natural History of Georgia with original watercolors of Georgia by John Abbot, circa 1822 to Indian Affairs in Georgia to documents and books relating to the War Between the States. The permanent Constitution of the Confederate States, engrossed on vellum twelve feet long, is one of the rarest items and is viewed by hundreds of people when exhibited one day a year.

The DeRenne Library is an extraordinary resource which is frequently consulted by scholars in a number of disciplines and has been the source of illustrations for many books and documentaries.

Contact Person:
Mary Ellen Brooks
Director

Click here to go to the online version of the Wymberley Jones De Renne Georgia Library Catalogue.