The Fisher Fine Arts Library’s Rare Book and Special Collections constitute the G. Holmes Perkins Library, named after the School of Fine Arts (today’s Weitzman School of Design) dean who directed the school from 1950 through 1971.
Located in the Fisher Fine Arts Library, the G. Holmes Perkins Rare Book Library is a collection of monuments of architectural publishing. It holds approximately three thousand rare books as well as drawings and historic maps. The foundation of the collection is the single great book of Vitruvius Pollio (ca. 90-20 B.C.E.) together with works by the five figures from the Renaissance period: Alberti, Scamozzi, Serlio, Vignola, and Palladio. The original collection was established in 1965 by G. Holmes Perkins who served as Dean of Penn's Graduate School of Fine Arts (as it was known then) from 1951 to 1971. While the Rare Book & Special Collections at the Fine Arts Library are grounded in architecture, city planning, and historic preservation, it has since grown to reflect new areas of study and research within arts and design disciplines.
Much like Perkins’ intention behind establishing the ICA—to expose students to what was “new and happening” in art and culture—the Rare Book Library has grown through such recent acquisitions as Buckminster Fuller’s Fluid Geography (1946), Jake Chapman’s The Marriage of Reason & Squalor (2009), and several issues of the ephemeral Archigram (1960s).
Rare and special materials kept by the Fisher Fine Arts Library are available to anyone who wishes to consult them. Researchers can access materials by appointment. For assistance making a research account, making requests, or scheduling your visit, email us at finearts@pobox.upenn.edu.
First-time researchers can schedule visits by creating a Special Collections Research Account. Returning researchers can schedule an appointment by making requests with their research account. After receiving your request, a Fisher Fine Arts Library staff member will contact you to schedule an appointment.
Please wait for your appointment confirmation before coming to the Fine Arts Library to view special collections.
Researchers can request materials from the online catalog. Some special collections materials are housed at LIBRA, the Penn Libraries' offsite research annex. These items require additional time for retrieval. Please submit your request at least one week ahead of your visit to ensure that your items are in the library when you arrive.
Please bring a current, valid photographic ID. Your ID card will be held in our staff office during your visit. Phones, cameras, laptops, tablets, and any charging cables are permitted. Paper and pencils are available by request.
Following Penn Libraries' established procedures, we require that you leave backpacks, briefcases, bags, etc. in a secure place within the library, that you work in a designated area and that you use only pencil (we can provide one) when working around the material.
No food or drink is allowed when using special collections items. Flash photography is prohibited.
Researchers are asked to arrive with clean hands. Fine Arts Library staff will provide instruction on the proper handling of collection materials. Book cradles and weights will be provided when appropriate.
All materials will be consulted in a supervised area of our reading room. You can request to see as many books as you like during one library visit, but you will receive them one or two at a time.
Materials may stay on hold for several days at a time. Materials that have not been consulted for over two weeks will be re-shelved.
To support remote access to our collections, we offer reprographic services. Users may request digitization of special collections material for up to 100 pages for free, depending on the condition of the material and any copyright restrictions.
Learn more about our reprographic services for special collections, including how to place an order, pricing, restrictions, and turnaround time.
