College of Charleston grows special book collection

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On the third floor of the College of Charleston's Addlestone Library sits a room full of rare and historical collections of books and other records.

The room is, of course, the special collections room. In it are some truly great treasures: The double elephant folio of the Birds of America by John James Audubon, a collection of coins dating back up to 2,500 years, a paper-making collection, and far far more.

Charleston Magazine went and checked out some of their more stunning items and wrote a piece on them and shot some gorgeous photos (go read it).

But that collection gained much notoriety this year when the library added five titles dating back to 1502. Those titles: A 1502 copy of Herodotus' Histories, Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon’s massive Histoire Naturelle, Captain James Cook’s Voyages, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison's The Federalist, and Darwin’s On the Origin of Species.

You can read more about the acquisition's in the Friends of the Library's Fall newsletter.

And to celebrate the expansion, the library is holding a special event on October 10 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. -- you, too, can attend for $100. Call (843) 953-6526 or e-mail fowlerj@cofc.edu

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