Library Collections
The Montana Historical Society Research Center holds the nation's largest collection of published materials pertinent to the study of Montana's history, both territorial and state.
We hold a large collection of books and pamphlets, newspapers, maps, periodicals, federal and state publications, genealogy sources, posters, printed ephemera, and musical scores; vertical files; and non-print media.
Books and PamphletsThe main collection has some 30,000 books and pamphlets principally related to Montana, with some material from neighboring states and provinces. Areas of special strength include early Montana imprints, city and county directories, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the fur trade, Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn, and Charles M. Russell. Rarities include the 150 prints of the 1860 New York reprint of the Audubon double-elephant folio, the first American edition of Catlin'sPortfolio of North American Indians (1845), various first issues of Lewis and Clark material, and one of only seven known copies of J. A. Hosmer's A Trip to the States by Way of the Yellowstone and Missouri (Virginia City, 1867), in its original handmade binding.
The Amos and Margaret Booth Teakle Range Life Memorial Collection contains over 2,500 works chronicling the cattle industry from Texas to western Canada, with many titles also on western outlaws and lawmen. It is particularly strong in materials published in the period 1910-1960. This collection is being systematically expanded, especially in older titles.
Current acquisitions focus on currently published Montana material, from reminiscences to scholarly works, family and county histories; and on published primary material such as journals and letters reflecting plains and mountain pioneering. We hold the largest collection of Montana community cookbooks.
Newspapers
Periodicals
Always a major strength of the
holdings, the newspaper collection includes approximately 95% of the papers ever
published in Montana. The library completed the first state project funded
by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of its U.S. Newspaper
Project in 1986. Approximately 100 current titles are microfilmed
annually, and holdings include
more than 20,000 reels of microfilm and 2,000 bound volumes. Hard copy has been kept for all territorial newspapers.
Approximately 400 active periodical titles supplement over 4,000 volumes to round out the collection.
Maps
In 1983
the library completed another NEH-funded project that enabled it to catalog the bulk
of its Montana collection, which contains over 8,000 printed and manuscript maps,
besides the older and current U.S. Geological Survey topographical maps and
the 6,300 initial township plots of the U.S. Surveyor General and Land
Office. Another major subgroup is the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps. Second only to that
of the Library of Congress, from which most of the maps came as
gift duplicates, the Sanborn Collection has 485 sets, providing detailed information on
the buildings in 199 towns, dating from 1884 to the early 1960s. In addition,
several hundred sheets of architectural drawings including those for the State
Capitol building, Yellowstone National Park buildings, and several Helena buildings are
available to researchers.
Federal and State Publications
The Montana Historical Society is
not a federal depository, however, we have extensive
federal holdings related to Montana, most notably the
early surveys, explorations, and Montana census material. Over 60,000 items form
the single largest repository of official Territory and State of Montana
publications, including many unique
items.
Posters, Printed Ephemera, and Musical
Scores
The Library holds
several thousand rare and unique posters. Special strengths in printed ephemera include political
material, commercial advertisements, and local theater programs. Musical scores include
several dozen Montana-related, often, Montana-composed, and mostly long-forgotten vocals such as "Helen from Helena" and
"Montana Anna."
Vertical Files
The Research Center maintains the state's largest
collection of newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and miscellaneous
material. These materials are contained in a series of subject and biography vertical fils (1870-present).
The Library holds a small collection of video cassettes, audio cassettes, and phonograph records.
