![Photos of books from Wilbur collection](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2025-12/Photo%20Wilbur%20rare%20books%20on%20shelf_SKSM%20newsletter_20161208%20%281%29.jpg?h=f11fc854&itok=i76qrR0p) 

 



 

#  Wilbur Rare Book Collection Donated to Harvard Divinity School Library 

 





Gift from Starr King School for the Ministry deepens Harvard Divinity School’s collection of early modern religious and Unitarian history.



 

December 09, 2025

 

 

 Office of Communications 

Harvard Divinity School (HDS) announces that [Starr King School for the Ministry](https://www.sksm.edu/) (SKSM) recently donated the [Earl Morse Wilbur Rare Book Collection](https://www.sksm.edu/wilbur-rare-book-collection) to [Harvard Divinity School Library](https://library.hds.harvard.edu/).

Comprising approximately 1,300 volumes documenting the development of Unitarianism and Unitarian Universalism, the transfer of this historically significant collection will begin in January 2026. HDS Library staff will catalog each item in Harvard’s online library system and expand access for scholars around the world in the years to come. As cataloging is completed, members of the SKSM community and the wider public will be able to explore the collection through Harvard’s online catalog.

"The Earl Morse Wilbur Rare Book Collection strengthens Harvard Divinity School’s mission to advance rigorous, open, and engaged scholarship," said HDS Dean [Marla F. Frederick](https://www.hds.harvard.edu/about/dean). "This collection will serve not only our students and faculty, but also researchers, educators, and communities around the world who seek a deeper understanding of religious history. We are grateful to the Starr King School for the Ministry for this gift, which ensures that these materials will continue to inform research and public discourse for years to come.”

Named for Earl Morse Wilbur (1866–1956), SKSM’s first dean and president and an HDS graduate who received both an AM and STB during his time at the School (1887–1890), the collection represents one of the most important assemblies of early Unitarian texts in North America. Spanning publication dates from the early sixteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, the books are written in Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latin, and Polish.



 

 

 

   

"This collection will serve not only our students and faculty, but also researchers, educators, and communities around the world who seek a deeper understanding of religious history."

HDS Dean Marla F. Frederick

 

 

 



 

 

 

Noteworthy items include works authored by Thomas à Kempis, Desiderius Erasmus, Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon, Michael Servetus, Faustus Socinus, and Jacobus Arminius, as well as multiple early editions of the *Racovian Catechism*.

SKSM President [Dr. Stephanie Krusemark](https://www.sksm.edu/faculty/dr-stephanie-krusemark) emphasized that the decision to place the collection at HDS reflects both historical ties and a commitment to ensuring future scholarly access.

“We are proud that the Earl Morse Wilbur Rare Book Collection will find a new home at Harvard Divinity School,” Krusemark said in a message to the Starr King community. “We are confident that this transfer honors our legacy and our history by better enabling this collection to continue to inspire generations of scholars and religious leaders.”

Wilbur, a leading historian of Unitarianism, assembled the collection with support from donor Lucy Lowell. Additional materials were added after his death. The collection’s research value extends well beyond Unitarian studies. Scholars of the history of Christianity, biblical studies, the Radical Reformation, philosophy, literature, and even the history of science will find rich material within the volumes, which include an early edition of Charles Darwin’s *On the Origin of Species*.

HDS Library already holds several complementary resources, including [Wilbur’s papers](https://id.lib.harvard.edu/ead/div00119/catalog), student work from his time at HDS, and his [lecture notebooks](https://id.lib.harvard.edu/ead/div00466/catalog), as well as numerous editions of his published writings. The arrival of the rare book collection will strengthen the School’s holdings in early modern religious thought, the history of liberal Christianity, and deepens its extensive [Unitarian Universalism collection](https://library.hds.harvard.edu/collections/unitarian-universalist/andover-harvard-library-collection-history).

“Harvard Divinity School Library is deeply grateful to receive this donation from the Starr King School for the Ministry,” said Beth Bidlack, HDS Librarian. “We are honored to steward the Earl Morse Wilbur Collection and make it available to future generations of researchers, faculty, and students. The Wilbur Collection expands HDS Library collection’s historical strengths in Radical Reformation history and Unitarianism.”

*Banner photo: Select volumes from the Earl Morse Wilbur Rare Book Collection*



 

 



 

 See also:- [ Library ](/topic-tags/library)
- [ Unitarian Universalist ](/topic-tags/unitarian-universalist)