The Chopin Collection at the University of Chicago Library

The Chopin Collection at the University of Chicago Library consists of over 400 first and early printed editions of musical compositions by Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849). The Collection, maintained in the Special Collections Research Center, includes items within the following scope:

• First editions of individual works published before 1881
• Non-first editions of individual works published before 1881
• Collective editions published before 1881

The Library continues to acquire items for the Collection that fit the above criteria. The cut-off date of 1881 is used because of the 1878-80 Works, the most scholarly collected edition of the 19th century, published in Leipzig by Breitkopf & Härtel.

The Chopin Collection is supported by a comprehensive collection of facsimile editions of printed or manuscript music by Chopin, later editions of musical compositions by Chopin, and scholarly monographs and journals, located in both the Special Collections Research Center and the Music Collection.

Detailed descriptions of scores acquired for the Chopin Collection prior to 2003 are available in a printed catalog of the Library's collection: A Descriptive Catalogue of Early Editions of the Works of Frédéric Chopin in the University of Chicago Library, by George W. Platzman, 2d ed., rev. and enl. (Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Library, 2003).

Digitized images of all scores in the University of Chicago Library's Chopin Collection are available as part of the Library's online Chopin Early Editions digital collection.

For further information on the Chopin Collection, please contact:

Special Collections Research Center
University of Chicago Library
1100 E. 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637
SpecialCollections@lib.uchicago.edu.