The ancient Sumerians developed writing more than 5,000 years ago, and we have about 3,000 of these cuneiform tablets in our collection, dating from 3000 to 300 B.C.E.. "Cuneiform" refers to the wedge-shaped symbols which were pressed into clay with a stylus or writing instrument.

The Horace collection, a gift from Moncure Biddle, contains over 870 editions of works by the Roman poet. Ranging in date from the 15th to the 21st centuries, the collection includes manuscripts, incunabula, translations from all periods, emblematic adaptations, and 18th-century imitations. The texts provide a comprehensive survey of Horatian scholarship from the Renaissance to the present day, while the volumes themselves are notable as examples of fine printing and binding.

Additional items included in the collection:

• llustrated edition printed at Strassburg in 1498
• The famous Aldine edition of 1501
• The masterpiece of engraving produced by John Pine in 1733–1737
• The deluxe editions of Baskerville, Bodoni, and Didot

Incunables, also Incunabula, are books printed between 1450 and 1500 using movable type. We have the largest collection in Philadelphia of early Western printing, with more than 800 incunables. This collection includes a wide representation of the 15th-century printing presses of continental Europe.