Emory acquires Victorian literature

By Laura Diamond

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Emory University has acquired 4,000 paperbacks and yellowbacks from the 19th century and when this new collection is combined with existing works the college will have the largest Victorian collection in the country, officials said.

The new acquisition includes the first paperback edition of "Dracula" from 1891, said David Faulds, rare book librarian with Emory's Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library.

Yellowbacks were sold at railway bookstalls and had yellow-glazed sensationalized covers, according to a news release.

Emory previously scanned about 1,260 yellowbacks into a digital format, including books by Jane Austen and Mark Twain. Faulds said the university plans to make the new collection available online, but it will about three years to organize and prepare it.