The collection contains biographical information, correspondence, ephemera, legal documents, photographs, and other materials relating to William Wyles, as well as board records, correspondence, purchase information, scrapbook, and descriptions of the early development of the Wyles Collection (known in former years as the Lincoln Library), located in the Department of Special Collections, UCSB Libraries.

The William Wyles Collection in the Department of Special Collections, UCSB Libraries, is named after William Wyles, a successful businessman and avid collector. Wyles was born in 1857 in New York State, and moved with his parents to Michigan when he was six months old. He grew up in a log cabin which, in part, spurred his interest in Abraham Lincoln, who had been raised in similar circumstances. He vaguely recalled the Civil War, in which four of his uncles had fought. His father, Bunner Wyles, was an Eastern college professor, who died when Wyles still was a small boy.

.6 linear feet (1 document box and 1 oversize box)

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

None.