Benson Hymnal Collection Overview

With more than 10,000 volumes, the Benson Collection on hymnody and hymnology is one of the largest portions of the rare book collections at Princeton Seminary. Collected by Louis F. Benson (1855-1930), the collection boasts a wide variety of rare and unique printed texts and manuscripts, all related to hymnody and music. Dr. Benson was a lawyer, pastor, and scholar, but his real love was hymnology. He became a leading figure in the scholarship on hymns and hymnody during his lifetime, a passion that was reflected clearly in his meticulously collected private library of hymnological texts.

Dr. Benson donated the collection to Princeton Seminary in 1931, leaving the books and manuscripts to the seminary library as a bequest of his estate. He also provided funds to continue expanding the collection, resulting in our current holdings of more than 10,000 books on hymns, hymnology, and musical devotion. The expansive nature of Benson’s collection helps to provide researchers with access to the third-largest collection of hymnals in North America, dating from the 15^th century to today.