Sigmund Freud Library

The walls of Sigmund Freud’s study are lined with his personal library of over 1,600 books.

Freud was a prolific reader, and the library testifies to the extraordinary range of his interests: art, literature, archaeology, philosophy and history, as well as science, medicine, psychology and psychoanalysis.

Authors represented on the shelves include Darwin, Locke, Feuerbach, Krafft-Ebing, Shakespeare, Goethe and Dostoevsky.

Some of the books contain margin notes and markings in Freud’s hand, although books he is known to have loved and respected generally remain unmarked.

Freud often received books as gifts from friends, colleagues and admirers. This can be seen in the many notes to Freud in the front of books and off-prints, ranging from simple date and name inscriptions to long dedications.

You can search Sigmund Freud’s library using the search tool above, or if you’d rather browse we are happy to provide Keith Davies and Gerhard Fichtner’s complete library catalogue in pdf format: FREUD’S LIBRARY A COMPREHENSIVE CATALOGUE

 

Anna Freud Library

The museum holds Anna Freud’s personal library of around 500 titles, mostly late 19th and 20th century.

Anna Freud’s library contains all of her own publications and also works by her father, Sigmund. As well as psychoanalysis, Anna’s interests included literature, poetry, history and crafts.

Many works contain authorial inscriptions and dedications, including Rainer Maria Rilke, Lou Andreas-Salomé, Theodor Reik, and her father, Sigmund Freud.

Research Library

We maintain a research library containing some 3,800 titles on Freud and the history of psychoanalysis.

The research library is collected and maintained by the museum, and is separate from Sigmund and Anna Freud’s personal libraries.

We welcome donations from authors and publishers so that the research library may be as comprehensive as possible. If you would like to donate a book, please contact us at [email protected].

Accessing the library

Sigmund and Anna Freud’s personal libraries and the research library are open researchers (usually those working at postgraduate level and above).

Books may be consulted on-site, by prior appointment.

Appeal for Information

It is clear from Freud’s writings and correspondence that there are many volumes he once possessed or had access to which are now “lost”, that is, not present in any of the known remaining collections. Some are possibly in unknown private or institutional collections.

We would like to trace as many of these as possible, in order to publish the bibliographical data, ownership signature, dedications and any marginalia. If you know of any such volumes, please contact us.

Photocopies of title page, and pages with signatures, dedications, etc. and any relevant provenance and authentication information would be gratefully received.