The Fales Library was given to NYU between 1957 and 1966 by DeCoursey Fales in memory of his father, Haliburton Fales. The collection documents the history of the novel in English, broadly representing developments in narrative and prose fiction from 1700 to the present through original editions, manuscripts and other materials. This foundational collection established literature as one of the core collection areas of what is now NYU Special Collections. The publishers galleys assembled in this collection represent the work of prominent 19th and 20th century writers and document the final stages of the editing process.