Fine Art

This collection covers oil paintings, watercolours, prints and drawings and sculpture. The oil paintings include portraits of Andrew Carnegie, Mrs Louise Carnegie, Mrs Magaret (mother), Margaret Carnegie (daughter) and a large painting of 'The Dunfermline Demonstrations'.

There are a series of watercolour architects' paintings of the Carnegie Institute in America.

The prints and drawings consist of prints of Dunfermline and Andrew Carnegie, pen and ink drawings of Andrew Carnegie and original drawings of cartoons featuring or about Andrew Carnegie.

The sculpture section comprises marble and plaster busts of Andrew Carnegie, bronze busts of Herbert Spencer and John Morely and a carving of Puck on oak from Dunfermline Abbey.

Photographs

This collection consists of individual photographs and bound albums or volumes. They include photographs of Andrew Carnegie and his family, Andrews Carnegie at events in Great Britain and America and Andrew Carnegie's homes in Scotland and America. There are also six family photograph albums which belonged to Mrs Margaret Carnegie, Andrew's mother; glass autochromes taken at Skibo Castle between 1911 and 1935; five volumes of photographs collected by Andrew Carnegie during his trip 'Round the World'.

Costume and Textiles

This collection covers the following areas: (1) Academic gowns, hoods and caps for Honorary Degrees conferred on either Andrew or Mrs Louise Carnegie from Universities in Great Britain, America and Canada and a Rector's Gown and Hood from the University of St Andrews; (2) Linen and Damask Linen tablecloths, a tablecloth woven by Andrew'd father, a tablecloth presented to Andrew Carnegie from his Uncle George Lauder, tablecloths manufactured in Dunfermline and napkins; (3) T-shirts from Carnegie Institute and Cooper Hewitt Museum; (4) Costume Accessories - walking sticks (wooden, bone, hide), various walking sticks acquired or presented to Andrews Carnegie made from unusual materials such as rhinoceros hide and shark vertebrae; (5) Pieces of Carnegie tartan and tweed.

Decorative Art - Silver and Metalwork

This collection includes: (1) Freedom caskets (highly decorative silver, silvergilt, some enamelled) and their accompanying Freedom Certificates or Burgess Tickets which were presented by Towns, Cities (eg. Dunfermline, St Andrews, Edinburgh, etc.) and Trade Guilds (eg. The Plumbers' Company, The Ironmongers ' Company) from throughout the British Isles; (2) Trowels (mainly silver, engraved, with wooden or ivory handles) which were used by either Andrew Carnegie or Mrs Louise Carnegie or Margaret Carnegie during the ceremonies accompanying the laying of Foundation or Memorial Stones; (3) Mallets (wooden, ivory, often with inscribed silver plates) which were used in conjunction with many of the trowels when laying Foundation or Memorial Stones; (4) Keys (sliver, silvergilt, some enamelled) which were used when performing the official opening ceremonies for libraries and other institutions.

Other Applied and Decorative Art

This collection covers the following: (1) Freedom caskets and mallets (mainly wood, often highly carved, eg. Bideford, Peterborough); (2) Resolutions, Addresses and Ordinances which were passed by Town and City Councils, Societies, Organisations and Institutions. These are of two forms - hand written and illuminated on paper or parchment and bound in book form, usually with a leather and silk cover, and hand-written and illuminated on paper or parhment and presented in scroll form; (3) Honorary Degrees awarded to Andrew Carnegie (mainly Doctor of Law, LLD) from Universities and Colleges in Great Britain (St Andrews, Glasgow), Europe (Bologna, Groningen) and America (Brown, Allegheny); (4) Certificates of Honorary Membership for Andrew Carnegie of various organisations (Chambers of Commerce, St Andrew Society, Telegraphers Association).

Coins and Medals

This collection includes commemorative medals, decorations presented or awarded to Andrew Carnegie, delegates badges from attendance at conferences, American Civil War coins and tokens and medals from the Carnegie Hero Funds in America and Europe.

Social History

This collection covers the following areas: (1) Furniture, cutlery, crockery and other household utensils which would have been seen in a typical weaver's cottage during the early part of the 19th century; (2) Furniture - secretary's desk, chair, bookcases and a globe of the world from Skibo Castle; (3) a Jacquard handloom, restored to working order.

Foreign Ethnology

This collection includes Chimese silk hangings, Chinese embroidered tapestries and hangings, five volumes of photographs taken during the 1870s from the countries of Japan, China, India, Ceylon and Egypt which were collected by Andrew Carnegie during his voyage 'Round the World'.

Mineralogy and Palaeontology

This collection includes the Morrison Formation sandstone, model of Diplodocus carnegiei, photographs from the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah. Hand-painted scale models of dinosaurs created under supervision of The Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh palaeontologists. Fibreglass copy of the skull of Diplodocus carnegiei.

Zoology

This small collection includes a stuffed Red Cardinal, chipmunk, salamander and various beetles donated to the Museum from The Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh.

Technology and Transport

This collection includes a section of steel rail rolled at the Edgar Thomson Steel Mill, section of early T-shaped rail presented with casket from The Stevens Institute of Technology and photographs of the Carnegie Steel Mills.

Archives

This collection covers the following areas: (1) Books and articles written by Andrew Carnegie or about Andrew Carnegie, books about Dunfermline, books about and published by the Carnegie Trusts and Foundations in Europe and America, Annual Reports for the Carnegie Trusts and FOundations in Europe and America, original books from Colonel Anderson's library in Allegheny and books presented by the American Library Association; (2) Handwritten drafts, typescripts and galley proofs for many of the books and articles written by Andrew Carnegie; (3) Various letters to and from Andrew Carnegie, letters to and from Louise Carnegie, stencil transcripts of letters written by Andrew Carnegie to his mother and brother during his tour of Europe in 1865-66 and stencil transcripts of letters between Andrew Carnegie and Louise Whitfield from 1880-87.