Upcoming Dates:
- Thu Sep 19
- Thu Oct 17
- Thu Nov 21
A world-leading research collection of rare and notable children’s books.
Our 80,000+ items include book-related art, toys, games and archival items on authorship and promotion of books for young readers. The collection has four parts:
Jump to collection details & highlights.
All welcome! Walk in to see exhibits or ask questions.
To access items, you simply need to fill out a brief form and show one piece of identification or your library card when you arrive.
Items are non-circulating. You can view them in the Osborne's reading room.
Lillian H. Smith Branch (239 College Street), 4th floor.
Check Holiday Hours for closures on or near public holidays.
Contact us to schedule talks and tours for groups and classes (Grade 4 to Grade 8, High School, college and university classes).
Mon May 27, 2024
- Sat Aug 24, 2024
Location:
Lillian H. Smith
Something wonderful happens when letters become art! From an early hornbook to creative interpretations of letters and language in modern times, the simple structure of the alphabet inspires works that are playful, engaging,...
Sun Sep 08, 2024
- Sun Dec 01, 2024
Location:
Lillian H. Smith
Celebrate Lucy Maud Montgomery's 150th birthday with the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books. From first editions of her classic novels to original letters penned by Montgomery herself, this exhibition explores the a...
6:30 pm
- 7:30 pm
on recurring dates listed below
Location:
Lillian H. Smith
Join us to discuss Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic novels at the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books. In celebration of her 150th birthday, the book club will be reading novels from across Montgomery's career. We welc...
Items encompassing the development of English children’s literature up to and including 1910. Includes:
Items of literary and artistic merit published in English after 1910, including:
A representative selection of 19th- and 20th-century children’s books related to Canada. Also, includes books whose illustrators or publishers are associated with Canada. Includes:
Over 5,000 original illustrations of children’s books ranging from woodcuts to watercolours, from aquatints to multimedia. Includes illustrators such as:
Worlds Away!: Wild Inventions at Osborne
When Cinderella Went to the Ball: Five Hundred Years of Fairy Tales
Picture Perfect! – An Exhibit of Canadian Picture Book Art
This Magical Book: Movable Books for children, 1771-2001
Explore our blog posts related to the Osborne Collection of Canadiana.
PDFs detailing our holdings of notable people and subjects related to children’s literature.
Barbauld. Anna Laetitia (Aikin) (PDF)
Froebel (educational materials) (PDF)
Masefield, John (albums of correspondence) (PDF)
Parry, Caroline Balderson (PDF)
Potter, Beatrix (letters) (PDF)
St. John, Judith (librarian) (PDF)
Boys and Girls House (Toronto Public Library) (PDF)
Children’s Bookstore [in progress]
Groundwood Books [in progress]
Letters (literary letters by children’s authors) (PDF)
Edgar Osborne, a British librarian, visits Toronto Public Library’s Boys and Girls House. He is impressed by the range and quality of children’s services flourishing under the library’s first head of children’s services, Lillian H. Smith.
The Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books is established when Edgar Osborne donates his personal collection of around 2,000 rare and notable children’s books to Toronto Public Library. It is donated as a research collection for historical children’s literature.
Lillian H. Smith Collection is established to mark the 50th anniversary of Toronto’s first children’s libraries. It is named after the first professionally trained children’s librarian in the British Empire.
The Jean Thomson Collection of Original Art is established. It is named after former children’s librarian and head of Toronto Public Library, Jean Thomson.
Established in 1966, the Friends support acquisitions, conservation, digitization and outreach for the Osborne Collection through fundraising and special events.