The Baldwin holds more than 130,000 volumes published in Great Britain and the United States from the mid-1600s through the present. Its collection of early American juvenile imprints is the largest of any academic institution in the US.
Among the Baldwin Library’s other distinctions include their collections of Little Golden Books, religious tracts, illustrated editions from the Golden Age of Children’s Literature, and comparative editions of celebrated children’s books, including Robinson Crusoe, Pilgrim’s Progress, Aesop’s Fables, and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
The Baldwin also features many books that have been much used and loved by their past owners, as indicated by marginalia, inscriptions, doodlings, and other wears and tears. This evidence of use offers unique insight into how past generations interacted with their reading materials.
Click below to view short mini-docs about different aspects of this historical collection of children’s literature.
Enjoy a photographic tour of the Baldwin!
“The Old Unease of Uncle Remus” by Rebecca Bauman
“Bluebeard” by Kendra Holmes
“The Forgotten Boy” by Anastasia Kozak
“Hansel and Gretel” by Christina Nichol
“Tibor Gergely” by Sabrina Jaszi
“Images of Empire in Boy’s Own Paper“ by Poushali Bhadbury
View some of the Treasures of the Baldwin Library.
“Jolly Time” by Natoya Faughnder
“Here, There Be Dragons” by Sean Printz
“Jewish Picture Books” by Hilary Jacqmin
“Aesop’s Fables” by Terita Heath-Wlaz
“The Tempest” (part 1) by Katherine Shaeffer
“The Tempest” (part 2) by Katherine Shaeffer