The Osborne and Lillian H. Smith Children's Book Collections

Abstract

The Osborne and Lillian H. Smith Children's Book Collections Jane Bingham Boys and Girls House of the Toronto Public Library is the setting on St. George Street for two collections of children's books that have brought renown to the city of Toronto and delight to thousands of visitors. They are the Osborne and Lillian H. Smith Collections. The first of these, the Osborne Collection, began in 1949 with a generous gift of two thousand early children's books published in England before 1910. The donor was Dr. Edgar Osborne, a county librarian of England, who deemed Boys and Girls House the most appropriate setting for his fine collection. The Lillian H. Smith Collection, begun in 1962 on the 50th anniversary of children's services in Toronto, and named for the librarian who had led them for many years with distinction, has in it books published in English since 1910, selected for their high literary and artistic quality. Each of these collections has been increased yearly with additions by gift and acquisition. They are growing collections, responsive to what becomes available in the book market and to new knowledge about children's literature of all times. The Osborne Collection now numbers some 10,000 volumes, the Lillian H. Smith Collection over 2,500. The treasures contained in these two Collections offer a unique opportunity to a surprisingly wide range of people. They receive annually thousands of visitors, individuals and groups. Some of these may be attracted simply by a desire to see books they remember as personal friends of earlier years. Many are collectors of children's books, amatuer or professional, come to study the wealth of knowledge represented by the Collection. Others are bibliographers or students including those at universities preparing themselves for careers as children's librarians. The collections are of great value for the increasing number of people who now give serious academic study to children's literature in the conviction that it is worthy of the scholarly attention devoted to other creative writing. The treasures of the Collections are shared more widely by means of two published catalogues of the Osborne books, by special reprints of some of its books, by lectures and talks given in North America and England over the years by the head of the Osborne Collection, Miss Judith St. John, and by lively correspondence with inquirers all over the world. The Collections are further known through the program of the association of Friends of the Osborne and Lillian H. Smith Collections, over four hundred and fifty strong from Canada and elsewhere, which each year presents lectures by distinguished guests that are later published and which supports the Collections in other ways. This association, "The Friends of the Osborne and Lillian H. Smith Collections," deserves the full support of all ChLA members, particularly those who may need to do research in either collection. The membership fee is $15 per year. As part of that fee, members who join in 1977 will receive a facsimile of Historia di Lionbruno, a fairy tale printed in Venice in 1476 and translated in 1976 by Dr. Beatrice Corrigan. Checks should be made payable to "The Friends of the Osborne and Smith Collections, and sent to the same at: Boys and Girls' House, 40 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2E4. Judith St. John is a most gracious and knowledgeable lady. Anyone going to Toronto should make it a point to visit this superb collection. [End Page 6] Jane Bingham Oakland University Copyright © 1977 ChLA Newsletter