The children’s literature collection has books from primarily the 19th and early-20th centuries, including a range of genres from fairy tales and folk tales to novels, familiar lectures, early readers, and picture books. The collection includes excellent examples of work by Golden Age illustrators such as Arthur Rackham, Frederic Remington, and Maxfield Parrish and a 1st edition of the oldest American picture book still in print, Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág. Also included is a selection of American children’s magazines, including a full run of Scribner’s “St. Nicholas,” edited by author Mary Mapes Dodge until her death in 1905.
The historical textbooks included in the collection cover a wide scope of subjects, including Latin, history, literature, grammar, music, sciences, mathematics, teacher education, and more. The books are primarily from the 19th and early-20th century, with several earlier and later titles included. The oldest textbook in the collection dates to 1537; this title, De Re Nauali Libellus by Charles Estienne, is particularly noteworthy because it is considered the first textbook to use pictures specifically for the instruction of adolescent audiences. Also of note, the collection contains a 1st edition of Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps’ important textbook, Familiar Lectures on Botany.
Milner Library’s Special Collections holds several noteworthy children’s literature collections, including a substantial portion of author Lois Lenski’s papers. These resources include several research scrapbooks for titles in her American Regionals book series, handwritten and typescript manuscripts for several of the Regionals, original illustrations for a number of her books including some from early in her career, a notebook from her travels in Europe after graduating from college, and all of the books authored and/or illustrated by Lenski over her decades-long career. The Will Johnson Collection holds titles compiled by this avid collector, including many that contain personal inscriptions complete with original illustrations. The Johnson Collection also contains Newbery Medal winners and runners-up and a substantial number of foreign language children’s books.