Martin Collection
The Martin Collection is the collection of Miss Mabel Irene Martin who died in 1892. She bequeathed 50 books to Senate House Library, chosen by the Library, from her collection of chiefly early and mid-nineteenth-century children's books. Since Senate House Library already had important material in the area, notably in the Quick Memorial Library and the Prize Collection, it decided to purchase the remainder of the collection in the early 1980s.
The Collection is made up of 182 discrete volumes of books, published ca. 1784-1865, the majority are in English, and a few in French. The books are mostly in 12mo format and a proportion are illustrated; there are some examples of Victorian decorated cloth bindings. There is a predominance of evangelical/moral fiction, including works by some significant writers (Mrs. Sherwood, Mrs. Trimmer, Maria Edgeworth).
Books not intended for children, but adopted by them, are also represented (Pilgrim's Progress; Robinson Crusoe). Some non-fiction is present: e.g. botany, English history and arithmetic for children. Books in the collection complement items held elsewhere in the library: e.g. the adaptation of Robinson Crusoe (1818) relates to the copies in the Durning-Lawrence Library; Hester Chapone's Letters on the Improvement of the Mind (1774: i.e. the third edition) complements the later editions in the Crofton Collection; Mrs Trimmer's History of the Robins complements the first edition (Fabulous Histories) held in the Sterling Library.
View the list of Martin Collection books or search the Main Library Catalogue or COPAC.
For further information see:
shl.specialcollections@london.ac.uk 
020 7862 8470
