Library Catalogue

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COLLECTIONS

Collections

Explore with us some of the wonderful collections held by the Library of Birmingham.

First World War Avery Lady IM

The First World War

Collections and galleries relating to how the First World War was experienced by the people of Birmingham.
Fashion plate, 1860

Fashion Plates 1771-1901

R. Crompton Rhodes Collection tracing trends in European fashion across 125 years.
Shakespeare

Shakespeare @ the Library

What makes the Shakespeare Library special? Birmingham has one of the world's best collections of works by and about Shakespeare. 
Josiah Mason Orphanage

The Warwickshire Survey

Find out more about the Warwickshire Photographic Survey and the photographers who have captured Birmingham and its suburbs since 1890.
Anstey College 1920s

About Anstey College

Anstey College of Physical Training was founded by Rhoda Anstey in 1897. It was only the second women's physical training college in the country.
A girl holding a bird

The Parker Collection

The Parker Collection of Children's Books and Games contains examples dating from 1538 to the present day.
A photograph of a group of children standing in a Birmingham street

Glad Ur Not...

Our Glad Ur Not galleries give a very vivid picture of children's lives over a hundred years ago.
Kings Heath to Moseley Third Class Train Ticket

The Wingate Bett Collection

The Wingate Bett Transport Ticket Collection.  Over 1 million tickets including railway, bus, airline and ski lift tickets. 
Holiday Haunts 1947

Treasures from The Railway

A  selection of  GWR ephemera, including tickets, timetables, maps and holiday guides from our Railway Collection.  
San Francisco Trolley

USA Postcards

This collection of postcards brings back the “golden age” of the United States railways.
portrait of Charles Parker, programme for Grey Cock Folk Club and Eric Fraser illustration

Charles Parker and his archive

Charles Parker (1919-1980) was a BBC documentary radio producer, and a writer, singer, actor and founder member of the theatre company Banner Theatre.
Colmore Row

Benjamin Stone

The Sir Benjamin Stone Collection, housed in the Archives and Heritage collection, was presented by Stone's trustees to the Library in 1921.
Birmingham Repertory Theatre Broad Street

Barry Jackson Collection

Barry Jackson and The Rep Theatre  
Eva's Parting Words Song Sheet

Songs and Silent Movies

Browse the gallery and download some of the song sheets and silent movie scores.
Cabinet card portrait of George Dawson 1821 - 1876

Birmingham Portraits

A collection of portraits of notable people dating between c1860-1930.
Blakemore 6

Modern Photographs

The Modern Photographic Collections include work by photographers Paul Hill and John Blakemore.
Suitcase of scary objects

Creepy Collection

Discover the hideous, the horrible and the downright horrific hidden in the collections of Libraries, Archives and Museums in Birmingham.
Audubon's image of a Spoonbill

Collection Highlights

The Library of Cultures exhibition in 2014 showcased some of the highlights from the collections held at the Library of Birmingham.
Detail from a game from the Parker Collection of Games

Our Collections!

A quick reference list for more information about our collections currently featured on this website.