Brian has been a major collector of children's books for many years. His collection comprises of books for children from the 17th century to the present, and includes many papers and original illustrations. Brian wrote about this in a 2002 article for the journal Signal, published by Thimble Press: The Collecting Mystery.

Brian has generously decided to donate his children’s literature collection jointly to the University and Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children's Books. The transfer of his collection to Newcastle has already begun. In due course it is expected that the whole collection will be available in for research and teaching. You can browse and search the material that has already transferred via Newcastle University's Library Search.

From June to August 2017, items from the collection are on display in the Philip Robinson Library's free exhibition, A Lilliputian Miscellany, which Brian has curated. You can also purchase a copy of the exhibition catalogue via the Newcastle University Webstore.

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