Young V&A (formerly the V&A Museum of Childhood) holds a major collection of archives that capture and record childhood culture and design.
The collection includes archives of toy manufacturers, distributors and shops, individuals involved in the toy industry, children's clothing manufacturers, and material related to the history of the museum from its inception and opening in 1872. The archive also preserves papers documenting the history of childhood, schooling and play, donated to the museum by both researchers and private individuals.
The strength of the ever-expanding archive collection is its diversity. Of particular note is the Donne Buck collection, which contains a fascinating history of adventure playgrounds, and the records of Lines Bros (famous for their Tri-ang trademark), which demonstrate the extent and strength of the toy making industry in Britain during the 20th century.
Access
There is currently no access to the V&A's study collections at Blythe House, including the archive collections, while we relocate them to the new V&A East Storehouse in Stratford's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. We are unable to consult material in the collections on behalf of enquirers. Full access and enquiry services will resume in 2025.
We can support with general enquiries, advise on other available resources (at the V&A or elsewhere), and provide a copying service for a limited selection of digitised Archive collections. You can also access the V&A Museum Archive and Registry, which is now located at V&A South Kensington.
Ask us a question: archive@vam.ac.uk
Donations
Due to limited storage space, we are not currently able to accept archive donations. If you would like to offer a donation for consideration or discuss further, please contact: archive@vam.ac.uk.
Search the Archive
A selection of our catalogues are available on Search the Archives, with more currently in development, which will be added as they become available.
Young V&A library
As well as a collection of children's literature stretching from the 19th century to the present day, the Young V&A library also holds a broad range of critical work regarding the social and cultural history of childhood which includes, but is not limited to, work on the figure of the child in literature and visual culture; the history and practice of pedagogy; and the material culture of childhood, for example histories of the design, production and marketing of children's toys.
We are in the process of updating the records of our holdings – if you are looking for something specific that is not listed on the catalogue, please email moccollections@vam.ac.uk with a request.