The Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection is one of the largest research collections devoted to the history and iconography of soldiers and soldiering, from circa 1500 to 1945. Formerly a private collection, it was donated to the Brown University Library in 1981. Mrs. John Nicholas Brown (Anne Seddon Kinsolving Brown, 1906–1985) began collecting

toy soldier A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, Native Americans in the United States, American Indians, pirates, samu ...

s in 1930, but within a few years had moved on to acquiring graphics and monographs depicting or describing military

uniform A uniform is a variety of costume worn by members of an organization while usually participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency serv ...

s. In the years following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the collection increased dramatically, so much so that the Brown family were advised to move the archive out of their house for fear of causing structural damage from the weight. Today, the collection is located on the top floor of the John Hay Library situated on the

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

campus. Besides approximately 5,000 toy soldiers (additional figures can be found in the Annmary Brown Memorial on the Brown campus), the main focus of the collection are over 15,000 prints, drawings, paintings and watercolors. There are also photographs and

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...

covers. The graphics depict soldiers in battle, on parade, genre scenes, caricatures, military portraits, and uniform studies. Every major country is represented, with France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the German states being the largest sections. Other important parts focus on Austria, Russia, the United States and elsewhere. Complementing the graphic collection are over 20,000 books, and thousands of albums, sketchbooks, scrapbooks and portfolios. The monographs include army lists, regimental histories, biographies, campaign histories, humor, royalty and ceremonies, costume and early travel, uniform books, drill, tactics and regulation. There are many contemporary military regulations as well as a small collection of manuscript material.

External links

Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library

Brown University LibraryPrints, Drawings and Watercolors from the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection

References

*Hack, Susan, 'A love affair with uniforms, ''MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History'', Vol. 1, No. 2, Winter 1989, pp. 98–109. *Harrington, Peter, 'Anne Seddon Kinsolving Brown 1906–1985', ''Books at Brown'', Vol. XL, 1998, pp. 1–13.
Special Collections at Brown University. A History and Guide
{{authority control Archives in the United States Brown University Military art War art Military historiography of the United States