Coloring Cotsen

The special collections at the Cotsen Children’s Library are full of delights, and now you can customize your very own historical illustration! Below are a number of wonderful coloring pages just waiting for your pens, pencils, markers, or paint. We will periodically share additional pages as we make new discoveries for you to enjoy.

Happy coloring!

Cats with Purr-sonality: The Art of Louis Wain
Louis Wain (1860-1939) is a British artist who became famous for his drawings of cats depicted with humanlike appearance and behavior. He illustrated over 100 books, many of which he wrote himself. Wain credits his pet cat, Peter, for being the inspiration to begin sketching felines in all shapes and forms. 

Cat gardening next to smiling sunflower
Grandmother cat reading to kittens
Cat playing a trumpet

 

 

 


 

Trams & Trains & Things That Go
Images were selected by Daniel Dias, Rutgers University ‘25, Princeton University Library’s Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL) Spring 2023 intern. 

Cable car with animals inside and paint cans surrounding it
Traffic police officer helping two children
Animals waiting at station for approaching cable car

 

 

 



Animals in Kodomo no kuni (The Land of Animals)
Cotsen's curatorial blog has details about the Japanese magazines where these illustrations made their first appearance.

Bird flying over fish pond
Badger resting inside den
Rabbits playing games in the snow

 

 

 


 

C is for Cotsen
Let's get alphabetical while coloring Cotsen collections cartoons of the letter C.

Man being hit by pile of lumber in a collision
Clown with dog celebrating the letter C
Rabbit repairing a broken clock