Printable Wrapping Paper: 9 Festive Designs from Special Collections

December 14, 2020 | Nicole

Photograph of three gifts wrapped with paper from TPL's Special Collections

Did you know Toronto Public Library has a huge collection of digitized books and ephemera, including commercial catalogues and greeting cards? You'll find 170,000+ of these rare and historical items on our Digital Archive — no library card needed. It is an incredible resource for artists, designers and DIYers looking for inspiration.

We transformed nine digitized items into festive wrapping paper that you can print at home. Save yourself a non-essential trip to buy gift wrap and share a piece of our Special Collections with your loved ones this holiday season.

The images below link to the PDFs to download the wrapping paper.

Happy wrapping!

Snow Birds

Designs based on Snow Bird (Plate 13) by John James Audubon (1785–1851), 1827. View original in Digital Archive.

John James Audubon’s Birds of America is one of TPL’s greatest treasures: the rare double-elephant folio edition is one of only five copies in Canada.

Download Audubon Snow Birds 1 | PDF

Download Audubon Snow Birds 2 | PDF

Gloves & Mitts For Sale

Design based on Simpson's Catalogue Fall and Winter 1918-19, page 111: Children's and Infants Gloves and Mittens. View original on Digital Archive.

Founded by Robert Simpson, Simpson's was a prominent Canadian department store for 85 years. The first Simpson's catalogue was published in 1893 and its flagship store at Queen and Yonge Street opened in 1894. Simpson's successful mail order division grew and flourished in the first decades of the 20th century and was purchased by American retail giant Sears in 1951.

Download Simpsons Mittens | PDF

Snow Storms

Designs based on Snow Dogs ["Servant and Dogs of St. Bernard on Duty," page 12) and Snow Crystals [page 56/57], illustrations from "The Snow-storm, or, An account of the nature, properties, dangers, and uses of snow in various parts of the world" by Charles Tomlinson (1808–1897). London: Printed for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1852. View original on Digital Archive.

British scientist Tomlinson published this fascinating illustrated account of all things snow in 1852. Tomlinson includes a detailed account of the five "classes" of snowflake formations based on the Arctic research of Rev. Dr. William Scoresby. The book also features the Canadian poem, "Sleigh Bells" by Susanna Moodie on page 77.