Rare book collections held at the library includes the Arthur Conan Doyle collection; whose items are held in a Victorian-esque room modelled after Holmes' study at 221B Baker Street. The basis of the collection was formed in 1969, after TPL purchased approximately 500 books from the estate of Toronto-based Arthur Vincent Baillie; 200 of which were books about Sherlock Holmes. The collection has since expanded to include thousands of original manuscripts, photographs of Doyle, as well as translations of his works. The collection had since been supplemented by over 1,500 items from Harold Mortlake based in London, over 200 editions from American collection Nathan L. Bengis, and a number of items from Toronto based S. Tepper Bigelow.