In the Margins: Reading Between the Lines          September 30, 2025 - March 29, 2026

©TinkerSwissCottageMuseum&Gardens Tinker Collection 87.145 Elements of Geometry and Trigonometry Translated from French to English, 1838.

At Tinker Swiss Cottage, our 800+ volume library preserves more than words—it holds the personal marks of its readers. From Robert Tinker’s sketches to Marcia Dorr’s French notes, each book becomes a record of thought and memory. Even bindings reveal what was valued and how knowledge was shared. Through the Marginalia Project, we’re uncovering these traces to better understand the lives and worldviews of the Tinker and Dorr families

This exhibit is included in our General History Tours available Tuesday through Sunday at 1pm & 3pm.

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Past Exhibits
Famous Works & Tinker Family Writings: April 29 - August 24, 2025

The Audubon Experience: September 24, 2024 - March 23, 2025
Traveling Tinkers: European Vacation: April 23, 2024 - August 25, 2024
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Traveling Tinkers: Westward Expansion: September 26, 2023-February 4, 2024
Traveling Tinkers: Hawaiian Expeditions: April 25-August 27, 2023

Victorian Gentlemen's Fashion Accessories: April 26-August 9, 2022
The Extended Family: August 31, 2021-March 20, 2022

Victorian Women's Fashion: September 30, 2020-July 18, 2021
​Victorian Childhood: August 21, 2018-March 18, 2019
To Rockford with Love: Victorian Postcards: October 17, 2017-March 19,2018

Collections of the Tinker Family - 2016
Tinker's Cabinet of Curiosities: February 2-June 30, 2016
​All That Glitters: A Silver Showcase: August 9-December 18, 2016

150th Celebration Year - 2015
A Change Through Time: A Photographic Exhibit of the Tinker Cottage  February 3- July 5, 2015
Caring for the Community: The Tinkers in Rockford  August 15- December 20, 2015

The Traveling Tinkers - 2014
The European Expedition: January 18-April 13, 2014
Feel the Life of Hawaii: May 11- December 13, 2014

Babbles and Baubles - 2013
Hats of the Past: January 12- March 17, 2013
Fancy Fans: March 30-June 16, 2013
Victorian Babbles and Baubles: June 29- September 15, 2013
The Dapper Gentlemen: September 28-December 15, 2013

The Year of the Book - 2012
The Tinker Dairies: March 3- April 29, 2012
Tinker Rare Books: May 5- July 9, 2012
The Audubon Experience: July 19- August 26, 2012
What Makes a Tinker: September 29-November 25, 2012