Publication Questions?
Any questions about ordering publications from the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library should be directed to Darlene Kent. The reference # of the Exhibition Catalogue is very important, please quote when ordering, click here for full contact and ordering information.
Complete List of all Exhibition Catalogues
'The age of guessing is passed away': An Exhibition to Mark the David Thompson Bicentennial
ISBN 0772760624, 16 pages, $5.00 | Ref. #7040
Online exhibit: 'The age of guessing is passed away'
This celebration of the remarkable achievements of Canadian explorer, trader and cartographer David Thompson (1770-1857) forms part of the North American David Thompson Bicentennials initiative. As the institution that holds one of the primary source documents of the life of Thompson, the narrative of his 'Travels', the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library has undertaken this exhibition to commemorate not only his life, writings and works, but also the long and rich tradition from which he came-the explorers and fur traders who mapped Canada.
All
in the golden afternoon
ISBN 0772760314, 108 pages, $30.00 | Ref. #7009
View Poster/Selection from Catalogue
Due to popular demand this catalogue is sold out
All in the golden afternonn celebrates the Library's acquisition several years ago of the Joseph Brabant Collection of Lewis Carroll and Charles L. Dodgson. The exhibition and catalogue, a collaboration between Richard Landon, and Alice Moore, one of his students, concentrates on the special strength of the Brabant Collection, its magnificent run of editions of the Alice books from 1865 until almost the end of the twentieth century. Also shown are some of the rare Dodgson material. The exhibition is arranged under seven headings: The Collector and His Collection; Mr. Dodgson and Lewis Carroll; C.L. Dodgson as Correspondent; C.L. Dodgson as Photographer; The Artists and Alice; The Hunting of the Snark and Other Poems; C.L. Dodgson as Artist; and The Works of C.L. Dodgson.
Ars medica:
medical illustration through the ages
ISBN 077276056X 68 pages; $30.00 | Ref. #7035
This exhibition commemorates the seventieth anniversary of the founding of Associated Medical Services which has done much to promote the study of the history of medicine at the University of Toronto, and was instrumental in acquiring the Jason A. Hannah Collection in the History of Medicine for the Fisher Library. Books exhibited include some stunning anatomical atlases, important medical landmarks, such as the first editions of Andreas Vesalius (1543) and Edward Jenner (1798), and other lesser known books with illustrations.
Art on the Wing:
British, American and Canadian Illustrated Bird Books
from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Century
ISBN 0772760292, 80 pages, $10.00 | Ref. #7022
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This exhibition, curated by Joan Winearls, examines the changing styles
and techniques in bird art over the last three centuries, beginning
with etching and engraving, wood-engraving and lithography, and the
hand-colouring of illustrations, followed by chromolithography and
experiments in colour printing, up to the photo- reproduction
techniques employed after the middle of this century. On display are
such works as Gould's hummingbirds, Lear's toucans, Wolf's falcons and
Audubon's warblers along with twentieth century works such as Fuertes'
hawk, Brooks' and Shortt's ducks and Peterson's first field guide.
As the Centuries Turn
ISBN 0772760322, 68 pages, $10.00 | Ref. #7023
As the Centuries Turn features a selection of manuscripts and printed
books from the collections of the Fisher Library, exhibiting the book
as it has appeared over the centenaries of the past thousand years.
Beginning with a large and much worn Hebrew manuscript of the
Pentateuch dating from approximately 1000, the exhibition goes on to
other manuscripts of the next 300 years, including such splendid
illuminated manuscripts as the Missale Pragense, produced between 1400
and 1410 in Bohemia. Early printed works include a 1498 Bible, with
woodcut illustrations and initials, and a 1499 illustrated edition of
Terence's Comoediae. Printed books from 1600, 1700, and 1800 include
works of science, exploration, and literature. Canadian works are
represented in both 1800 and 1900, including such evocative items as
the McTavish, Frobisher and Co. fur trade agreement of 1800, and
photographs of Dawson City at the turn of the twentieth century. The
exhibition and catalogue have been a collaboration involving many of
the staff of the Fisher Library.
Bibliophilia scholastica floreat: Fifty Years of Rare Books and Special Collections at the University of Toronto
ISBN 0772760551 132 pages; $30.00 | Ref. #7033
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This exhibition, mounted to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, reveals something of the vast range and depth of holdings of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto. Divided into several sections, it features a variety of items from the library’s collections of early manuscripts and printed books, Shakespeareana, science and medical texts, Enlightenment materials, juvenile drama artifacts, Anglo-Irish literature, Canadiana, as well as the evocative artistic works of Thoreau MacDonald. In addition, the exhibition highlights the personal art of collecting as well as examples of the fine art of book binding. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue were prepared by the director of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Richard Landon.
Book
History and Print Culture
ISBN 0772760365, 99 pages, $20.00 | Ref. #7007
View Poster/Selection from Catalogue
Due to popular demand this catalogue is sold out
This exhibition at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library was undertaken
to commemorate the founding of the Collaborative Program in Book
History and Print Culture, whose first classes began in September 2000.
The items chosen, ranging from a 1789 B.C. Babylonian clay tablet to a
manuscript of Margaret Atwood, from the collections of the Fisher
Library and from the Library of Massey College, the home of the
Collaborative Program, combine interesting and important titles with
the many different methods used to convey their texts. The catalogue
descriptions point out the physical details of each object providing
the basis for an historical understanding of the book, and its role in
cultural history. Prepared by a collaborative team of Sandra Alston,
Anne Dondertman, Marie Korey, Richard Landon and Philip Oldfield, with
contributions from Luba Frastacky, Edna Hajnal, and Jennifer Toews, the
catalogue was edited by Marie Korey, Richard Landon and Philip Oldfield.
Calvin by the Book: A Literary Commemoration of the 500th Anniversary of the Birth of John Calvin, 112 pages, $20.00 | Ref. #7052
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As this exhibition demonstrates, John Calvin's life and legacy can be told through books. Books shaped him and his age, and in the end he and his followers used the medium of print to bring about one of the greatest revolutions the world has ever known. Of all of the sheets of print produced by individual writers in the period from 1541 to 1565, Calvin is responsible for an astonishing 42% of the total; even the Bible only accounts for 14% of total print output during this era. As this exhibit, prepared by Pearce J. Carefoote, demonstrates, Calvin enjoys the ignominious distinction of being simultaneously one of the most honoured and vilified figures in human history – largely because of the mass of print he left behind for others to interpret and expand upon.
Canlit without Covers : Recent Acquisitions of Canadian Literary Manuscripts
ISBN 0-7727-6054-3, 16 pages, $5.00
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This summer exhibition features Canadian literary papers held by the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, including those of Margaret Atwood, Joy Fielding, Alberto Manguel and Erika Ritter. The display is divided into thematic groupings which trace the development of a text from the initial germ of an idea, to the various manuscript drafts and revisions, through the publication process, to the public reception of the work. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue were prepared by Anne Dondertman, Assistant Director of the Fisher Library.
Commentary:
an exhibition of work by Sylvia Ptak
ISBN 0-7727-6049-7, 24 pages
Due to
popular demand this catalogue is sold out
In "Commentary" Toronto-based artist Sylvia Ptak creates gauze ‘texts’ inspired by items from the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library’s collection. Works in the exhibition explore the multiple meanings that texts generate. Ptak simulates script to create texts of indecipherable writing. The works are comprised of fabric ‘pages’ and interventions within texts from the library’s collection. The exhibition was prepared by Sylvia Ptak and the accompanying catalogue by Kyo Maclear and Sylvia Ptak.
Cooper
& Beatty: Designers with Type
50 pages, $20.00
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During its almost seventy years of existence, the firm of Cooper &
Beatty had been prominent, first in Toronto and Ontario, and then
during the 1950s and 1960s in the rest of Canada and the United States.
The firm prided itself on its tradition of creative excellence; at one
time or another, typography created by Cooper & Beatty craftsmen
appeared in the print ads of every major advertiser in Canada. This
exhibition, curated by Edna Hajnal and Richard Landon, and the heavily
illustrated catalogue document some of the highlights of the firm's
history, based on the records housed at the Thomas Fisher Library.
The
Culture of the Book in the Scottish Enlightenment
ISBN 0772760357,160 pages, $20.00
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This exhibition at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library was devoted to
the culture of the book in the Scottish Enlightenment, and was timed to
coincide with the conference “Memory and Identity: Past and Present”,
held jointly by the Canadian Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies,
and the Eighteenth-Century Scottish Studies Society. The catalogue
which accompanied the exhibition consists of four essays, by Roger
Emerson, Richard Sher, Stephen Brown, and Paul Wood, on various aspects
of book history during the Scottish Enlightenment of the eighteenth
century. The essays are supplemented by a list of the items displayed,
which include, in addition to printed books and newspapers, several
prints by Hogarth, glass enamel portraits by James Tassie, and a
replica of the Portland Vase.
David Jones Artist & Writer
ISBN 0772760195, 56 pages, $10.00 | Ref. #7020
This centennial exhibiton, marking one hundred years of the birth of
the artist, David Jones, was curated by Professor William Blissett and
Alan Horne of the University of Toronto. According to Professor
Blissett, David Jones belongs to a great tradition, that of the notable
artist who is also a notable writer. Profusely illustrated with
woodcuts, watercolours and paintings by Jones, the exhbition documents
the artist's life and works with examples from the collections of the
Fisher Library and Professor Blisset's own collection.
Designer
Bookbinders in North America
ISBN 0772760357, 59 pages, $30.00 | Ref. #7006
Catalogue is no longer available.
The best in contemporary British bookbinding was showcased in the
travelling exhibition, Designer Bookbinders in North America. Featured
was the work of twenty-four Fellows and Licentiates of Designer
Bookbinders, Great Britain’s principal bookbinding society and one of
the foremost in the world. The forty-seven bindings featured in the
exhibition confirm the great diversity and high quality of contemporary
British bookbinding. Literary inspiration ranges from The Four
Gospels to Unity Universe, An A-Z by Sue Doggett and Wrenching
Times – Poems from “Drum Taps” by Walt Whitman.
The
Discovery of Insulin at the University of Toronto: an exhibition
celebrating the 75th anniversary
80 pages, $20.00 | Ref. #7011
Due to popular demand this catalogue is sold out
This exhibition, by Katharine Martyn, tells the story of the discovery
of insulin from its genesis in a note jotted down by F.G. Banting in
October 1920, through the early experiments he performed with C.H. Best
in the summer of 1921, the subsequent experiments to obtain a purified
extract, carried out by Banting, Best and J.B. Collip, under the
direction of J.J.R. Macleod, to the awarding of the Nobel Prize in
Physiology and Medicine to Banting and J.J.R. Macleod in 1923.
Elegant
Editions: Aspects of Victorian Book Design
ISBN 0772760144, 60 pages, $20.00
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Curated by Marie Korey of the Massey College Library, University of
Toronto, this exhibition is the first extensive public presentation of
the Ruari McLean Collection. Assembled by the noted British book
designer and historian of printing, the McLean Collection documents the
developments in colour printing, particularly in Britain, and the
evolution of publisher's bookbindings, and formed the basis of his
pioneering works on the subject.
Eric
Gill: His Life and Art
ISBN 0772760055, 54 pages, $20.00
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This commemoration of Gill's life and work is drawn primarily from a
private collection in Toronto formed by J. Kemp Waldie, and also
contains items from the Fisher Library and the Library of the
University of Waterloo. It illustrates the varied aspects of Gill's
career, with special emphasis on his graphic art and book illustration.
The catalogue, by Alan Horne, Richard Landon, and Guy Upjohn won a
first place award from the Rare Books and Manuscripts Sections of the
American Library Association, and two design awards from the National
Composition and Prepress Association.
Evolution
of the Heart: The University Library: The First Century, 1827-1923
ISBN 0772760098, 47 pages, $10.00 | Ref. #7017
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Curated by Harold Averill of the University Archives, this exhibition
celebrates the early history of the University Library, profusely
illustrated with photographs and documents. Early documents detail the
founding of King's College, the Library's early homes, the devastating
fire of 1890 and the building of the new Library and its collections
afterwards. The catalogue won a first place award from the Rare Books
and Manuscripts Sections of the American Library Association.
Expectations
and Experience: The World of the Medieval and Renaissance Traveller,
ISBN 0772760098, 16 pages, $5.00 | Ref. #7003
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The exhibition is mounted in conjunction with a symposium sponsored by
the Humanities Centre on the occasion of the 2002 Congress of the
Social Sciences and Humanities. It features a variety of early maps,
manuscripts, and early printed books drawn from the resources of the
Fisher Library and the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies,
and explores the theme of the cultural encounter of east and west.
Experiencing
India: European Descriptions and Impressions, 1498-1898
ISBN 077276025X , 104 pages, $20.00
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The variety of European encounters with the Indian subcontinent, from
the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries, was the theme of this
exhibition. Two things developed in the fifteenth century that frame
the start of the historical period. One was printing from movable type,
introduced in Europe by Johann Gutenberg in the 1450s. The other was
navigation, permitting the Portuguese Bartolomeu Diaz to sail into the
Indian Ocean, around the southern tip of Africa, in 1488, and another
Portuguese navigator, Vasco da Gama, to reach the shores of India in
1498, exactly five hundred years ago. The ensuing record of discovery
and travel, as it unfolded, was published in early European printed
books that have come to be highly prized by collectors and libraries.
The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library of the University of Toronto is
fortunate to possess a representative range of materials, principally
in English, from these four centuries.The exhibition and catalogue were
by Professor Willard G. Oxtoby, Comparative Study of Religion, Trinity
College, University of Toronto. The catalogue won an Honourable Mention
award from the Rare Books and Manuscripts Sections of the American
Library Association.
Extra muros/Intra muros: A Collaborative Exhibition of Rare Books and Special Collections at the University of Toronto, ISBN 0772760608, 126 pages, $30.00
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Within the walls of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, there are roughly 700,000 books and many large collections of literary and historical manuscripts, including the University of Toronto Archives. It is the largest and most diverse research resource of its kind in Canada. However, without those walls, but within the University of Toronto, there are a dozen other important Special Collections departments whose resources are well known to the specialist scholars who use them, but are not, perhaps, as visible to the general university community and the citizens of Toronto. This is the first time we have attempted a joint, collaborative exhibition to display in one venue a selection of the treasures throughout the whole university.
Fifteenth
Century Italian Woodcuts From the Biblioteca Classense, ISBN
0772760039, 35 pages, $5.00
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Exhibited for the first time outside Italy, this unique collection of fifteenth-century woodcuts, mostly of Italian origin, from the Biblioteca Classense, the library founded by the Camaldolese monks of Classe, the old sea-port for Ravenna, is composed of single-sheet incunables. They had originally been interleaved among the legal texts owned by the notary, Jacopo Rubieri and are for the most part, hand-coloured, single-sheet woodblock prints, although the collection also contains four engravings and one metcalcut. The catalogue, by Robin Healey, won a first place award from the Rare Books and Manuscripts Sections of the American Library Association.
From
Aquinas to Atwood, ISBN 0772760462, 155 p, $20.00 | Ref. #7014
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This exhibition celebrates gifts in Italian studies to the University of Toronto Library from 1890, when the original Library and its collections were destroyed by fire, to the present day, with the University’s collections fast approaching ten million books. Most of the books in the exhibition were printed between the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, and are shown with some modern books, and with manuscripts, prints, and broadsides. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue were prepared by Robin Healey, of the Collection Development Department, Robarts Research Library.
From
Cavalcanti to Calvino: 500 years of Italian editions and English
translations, ISBN 0772760217 , 64 pages, $20.00
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From Cavalcanti to Calvino, curated by Dr. Robin Healey, is constructed from printed books, drawn from the earliest as well as the most recent works of Italian literature and of its translators, and gathered examples both from the collections of the Thomas Fisher Library and from the Robarts Research Library, celebrating the influence of Italian literature on English literature, from the Middle Ages to the present day. The exhibition was intended as a testimony not only to the builders of the Library's collections, but also as evidence of the historical and continuing importance of Italian writing to English letters, and of Italian culture to the world.
Hopeful Travellers - Italian Explorers, Missionaries, Merchants, and Adventurers from the Middle Ages to Modern Times, ISBN 0772760616, 152 pages, $20.00 | Ref. #7039
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This exhibition is about travellers, and the exhibits are for the most part accounts of their travels. There are few restrictions: the journeys will be to anywhere in the world, at any time from the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries. Some of the books and maps were published as recently as this century, others were first printed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The travellers’ tales were most often written down by the travellers themselves, or perhaps dictated to amanuenses, soon after their return. Not all are truthful, though most claim to be. One restriction is self-evident: for the journeys to have been recorded at all they must have been at least partly successful. The second restriction is more interesting: each of the explorers and cartographers is Italian, and they are all men — for the cultures of the times, even into the twentieth century, excluded Italian women from such ventures. But these were Italians who, though living at the centre of the Mediterranean region, with opportunities for trade, profit, and God’s work close by on every side, chose to cross the deserts, the oceans, and the mountains. Suffice to say that they did, and the world was changed, and they were rewarded.
Humane Letters: Bruce Rogers - Designer of Books and Artist, ISBN 0772760630, 114 pages, $30.00 | Ref. #7041
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Bruce Rogers (1870-1957) designed about five hundred books between 1892 and 1957. To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of this great artisan’s death, the Fisher Library is proud to present not only Rogers’ prized ‘Thirty’, but a selection of his other works dating from the end of the nineteenth century through to the middle of the twentieth century. Thomas Schweitzer has provided a solid foundation for the Bruce Rogers collection at the Fisher, upon which the library has built, as recently as 2007 with the addition of Rogers’ masterpiece, the great Oxford Lectern Bible of 1935. His books have been consistently praised for their simplicity of design and elegance of execution.
A Hundred Years of Philosophy from the Slater and Walsh Collections, ISBN 978-0-7727-6064-7, 147 pages, $20.00 | Ref. #7042
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This exhibition and catalogue bring together the concerted practical efforts of two philosophers, John Slater and Michael Walsh. In this exhibition, members of the public can see and reflect on the fruits of latter days and the busiest century of philosophical speculation. This exhibition is also a tribute to the bibliophilical exertions of two of the Fisher Library’s most important donors.
In
Honour of our Friends, ISBN 0772760306, 72 pages, $10.00 | Ref. #7027
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In Honour of Our Friends is an exhibition celebrating four years of
gifts to the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, organized around a number
of themes and subject areas, reflecting some outstanding new
collections which have been recently established, as well as
highlighting gifts which build on the Library's already established
strengths in various disciplines. The chosen themes are: Hebraica (a
new area of strength for this Library); Early Printed Books; Arts of
the Book; the History of Science and Medicine; Exploration and Travel;
English and American Literature (showing examples from several new
author collections); and Canadiana. Included, among many other
treasures, are: a fragment of the Mishnah written sometime from the
ninth to the eleventh century; because the colophon is damaged the date
cannot be accurately deciphered; an unsigned letter that could be in
the hand of Galileo, written in 1633 while he was awaiting trial on a
charge of heresy; and a proof copy of Robert Service's Songs of a
Sourdough (1907).
In
Retrospect: Designer Bookbindings by Michael Wilcox
ISBN 0772760284, 70 pages, $30.00
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Michael Wilcox is a master bookbinder who began his career in the
English trade bindery in 1955. Now an internationally renowned binder
whose works are found in many North American libraries, he has selected
the twenty-two bindings that are currently on display in the Fisher
Library. In the words of Richard Landon, director of the Fisher
Library, the exhibition demonstrates "the marriage of inspired art with
impeccable craftsmanship". The Library has brought together examples
from its own collections and from many other North American libraries,
including the National Library of Canada, Bridwell Library, Southern
Methodist University, the Lilly Library, the Grolier Club and a number
of private collections, including the binder's own.
J.B.
Tyrrell: Explorer and Adventurer: the Geological Survey years, 1881-1898
ISBN 077276011X, 72 pages, $10.00 | Ref. #7019
Digitized material
from the Tyrrell Collection/Order
Catalogue
This exhibition celebrates the hundredth anniversary of the amazing
expedition across the Barren Lands of J. B. Tyrrell, geologist,
engineer, businessman, palaeontologist, and historian and his small
group of fellow explorers for the Geological Survey of Canada. Tyrrell
joined the Geological Survey in 1881, going on his first field survey
to the Rocky Mountains, with George Mercer Dawson in 1883. He
discovered dinosaur remains in Alberta, explored Manitoba from 1887 to
1891. Lake Athabasca and then the Canadian North, in several trips to
the Barren Lands in 1893 and 1894. The materials on display were
selected by Katharine Martyn, curator of the exhibition, from the huge
collection of papers and other materials Tyrrell left as a bequest to
the University of Toronto Library.
Literary
Forgeries & Mystifications
ISBN 0772760284, 79 pages, $20.00 | Ref. #7013
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Produced to celebrate and honour the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section
Pre-Conference held in Toronto 17 to 20 June 2003, on the theme
"TRUE/FALSE: Facsimiles, Fakes, Forgeries, and Issues of Authenticity
in Special Collections" the exhibition covers various aspects of
literary forgery (and one 'real' forgery) from Richard Bentley and the
Epistles of Phalaris to the inventions of Thomas J. Wise and Harry
Buxton Forman.The exhibition and accompanying catalogue were prepared
by Richard Landon, of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.
Mirabilia
Urbis Romae
ISBN 077276039X, 103 pages, $20.00 | Ref. #7004
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This exhibition highlighted the Eternal City as a prime destination for
travellers. For centuries, Rome has attracted visitors from all walks
of life ranging from religious pilgrims and young men taking the Grand
Tour to architects, exiles and poets. The city's richness and continual
self-renewal have ensured that Rome takes on new features for each
generation of visitors. This is evident in the varied selection of
material on display which included early pilgrimage guides from the
sixteenth century, travel accounts and phrase-books published in the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and view books and publishers'
guides from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The
exhibition and accompanying catalogue were prepared by guest curator
Amy Marshall of the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Nihil Obstat
ISBN 0772760519, 112 pages, $20.00 | Ref. #7031
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This exhibition of banned, censored, and challenged books places censorship in the West within the historical context of the last five hundred years. Essentially it asks visitors to imagine what their world would look like today if these texts had been successfully suppressed by legitimate authorities. The books on display fall into six basic categories: religion, science, philosophy, politics, literature, and works either by Canadians, or challenged by the Canadian government. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue were prepared by Pearce Carefoote, of the Fisher Library, The illustrated catalogue includes prefaces written by Alberto Manguel and Richard Landon, Director of the Library and was designed by Stan Bevington, and printed by Coach House Press.
NOW
and the '80s : A Photographic Exhibition
ISBN 0772760500, 80 pages, $20.00 | Ref. #7030
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This exhibition highlights the original photographic images used in the pages of NOW Magazine, and currently housed in the NOW Magazine Collection in Media Commons, University of Toronto Library. Focussing on the decade of the 1980s, the array of images revisits some of the more striking, humorous, insightful, aesthetically appealing and historically important moments in the fields of popular music, art, theatre, cinema, fashion, politics and protest.
Philosophy
& Bibliophily
ISBN 0-7727-6047-0, 128 pages, $20.00 | Ref. #7028
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This exhibition introduces the philosophy collection of Michael and Virginia Walsh, their gift to the University of Toronto Library. The books on display were printed between the fifteenth and the twentieth centuries, and are shown with numerous artworks on loan from the Walsh family. The collection itself covers the broad scope of philosophical pursuits, from the Platonists to the Scholastics, the Cartesians, Humanists, Logical Positivists, to the Empiricists of the twentieth century. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue were prepared by Michael Walsh.
Please,
Sir, I want Some More. Being an Exhibition of the Works of Boz, and
Containing Some Account of His Trials and Tribulations with Publishers
and Illustrators, His Sojourn in the Far-Flung Colony of Canada, and
Sundry Descriptions of His Books
ISBN 0772760101, 69 pages, $15.00 | Ref. #7018
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Mounted in recognition of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of
Charles Dickens' visit to Canada, the exhibition illustrates items from
the collection of the Toronto bibliophile, Dan Calinescu. Profusely
illustrated, the catalogue, by Dan Calinescu and Richard Landon,
contains chapters on "Dickens and America", "Dickens and his
Publishers", "Dickens and his Illustrators", and examinations of his
major and minor works.
Plotting
the Oceans: Dutch Sea Atlases of the Seventeenth Century
ISBN 0772760330, 16 pages, $5.00 | Ref. #7001
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Plotting the Oceans: Dutch Sea Atlases of the Seventeenth Century
features a selection of hand-coloured sea charts from the golden age of
Dutch cartography - the Fisher Library copies of the 1666 sea atlas of
Hendrik Doncker and the 1686 atlas of Jacobus Robijn. The exhibition,
by Anne Dondertman, begins with a brief look at the Mediterranean
manuscript chart tradition and gives an overview of the evolution of
navigational charts, placing the Dutch chart trade in the context of
the age of discovery and exploration. The exhibition then continues
with examples from the Doncker and Robijn atlases, often showing charts
of the same area from the two atlases side by side in order to compare
and contrast their portrayal of the area, as well as to point out
relevant facts of their publishing history.
Printed
Ephemera : Memories from a Vanished Past,
ISBN 0772760101, 20 pages, $5.00 | Ref. #7005
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This exhibition demonstrated the pervasiveness of print within the
culture of everyday life from the nineteenth century to the present. On
display were a great variety of examples of printed ephemera, from
early forms such as the broadside proclamation and broadside ballad, to
the trade cards, invitations, programs, postcards, business forms,
stationery, guidebooks, posters and printed advertisements of the
recent past.
Pungent Personalities
ISBN 0772760594, 22 pages, $6.00 | Ref. #7036
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This exhibition reveals a hidden archival treasure – a collection of nearly 200 caricatures created by the renowned Canadian painter and Group of Seven artist, Arthur Lismer. The artworks were executed by Lismer primarily while spending time with his friends at The Arts & Letters Club of Toronto during the period 1922-1943. They document an especially vital period in Canada’s cultural history, when the club was a favourite meeting place for members of the artistic community. The club maintains sixty-three of these works in its archives, while the balance can be found in the first two volumes of the Club Scrapbook, which is on deposit at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.
Queer CanLit: Canadian, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Literature in English, ISBN 978-0-7727-6065-4, 64 pages, $25.00 | Ref. #7043
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Queer CanLit includes poetry, fiction, drama, 'zines, photos, and artwork, celebrating a rich history across the twentieth and into the twenty-first centuries with materials drawn from the Fisher collection, the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, the Robert Giard Foundation, and private collections. It includes materials from such writers as Marie-Claire Blais, Dionne Brand, Nicole Brossard, Timothy Findley, John Herbert, Tomson Highway, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Sinclair Ross, Shyam Selvadurai, and Michel Tremblay.
Radicals
and Revolutionaries: The History of Canadian Communism from the Robert
S. Kenny Collection
ISBN 0772760268 , 67 pages, $5.00 | Ref. #7012
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Radicals and Revolutionaries explores a significant yet neglected area
in Canadian history-the experiences of the radical workers' movement
and the Communist Party of Canada. Although a minority current on the
Canadian political scene, at key points the radical movement posed a
pointed challenge to the established order. Within that section of the
socialist movement which openly identified itself as revolutionary, the
CPC clearly predominated. It was instrumental in building the
industrial union movement and played a key role in many of the major
strikes of this century. In the social upheavals of the 1930s and
1940s, its influence extended far beyond its numbers. The exhibition
and catalogue are by guest curator, Sean Purdy, a Queen's University
historian, and includes a brief biographical sketch of Robert S. Kenny
by Tom Reid. The catalogue won a first place award from the Rare Books
and Manuscripts Sections of the American Library Association.
'so
precious a foundation' the Library of Leander Van Ess at the Burke
Library of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
ISBN 0910672172, 386 pages, $50.00
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In 1838 the New-York Theological Seminary (soon to be renamed Union
Theological Seminary in the City of New York) bought the library of the
German priest, scholar and biblical translator, Leander va Ess
(1772-1847). Estimated at nearly 14,000 items, it was a veritable
cornucopia of theological literature: 37 manuscripts, over 500
incunabula, Bibles in many languages and versions, and works on the
major subjects of theology (church history, canon law, pastoralia,
liturgics, etc.) The sixteenth-century imprints may be the richest
section of the library, and the collection is remarkable for its
holdings in the writings of the Reformers, especially if one recalls
that it was put together by a Roman Catholic priest. This exhibition of
books from Leander van Ess's library comes from the Bur Library at
Union Theological Seminary. It was conceived and prepared by the
director, Milton McC. Gatch.
The
Stuff dreams are made of: the Art and Design of Frederick and Louise
Coates
ISBN 0772760241 , 79 pages, $20.00
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Presenting a record of the lives and artistic accomplishments of Fred
Coates (1890-1965) and Louise Brown Coates (1889-1975), this exhibition
rediscovers the art and design of Fred and Louise Coates for another
generation of Canadians. It evokes a period when the Arts and Crafts
movement not only influenced their art but also permeated all aspects
of their lives. Their impressive house on Chine Drive was built in the
Arts and Crafts tradition and stands today as a fine example of that
tradition. Pictures of the artists at work, the construction of their
home, Sherwood, and the costume soirees held in Sherwood, convey
lasting impressions of their lives and, more generally, an artist's
lifestyle in Toronto between the two World Wars. The exhibition also
documents their artistic achievements with designs for architecture,
graphics, theatre sets and costumes, and it includes watercolours,
drawings, photographs and objects illustrating these designers' long
and varied careers. The exhibition curator was Paul Makovsky, assisted
by Hrag Vartanian and Harold Averill, Assistant University Archivist.
The
Telling Line: Image and Text in Twentieth Century Britain
ISBN 0772760128, 82 pages, $20.00
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This exhibition demonstrated the pervasiveness of print within the
culture of everyday life from the nineteenth century to the present. On
display were a great variety of examples of printed ephemera, from
early forms such as the broadside proclamation and broadside ballad, to
the trade cards, invitations, programs, postcards, business forms,
stationery, guidebooks, posters and printed advertisements of the
recent past.
Tending
the Young: From the T.G.H. Collection on the History of Paediatrics An
exhibition held at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
ISBN 0772760233, 88 pages, $10.00 | Ref. #7021
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The purpose of this exhibition, curated by Philip Oldfield, was to pay
tribute to Dr. Drake as a book collector and historian of
pædiatrics, and to display some of the most significant works
from his outstanding collection. The T.G.H. Drake Collection is one of
the most comprehensive libraries on the history of pædiatrics in
the world. Consisting of approximately 1500 printed books and
pamphlets, it is particularly rich in pre-1800 imprints, and includes
five incunabula. Among the fifty or so sixteenth-century works are
early printings of the writings of the ancient medical authorities
(Hippocrates, Celsus, Galen), of the mediæval physicians of
Byzantium (Oribasius, Ætius, Paul of Ægineta), and of the
Islamic lands (Rhazes, Avicenna, Avenzoar). The Collection also boasts
the first works on pædiatrics printed in German (Metlinger),
English (Rhösslin, Phaer), French (Vallambert), and Dutch
(Blankaart). Other major landmarks of pædiatrics, often in
several editions, are also to be found in the Collection. The
literature devoted to rickets from the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries is especially rich. The lengthy debate on inoculation against
smallpox in the eighteenth century, leading up to Edward Jenner's
development of the technique of vaccination, is well documented. There
are also important clinical accounts, many of them first descriptions,
of such infant diseases as whooping-cough, chicken-pox, diphtheria,
meningitis, mumps, and poliomyelitis.
Toronto
in Print:
A Celebration of 200 Years of the Printing Press in Toronto, 1798-1998
ISBN 0772760276, 112 pages, $20.00 | Ref. #7010
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Toronto's first printing press was brought by boat from Niagara in
September 1798. This exhibition, curated by Sandra Alston and Patricia
Fleming surveys the consequences of that event in the life of the city
and its inhabitants, from the regulations printed in 1798 for settlers
along Yonge Street to a literary CD-ROM published in 1998. Handbills,
pamphlets, books, serials, posters, comics, letterheads, catalogues,
sheet music and more chronicle the people of Toronto as readers and
writers, at work and at play, and demonstrate the central role of the
printing trades in politics, economics, and culture. The catalogue won
a first place award from the Alcuin Society, and an Honourable Mention
award from the Rare Books and Manuscripts Sections of the American
Library Association.
The
University of Toronto: Snapshots of its History
ISBN 077176042X , 40 pages, $5.00 | Ref. #7002
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Based primarily on items in the University of Toronto Archives, this
exhibition, by Harold Averill, was part of the University's 175th
anniversary celebrations. Designed to complement Martin Friedland's University
of Toronto: a history, it was a selective look at eight different
areas of University's past. They are: King's College, the building of
University College, the professoriate 'at play' in the 19th century,
students in the Victorian era, research and new academic programmes
before 1950, athletics, theatre on campus, and the impact of the 1960s.
These themes were illustrated with a wide range of documents, drawings,
photographs, posters, maps, works of art and artifacts, some of which
have never been displayed publicly before.
Vizetelly
& Compan(ies): A Complex Tale of Victorian Printing and Publishing
ISBN 0772760276, 139 pages, $20.00 | Ref. #70013
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This exhibition traces the careers of James Vizetelly (1817-1897) and
his brother Henry Vizetelly (1820-1894), as printers and engravers, and
occasionally publishers in the 1840s and 1850s. The firm started as
Vizetelly & Company in 1838 and changed its name to Vizetelly
Brothers & Company when Henry became a partner in 1842. Following a
dispute, the partnership was ended about 1850. After this date, James
Vizetelly used the original firm name, while Henry operated under his
own name. Both brothers were involved in the development of pictorial
journalism, at times producing work for The Illustrated London News,
but also as founders of The Pictorial Times and other
journals. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue were prepared by
Marie Korey (Massey College), Richard Landon (Thomas Fisher Rare Book
Library) and Yannick Portebois and Dorothy E.Speirs (French Studies,
University of Toronto).
Werner Pfeiffer (censor, villain, provocateur, experimenter): Book-Objects & Artist Books, 68 pages; $20.00 | Ref. #7051
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This exhibition, the first travelling exhibit of the artist books and book-objects of Werner Pfeiffer, features 39 objects made by Pfeiffer using real books. He has "silenced" the books by gluing the pages together, while also adding ropes, nails, clamps and hooks. The intention is to comment on censorship and to provoke reactions from his audience. The exhibition also includes 8 of Pfeiffer’s artist books, a genre loosely defined as books wholly conceived of and produced as the vision of a single artist.
Where Duty Leads: Canada in the First World War, ISBN 978-0-7727-6066-1, 128 pages, $20.00 | Ref. #7044
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This is an exhibition about the men and women who answered their country's call when war was declared in August 1914. It brings together a range of material - photographs, histories, poetry, memoirs, letters, government-issued posters, official documents, literature of the training camps and of the trenches - that highlight different aspects of this response.
These printed items and artifacts are poignant reminders of a period when the sacrifice, courage and determination of Canadians so strongly shaped our nation's history.
