The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

in the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

, constituting the largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced ...

s in Canada. The library is also home to the university archives which, in addition to institutional records, also contains the papers of many important Canadian literary figures including

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, ...

and

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

History

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections was founded in November 1955 by the Chief Librarian, Robert H. Blackburn. Blackburn hired Marion E. Brown who was working in the special collections department at Brown University. Brown's first responsibility was to deal with the items that had been accumulating since 1890. Some of these items in the collection included medieval manuscripts, early printed books, and special volumes of later periods that had been presented by Queen Victoria to the university. Between the accumulated items and items found in the stacks of the main library, there was enough to open up the Rare Book Room in 1957. Robartslibrary

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections and the University Archives didn't have a permanent home until 1973 when the Thomas Fisher Rare Book library was opened. The library is named in honour of Thomas Fisher (1792–1874), who immigrated from

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, settled along the Humber River in 1822, and became a successful merchant–miller. In 1973 his great-grandsons, Sidney and Charles Fisher, donated to the library their own collections of Shakespeare, various twentieth-century authors, and etchings of Wenceslaus Hollar. Since the opening of the library, it has grown to approximately 740,000 volumes and 4,000 metres of manuscript holdings. The Fisher building was designed by Mathers and Haldenby, Toronto with design consultant Warner, Burns, Toan and Lunde, New York. It forms part of a complex with the John P. Robarts Research Library for the Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Claude Bissel Building which houses the Faculty of Information. Richard Landon, the director until his death in 2011, organized two or three exhibitions of rare books and other materials annually.

Collections

Among the collection's items are the ''

Nuremberg Chronicle The ''Nuremberg Chronicle'' is an illustrated encyclopedia consisting of world historical accounts, as well as accounts told through biblical paraphrase. Subjects include human history in relation to the Bible, illustrated mythological creatures, ...

'' (1493),

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

First Folio ''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...

(1623), and Newton's '' Principia'' (1687). Contrary to widespread internet claims, the library does not have

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

's proof copy with annotations of ''

On the Origin of Species ''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life''),The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by Me ...

'' (1859); the library does however have annotated proof sheets of: ''

The Power of Movement in Plants ''The Power of Movement in Plants'' is a book by Charles Darwin on phototropism and other types of movement in plants. This book continues his work in producing evidence for his theory of natural selection. As it was one of his last books, foll ...

'', ''

The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals ''The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals'' is Charles Darwin's third major work of evolutionary theory, following ''On the Origin of Species'' (1859) and ''The Descent of Man'' (1871). Initially intended as a chapter in ''The Descen ...

'', and ''

The Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom ''The Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom'' is a book on evolution in plants by Charles Darwin, first published in 1876. In this book Darwin examines the effects of cross and self fertilisation of plants and provides e ...

''. Other collections include

Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state ...

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedg ...

tablet from Ur (1789 BC), 36 Egyptian

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...

manuscript fragments (245 BC), and Catholicon (1460). Th
Robert S. Kenny Collection
resides in the library. This immense collection of books, documents, and other materials pertaining to the radical and labour movements, particularly in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, contains approximately 25,000 items collected by

Robert S. Kenny Robert "Bert" S. Kenny (2 February 1905 – 28 September 1993) was a member of the Communist Party of Canada, and a collector of books, documents, and other materials pertaining to the radical and labour movements, particularly in Canada. Kenny was ...

, who was a member of the

Communist Party of Canada The Communist Party of Canada (french: Parti communiste du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1921 under conditions of illegality. Although it does not currently have any parliamentary representation, the party's can ...

. The Canadian section, which has 382 books and 768 pamphlets, was acquired by the library from Kenny in 1977. The international section of the collection was donated by Kenny in 1993. In addition, there is a collection of etchings by

Wenceslaus Hollar Wenceslaus Hollar (23 July 1607 – 25 March 1677) was a prolific and accomplished Bohemian graphic artist of the 17th century, who spent much of his life in England. He is known to German speakers as ; and to Czech speakers as . He is partic ...

(1607–1677) from the collection of Sidney Thomson Fisher. The collection consists of etching plates, original prints and published works by

. The library has a collection of 500 Valentines. In April 2018, it was announced that the library had acquired the oldest English-language book in Canada, and its 15 millionth item, known as the '' Caxton Cicero'', which was printed in 1481 by the Englishman William Caxton.

Gallery

File:Wenceslas Hollar - The ant and the grasshopper (State 2).jpg, Illustration of Aesop's Fable '' The ant and the grasshopper'' by

Wenzel Hollar Wenceslaus Hollar (23 July 1607 – 25 March 1677) was a prolific and accomplished Bohemian graphic artist of the 17th century, who spent much of his life in England. He is known to German speakers as ; and to Czech speakers as . He is particu ...

File:Indian River Yukon Gold Panning 1904.jpg, Panning for gold on the Indian River, 1904; photo by Joseph Tyrrell File:Wenceslas Hollar - Jesus, after Leonardo (State 1) cropped.jpg, Etching by

(1607–1677) of the ''Salvator Mundi'' by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially re ...

File:Bride On Her Way To Wedding, Fuzhou Fujian China (c1911-1913) Ralph G. Gold (RESTORED) (4073567279).jpg, Bride On Her Way To Wedding, Fuzhou Fujian China (); Ralph G. Gold

References

External links

* * * {{coord, 43, 39, 50.5, N, 79, 23, 56.3, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark_scale:2500, display=title University of Toronto libraries Academic libraries in Canada University of Toronto buildings Brutalist architecture in Canada Libraries in Toronto Literary archives Rare book libraries Special collections libraries