A rare toy theatre remix

It’s a most magical time of year where the young and young at heart express gratitude, reflect on the year gone by, get in touch with family and friends, and celebrate the hope the new year brings. Once again, our colleague Greg Houston has mixed the old and new to bring a special toy theatre from McGill’s rare and special collections to life!

This Benjamin Pollock Toy Theatre in our holiday featurette was purchased in 1932 and includes scenes and characters from a variety of plays including Cinderella, Fairy Land, and others. The theatre is part of the Rosalynde Stearne Puppet Collection at McGill Rare Books and Special Collections. To learn more about this item please see the citation in our archival collections catalogue.

Special thanks again to digitization & new media administrator Greg Houston for animating the piece and to ROAAr outreach librarian Jacquelyn Sundberg for curation assistance.



If you like reminiscing just as much as we do this time of year, have a look at our remixes of yore. Wishing you a new year filled with peace and joy!

Watch “Red Sleigh, House, Winter” by Lawren Harris come to life in this festive, short featurette – the first in Rare & Special Collections, Osler, Art, and Archives’ One Minute Wonder series. Created in 2021.

Remixed wintry content from rare and special collections that you can create in the comfort of your own home – a phenakistoscope featuring a moving sleigh through the late 19th century streets of Montreal. Created in 2020.

Festive pop-up selections from the Sheila R. Bourke Collection, held at Rare Books and Special Collections. Created in 2019.

Animated festive scene featuring our vintage coat of arms and favourite mythical bird from materials held at McGill University Library and McGill University Archives. Created in 2018.

Animated wintry scenes from McGill University Library’s collection of rare and special materials. Created in 2017.

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