Blog Archives

Elizabeth Gwillim’s Botanical Networks

‘… [A]fter learning a little Botany it seems almost impossible to stop.’ (Elizabeth Gwillim, 1805) The Gwillim Project, funded through a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, began in May 2019. It focuses on the unique paintings …

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The “Her Natural History” Social Media Campaign: Highlighting female contributions to biodiversity research

From collecting specimens and serving as scientific illustrators to conducting and publishing research, authoring natural history books, and more, women have overcome many social and cultural obstacles and gender barriers to help further our understanding of the natural world. Biodiversity …

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What’s Lincoln’s Bloodstained Towel Doing Here?

Many Montrealers are unaware of the many weird and wonderful things held right downtown at McGill University. The Library has items dating back over four thousand years that make up some of the most important research collections in the world. …

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Gardening in difficult times

Social distancing has made me long for two things: the company of other people, and time outside in nature. In the last month or so, I have started seedlings and am planning to plant a small balcony garden near the …

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Fresh Perspectives: McGill’s Motherwell and Stella Tapestries

By Michelle Macleod, Curatorial Assistant, McGill Visual Arts Collection The Visual Art Collection, with support funding from SSMU and the Dean of Libraries, installed a number of artworks in the McLennan-Redpath library over reading week. As we all eagerly await …

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DRAW needs you!

Looking for something to do while you’re self-isolating and social-distancing? Would you like to contribute to weather, climate science, and history? Come help us transcribe weather records from the past on DRAW! You can join a community of citizen scientists …

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The Literary Ritual of Conundrum Suppers

Shakespeare added thousands of words to the English language, wrote both drama and poetry, and even bought himself a noble title! But was he a riddler? Apparently, literature and riddles have always been related.[1] As The Riddle Project dove into …

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Dress the Part! The Costumes of Conundrum Suppers

Oswego Palladium. October 28 1919.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Protestant Churches would often host fundraising events called Conundrum Suppers. At these events, guests would order from menus entirely composed of riddles! Yet riddling menus were not the only entertainment. Performances and …

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Portrait of Dinah Lauterman

A French version follows. Une version française suit. By Jane O’Brien Davis, Museum Database Assistant, McGill Visual Arts Collection What’s in a name? The Blackader-Lauterman Library of Art and Architecture is named after two people: Gordon Home Blackader and Dinah Lauterman. …

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The Biblical Business of Riddling Repas

In many ways, the history of the riddle is the history of the Bible.[1] Riddles are scattered throughout both the Old and New Testaments, present in some of the most well-known stories, such as the riddle Samson told at his …

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