Blog Archives

Stephen Leacock’s “The Need for Dormitories at McGill” (1920)

Detail, cover Cover image, “McGill Students’ Residences” issued by the Publicity Committee of the McGill Centennial Endowment Campaign, 1920_c.4_B0032_f.6_McGill Students’ Residences, McGill University Archives.

Just in time for Parents Tent and Residence Move-in Weekend, enjoy this short piece entitled “The Need for Dormitories at McGill” by Stephen Leacock (1869-1944), comedic writer, lecturer, and professor in McGill’s Department of Economics and Political Science. Reprinted from “McGill Students’ Residences” …

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McGill University Archives’ Spatial Artifacts

50 years ago, the Apollo 11 crew completed their mission. The primary objective of Apollo 11 was to perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth. It would have taken 8 years for NASA to complete this goal set …

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Not a bad “Impression”: a fine Rembrandt Print in McGill’s Collection

Etching by Rembrandt, The Descent from the Cross, 1633. 52.2 cm x 41 cm. McGill Print Collection, Rare Books and Special Collections, European Folio section.

This is an excerpt from the article entitled “Not a bad “Impression”: a fine Rembrandt Print in McGill’s Collection” written by Maria L. Brendel. It was first published in Fontanus, Vol 10 (1998). In 1919 McGill received a seventeenth-century print …

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Isabella McLennan & McLennan Travelling Libraries

Close up of writing on McGill Travelling Libraries van.

This is an excerpt from the article entitled “Isabella Christine McLennan” written by Rosemary Turpin. It was first published in Fontanus, Women in the University Issue, Vol 8 (1995). Isabella Christine McLennan, who, in spite of the fact that she …

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Ils vivaient avec leurs 17 enfants dans un logement de 4 pièces…

  Un 4 pièces avec 6 ou 7 enfants! Certaines familles avaient 12 ou 17 enfants! […] Une chambre de garçons, une chambre de filles, une chambre de parents. Les enfants étaient élevés dehors. C’était la grande misère, raconte Marguerite. …

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Révolution! Le mouvement McGill français a maintenant 50 ans

  McGill français!  McGill au peuple!  Ces slogans sont lancés en force d’une foule imposante de manifestants. Partis du carré Saint-Louis, les quelque 10 000 manifestants se heurtent à un barrage tout aussi imposant de près de 500 policiers et agents …

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The Recipes Project : Library Chat at the Osler

B.O. 53, Assyrian Medical Tablet. Containing such advice as, “‘the emerald plant’ in best beer thou shalt give him to drink,” This Assyrian medical tablet from ca. 700 B.C.E. provides recipes to treat an unnamed eye disease.

Welcome to a guest edition of Library Matters! This week’s blog is brought to you by Dr. Sarah Kernan of The Recipes Project. Dr. Kernan is an independent culinary historian who holds a Ph.D. in medieval history from The Ohio …

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Women in the Driver’s Seat

A handbook for all women who motor or who want to motor…  by Dorothy Levitt Advice for Women in Cars: –“Regarding coats—there is nothing like a thick frieze, homespun, or tweed, lined with Jaeger or fur. The former has the advantage of being lighter …

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Boat stories

In the late 1940s, McGill received an extensive set of ships’ badges from the Royal Navy. These were to serve as decoration on the walls of the swimming pool of the newly erected Memorial Hall. The British Admiralty had already …

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How Many Can You Solve? : The Riddle Project

Riddle text

By Leehu Sigler The Riddle Project is a ROAAr project dedicated to transcribing, solving, and researching riddles found in early manuscripts! Help us solve them all! What can promote innocent mirth, and I may say virtue, more than a good …

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