Blog Archives

Curatorial Snapshots: McGill’s Books of Hours

Richard Virr, Retired Chief Curator, Rare Books and Special Collections and co-curator of the Resplendent Illuminations exhibit currently running at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has chosen 13 notable images from McGill’s holdings to give us a taste of …

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What Happens When the Library Roof Catches Fire?

The short answer to that question is a lot of work, countless cardboard boxes, unimaginable reams of acid-free tissue paper, innumerable man-hours, and a long-term recovery plan. The long answer is, like so many stories, best told in photos.     …

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A Walk Through “Books that Pop!”

A german Accordion alphabet and phrase book in the Books that Pop Exhibition.

Guest Post by. Jacqueline Reid-Walsh, Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University, College of Education, Curriculum and Instruction and Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Coming back to McGill University after being away for a couple of weeks, I got off …

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70 candles for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

By Lori Podolsky “That there can be no peace unless human rights and freedoms are respected” (John Peters Humphrey, 1947) John Peters Humphrey, the first Director of the Human Rights Division at the United Nations, and along with Eleanor Roosevelt …

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An Exceptional Day of Mourning

By Julien Couture, Assistant Archivist at McGill University Archives On November 30, 1933, Canada lost one of the greatest war heroes of its young history. On this centennial of the end of the Great War, it is important to look back and reflect …

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A Hyakumanto Dharani – among the earliest surviving examples of printed text

In 1968, McGill acquired a copy of the Hyakumanto Dhāraṇī (百萬塔陀羅尼經), one of the earliest surviving examples of printed text, along with the miniature wooden pagoda within which it was stored more than a thousand years ago. A dhāraṇī can be described as a charm used …

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Small wonders tell big stories at Rare Books & Special Collections

La version française suit By Elis Ing, Liaison Librarian, Rare Books and Special Collections Before delving into the trove of tiny books at McGill’s Rare Books & Special Collections, it’s worth asking a few questions. To start with, how tiny …

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And though she be but little, she is fierce: Miniature engravings of musical instruments in Shakespeare by Gerard Brender à Brandis

Figure 3: Gerard Brender à Brandis, Tambourine, Positive Organ, Bells, and Hornpipe, from the series Concord of Sweet Sounds: Musical Instruments in Shakespeare, 2006-2009, hand-tinted wood engravings, 40 x 35 cm (mat). Visual Arts Collection, McGill University Library 2018-020.13-020.16.

La version française suit By Vanessa Di Francesco, Assistant Curator, McGill Visual Arts Collection Tiny is trending, big time. From micro-homes and minimalist design to microbreweries and small-batch production, the downsizing wave is cresting. But tiny has always been trendy, …

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A rainbow of microscopic specimens in McGill University Archives

La version française suit By Frédéric Giuliano, Archivist, McGill University Archives What is the first image that comes to mind when you think of the word “archive”? A dusty old yellowish manuscript paper or maybe a box of old black …

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A tiny window into Montreal’s role in the history of reproductive health

Ortho 1 Lapel Pins

La version française suit By Mary Yearl, Head Librarian, Osler Library of the History of Medicine Among the recent arrivals at the Osler Library of the History of Medicine is a set of three lapel pins decorated with an accurately …

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