In 1997 the Rare Books and Special Collections acquired the Canadian Olympic Collection, after the closing of the Information and Resource Centre located in Olympic House, Montreal. The collection, consisting of copies of publications of the Organizing Committees, Canadian Olympic Association (COA) and the National Olympic Committee, provides a very complete historical record of the modern Olympic Games including the following: Olympic Games, Olympic Winter Games, Pan American Games and the Commonwealth Games. Rare Books and Special Collections is now the custodian of a significant portion of the collection.

A selection of this material may be explored through the online exhibition:
The Olympics: an historical perspective 

Rosalynde Stearn Puppet Collection

Some of the richest aspects of this extraordinary collection include Punch and Judy, the Commedia dell’ arte and shadow puppets from South Asia. These and late nineteenth and early twentieth-century French puppets and puppets made by Stearn herself for the Aristophanes play “The Clouds” are featured in this exhibition. From French marionettes of the eighteenth century to Canadian puppets of the twentieth, this exhibition brings before the public for the first time in many years, one of the most unusual of McGill treasures. The collection was formed by the Canadian puppeteer Rosalynde Osborne Stearn to be a comprehensive library on the puppet theatre with representative examples of puppets characteristic of different periods and countries.

This exhibition was curated by Richard Virr (Head of Rare Books and Special Collections and curator of manuscripts, McGill University) and Donald Hogan (Conservation specialist).

View the exhibition at: http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/puppets/index.php

New Digital Exhibition: Celebrating the Winter Olympics 1924-2006

To commemorate the Winter Olympic Games that were held at Vancouver in February 2010, this exhibition presented a short history of Canadians’ participation at the Winter Olympics from 1924 to 2006. It showed unusual material from the three Olympic Collections housed in the McGill Library’s Rare Books and Special Collections: the Canadian Olympic Association Collection, the Fernand Landry Olympic Collection and the Richard W. Pound Collection. Among the items on display were five Winter Olympic Games Torches from Calgary 1988, Lillehammer 1994, Nagano 1998, Salt Lake City 2002 and Torino 2006.

Each collection reflects the interests of the former owner and covers different aspects and timeframes. The collections complement each other, offering a wealth of information for researchers: official publications, ephemeral material, manuscripts, posters, prints and realia.

View the exhibition at: http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/winter-olympics

Welcome to the Rare Books and Special Collections (RBSC) blog.

We plan to provide updates on new acquisitions, and other activities taking place in the RBSC Library.

The library staff have just completed the work on the virtual exhibition – The Birdman of McGill: Casey Wood – Avid Collector, Magnanimous Donor and Generous Friend.

” Great library collections are enriched by donations from great individual collectors. McGill Library’s extraordinary strengths in its ornithological collections, palm leaf manuscripts, Kashmiri lacquer and bible boxes are largely the result of the personal collecting of Casey Wood. Come join us as we uncover the gems of an avid collector with a particular passion for birds. Born in Wellington, Ontario in 1856, Casey Wood was educated in Ottawa, at Bishop’s and McGill Universities, with further studies in Berlin, Vienna, Paris and London. He was a widely known ophthalmologist, ornithologist, prolific author, translator, editor, bibliophile, and traveller. The Library was fortunate to have this magnanimous donor as a friend. Casey Wood maintained his ties to McGill and bestowed his magnificent collections on the University. The treasures on display are drawn from the holdings of Rare Books and Special Collections, the Osler Library of the History of Medicine, the Redpath Museum and the Faculty of Medicine.”

from the exhibition home page