It is named in honour of thomas fisher 17921874, who came from yorkshire. Highlights of the exhibit at the thomas fisher rare book library. Thomas fisher rare book library toronto, ontario atlas obscura. Thomas fisher rare book library staff our collection of rare books, manuscripts and other materials is strongest in the fields of british, european, caribbean and canadian literature. Materials are available for consultation by appointment in the olnick rare book reading room. Rare book department of the free library of philadelphia, philadelphia, pennsylvania. The division one expensive winner is the university of torontos thomas fisher rare book library for so long lives this. Its antecedents, however, date back much further to the art room in what is now the science and medicine library. The librarys bibliography room also supports a working collection of printing.
Kevin takes us on a tour of the thomas fisher rare book library building at u of t, looking at reads that are over 500 years old. Take a tour of sacred books in the thomas fisher rare book. The thomas fisher rare book library, university of toronto the social elite and scholars did everything they could to obtain and collect booksno matter the price. Vesalius at 500 an exhibition at the thomas fisher rare book library. Thomas fisher rare book library toronto all you need. Among the collections items are the nuremberg chronicle 1493, shakespeares first folio 1623, newtons principia 1687, and darwins proof copy with annotations of on the origin of species 1859. More than,000 students, visitors and scholars from around the world come to the fisher library each year to research, study and attend lectures and exhibitions, and. Thomas fisher rare book library, university of toronto toronto. The resources of the thomas fisher rare book library may be used by all scholars and researchers, whether or not they are members of the university of toronto community. The university of toronto libraries system is the largest academic library in canada and consists of 44 libraries located on three university campuses. The thomas fisher rare book library is named after thomas fisher, a miller on the humber river, the greatgrandfather of sidney fisher a banker who liked to collect shakespeare. About thomas fisher rare book library, uoft flickr.
The beinecke librarys robust collections are used to create new scholarship by researchers from around the world. It is named in honour of thomas fisher 17921874, who came from yorkshire to upper canada in 1821 and settled by the humber river. Thomas fisher rare book library, university of toronto. Our story, history of the university of sydney library. Arabic language materials provided by the thomas fisher rare book library, university of toronto. Hours and location thomas fisher rare book library. At one of the open atria at the thomas fisher rare book library, a seminar room is situated at the base under a mezzanine and upperlevel shelving. Stream tracks and playlists from fisher rare book library on your desktop or mobile device. The thomas fisher rare book library is located at the university of toronto, and is the largest publicly accessible collection of rare books and manuscripts in canada.
The thomas fisher rare book library is the largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and manuscripts in canada. Thomas fisher rare book library, university of toronto, toronto, on. Hannah and academy of medicine collections in the history of medicine at the thomas fisher rare book library, university of. An overdue library inventory at u of t finds some lost. Finding aids to manuscript holdings are available online. T he thomas fisher rare book library houses the department of rare books and special collections including books, manuscripts and other materials, and the university of toronto archives and records management services utarms, which holds the official records of the university. The fisher library offers extended hours on thursday evenings through the academic year we are open from 9 am to 8 pm, with the reading room closing at 7.
As one of the leading research libraries in north america, the fisher acquires, makes accessible and preserves comprehensive research collections of national and international significance. The thomas fisher rare book library is the largest rare book library in canada, holding over 800,000 books and 6,000 linear metres of manuscript material toronto. Canada in print has been created from the librarys own collections of donated libraries and purchases. The fisher library is privileged to be the custodian of the single most important archive of wolfe manuscript records in the world. Situated within robarts library at the university of toronto, over 700,000 volumes. The quality and variety of the collection makes the visit worthwhile. The thomas fisher rare book library is one of the largest repositories of publicly accessible rare books and archives in canada. In 1980, the dentistry library transferred over 250 of its rare books to the thomas fisher rare book library, where they now form part of the hannah collection on the history of medicine. Current exhibition thomas fisher rare book library. Celebrate canada 150 in a treasure of a rare book library located on the st george campus of the university of toronto, a wonderful exhibition of canadas history titled struggle and story. Bibliomania, the dark desire for books that infected. Thomas fisher rare book library u of t during doors open. The broad range of materials may include historical materials that may contain.
This collection features approximately 4500 full page plates and other significant illustrations of human anatomy selected from the jason a. Among the collections items are the nuremberg chronicle 1493, shakespeares first folio 1623, newtons principia. The committee praised so long lives this for its outstanding scholarship on shakespeare, his legacy, and the england of his day, all of which offer new. Rare book department of the free library of philadelphia. The history of medicine and medical research web portal is designed to gather resources in medical humanities for students, scholars, physicians and the. It contains darwins proof copy of on the origin of the species among other notable works. It has been located on the fourth floor of the thomas fisher rare book library since 1972. Rare books and special collections materials are unavailable for booking or viewing until further notice. Brief history of the department thomas fisher rare book. Department head of rare books and special collections. Discover thomas fisher rare book library in toronto, ontario. Background the university of toronto archives was established in 1965 as a unit within the department of rare books and special collections.
The majority of the fishers holdings are available in the library catalogue. Houses the department of rare books and special collections with. These include ciceros book of natural history you can view an edition from 1551, ulyssis androvandis. Home finding myself in the archive thomas fisher rare book library. The thomas fisher rare book library is a library in the university of toronto, constituting the largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and manuscripts in canada. The thomas fisher rare book library houses the department of rare books and special collections including books, manuscripts and other materials, and the university of toronto archives and records management services utarms, which holds the official records of the university. Enter the fisher rare book library from the second floor of robarts library and take the elevator up to the fourth floor. Originally, the rare books collection was stored on special shelving in dwight hall, which served as a library until the late 19th century. Thomas fisher rare book library utsc finding primary.
The library is also home to the university archives which, in addition to institutional records, also contains the papers of many important canadian literary figures including margaret atwood and leonard cohen. Thomas fisher rare book library toronto 2020 all you. It serves the faculty, staff, students and alumni of the. Thomas fisher rare book library staff university of. The rare books and special collections reading room is closed. Anatomia collection thomas fisher rare book library as the web site states, this collection features approximately 4500 full page plates and other significant illustrations of human anatomy selected from the jason a. The fisher, as its commonly called, is the largest rare book library in canada and its open to the public. To browse this collection, please see the main library catalogue. The thomas fisher rare book library, canadas largest, is essential for scholars of many disciplines who seek the broadest collection of materials relevant to their research.
The library holds manuscripts dating back to the 11th century, as well as gems such as canadas only copy of the 1623 shakespeare first folio, and the archives of margaret atwood and leonard cohen. The thomas fisher rare book library houses the department of rare books and special collections including books, manuscripts and other materials. One of canadas most incredible rare book collections holds hundreds of thousands of gorgeous tomes that the general public can touch. Hannah and academy of medicine collections in the history of medicine at the thomas fisher rare book library, university of toronto. Rare books are housed separately from the main circulating collection in the music library in closed stacks to ensure their preservation. The thomas fisher rare book library houses the department of rare books and. Thomas fisher rare book library, university of toronto home. How to access the resources of the thomas fisher rare book library may be used by all scholars and researchers, whether or not. Vesalius at 500 an exhibition at the thomas fisher rare. As people around the world show their appreciation for the printed word on united nations world book day, university of torontos thomas fisher rare book library is making history with the acquisition of what is thought to be the oldest englishlanguage book in canada. Collection thomasfisher toronto texts identifier thomasfisherarabic mediatype collection publicdate 20222 17. The thomas fisher rare book library houses the department of rare books. A university of toronto library card is not necessary to access the collections, but onsite registration is required.
Fisher rare book library free listening on soundcloud. The linked titles will take you to the records for the in franklin, the penn libraries catalog. The department of rare books and special collections was founded in november 1955 by the chief librarian, robert h. Books in the fisher fine arts rare book room below, you will find a list of the items highlighted during your visit to the perkins rare book room. A book of family records and personal reminiscences alla serenis. The university archives are located on the fourth floor of the thomas fisher rare book library, adjacent to robarts library, to the south. A celebration of shakespeares life and works 16162016. Thomas fisher rare book library toronto, ontario atlas. The library has taken this step as a response to the recommended guidelines around social distancing as an important measure in preventing the spread of covid19, as well as the.
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