Previous exhibition

This exhibition, mounted to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, reveals something of the vast range and depth of holdings of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto. Divided into several sections, it features a variety of items from the library’s collections of early manuscripts and printed books, Shakespeareana, science and medical texts, Enlightenment materials, juvenile drama artifacts, Anglo-Irish literature, Canadiana, as well as the evocative artistic works of Thoreau MacDonald. In addition, the exhibition highlights the personal art of collecting as well as examples of the fine art of book binding. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue were prepared by the director of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Richard Landon.

What is the nature of the human brain? While the modern study of anatomy has been in practice for well over five hundred years, the brain remains today one of the least understood parts of the human body. Drawing from the Fisher Library’s collections in medicine, philosophy, natural history, and more, this exhibition will explore how early scientists and thinkers first tried to define and describe the human brain. From the first anatomists to dissect complex brain lobes and nerves, to philosophers who grappled with concepts of the soul and mind, to outside thinkers who explored the outer reaches of human consciousness, this exhibition will consider the history of the brain in print from multiple perspectives.

This exhibition is curated by Science & Medicine Librarian, Alexandra K. Carter.

To download an audio guide for this exhibition, please click on this link or listen via the audio below. 

There will be two free curator-led tours of the exhibition:

Thursday March 6 at 6pm

Thursday April 10 at 6pm

Why did women travel? How did they engage with the world during their journey? What did they choose to share when they returned? Women’s travel stories tell us about much more than the places they visit. Their carefully crafted narratives and keepsakes suggest intrepid adventurers, privileged tourists, devoted companions, tireless proselytizers, perceptive scientists, or pioneers and colonizers. Through their shared experiences, made possible by a burgeoning travel book industry, they communicate their relationship to empire, participation in historical events, and inclusion and exclusion from many parts of culture at home and abroad.

This exhibition is curated by David Fernández, Ksenya Kiebuzinski, and Elizabeth Ridolfo.

To view some of the items on display as part of the exhibition in a storymaps exhibit, click here

To mark the occasion of the three-hundredth birthday of Immanuel Kant, the most influential philosopher of the modern era, the Fisher is exhibiting the outstanding Kant holdings of the Walsh Philosophy Collection. Kant’s books are joined by those of many contemporary critics as well as by complete collections of the monographs of Hegel and Schopenhauer.

This exhibition is curated by F. Michael Walsh.

This exhibition is a celebration of the movable pop-up book, from the use of paper wheels as calculators to three-dimensional pop-up paper sculptures. It looks at the re-interpretation of movable books mostly published in the last seventy years. The books include re-interpretations of classic literary works and popular media, to explorations of human physiology, human exploration, religion, teaching, artistic endeavours, and the effect of human activity on the Earth. This exhibition is curated by Joan Links.

Joan Links on CBC's Metro Morning discussing the exhibition and the history of pop-up books. 

The eternal desire to see stories come to life has led to great creativity throughout history. An increase in theatre-going and interest in theatrical souvenirs during the Regency period sparked the beginning of the toy theatre, a creative hobby that saw young people colouring and cutting out printed sheets of characters from popular plays, and performing on miniature theatres for family and friends at home.

This genre forms part of a continuum of printed works and optical toys that try to bring stories to life, drawing places and characters off the stage and off the page and creating a fanciful world of colour and motion.

This exhibition is curated by the Fisher Library's Liz Ridolfo.

The Fisher will have a special Saturday opening to view the exhibiton on November 18, from 10am to 4pm.

There is a free audio guide narrated by the curator available. Click on this link to download it prior to your visit.

Can't make it to Toronto or missed the exhibition? A digital version of the exhibition is available on our Omeka page

It is common to regard the science and art of data visualization as distinctively modern, as if bar graphs, line charts, pie charts, colour-coded maps, timelines, and infographics are recent creations. Emerging Patterns: Data Visualization Throughout History asks us to revise this view by inviting visitors to engage with early data visualizations and their creators. The exhibition explores some of the history of data visualization and uncovers how people much like us, from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, have been wrestling with the graphical representation of information for centuries. Fisher’s collection houses extraordinary, and beautiful examples from the  history of data visualization, including many  historically significant first examples, false starts, curiosities, and instructive errors. The collection includes uniquely Canadian items, as well as examples created by individuals from historically excluded groups, many of whom exerted significant influence on the development of data visualization. 

A modern audience can glean important lessons and insights from considering the evolution of data visualizations, the role of new technology, and the way these historic visualizations were used–and abused–to inform and persuade. Emerging Patterns is the first exhibition of its kind in Canada and one of only a few in the world. 

This exhibition was curated by:

Aurora Mendelsohn

Anthony Gray

Kelly Schultz

Missed the exhibition while it was on display? Please visit the digital version on the Fisher's Omeka page at the following link:

https://fisherdigitus.library.utoronto.ca/exhibits/show/emerging-patter…

In celebration of the centennial anniversary of the discovery of insulin at the University of Toronto, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library has mounted this online exhibition featuring highlights from the Library's collection of original documents relating to the history of insulin research.

The exhibition features material originally selected for an exhibition that took place at the Fisher Library in 1996, curated by the Library’s former Assistant Director, Katharine Martyn. This digital re-mounting includes many of the same significant documents from the original exhibition, along with an important essay by historian Michael Bliss, republished here for the first time.

This digital exhibition was assembled in 2021 by Alexandra K. Carter and Natalya Rattan.

Exhibition link: The Discovery of Insulin at the University of Toronto: An Exhibition in Celebration of the 100th Anniversary

Celebrating Black Voices is an exhibition that acknowledges and honours the social, cultural, and literary achievements of Black authors and artists in a wide variety of fields—poets, novelists, journalists, playwrights, musicians, memoirists, and many more. Special emphasis is given to the contribution of Black Canadians, though the exhibition includes works produced by Black writers over a period of hundreds of years and across the globe, from Canada in the 21st century to Ethiopia in the 14th. 

Exhibition Link: Celebrating Black Voices