Through the Revolving Door: Fisher Blog

The history of science and medicine represents some of the core subject strengths at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, spanning across some of our largest collections. But where to begin? One great way to become more familiarized with the many… Read the full post.

This week, the Fisher celebrates Science Literacy Week with a series of blog posts that highlight materials from our collections - including, of course, from our much-… Read the full post.

The Classics Department Papyrus Collection held on long-term deposit at the Thomas Fisher Li-brary has a stunning array of decorated papyri from the Ptolemaic Period (305–30 BCE) of Ancient Egypt that were used for cartonnage. A process by which… Read the full post.

Each week the Fisher Library highlights an item from one of its many collections digitized online on the Internet Archive. This week, Rachael takes a look at a book from our Canadiana… Read the full post.

The Fisher's sizeable collection of over 400 fragmented Greco-Roman papyri from Egypt dating between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE is one of the library's great collections. The greater part of the library’s papyri holdings consists… Read the full post.

Each week, the Fisher Library highlights an item from one of its many collections digitized online on the Internet Archive. This week, Rachael takes a look at a book from our Biodiversity… Read the full post.

Each week, the Fisher Library highlights an item from one of its many collections that are digitized and made available through the Internet Archive. This week, Rachael takes a look at a book… Read the full post.

Sammelbands offer an interesting perspective into historical reading and collection habits. A sammelband is a collection of separately produced titled works that have been bound together into one volume. The work can be print, manuscript or a… Read the full post.

Each week the Fisher Library highlights an item from one of its many digitized collections available to all on the Internet Archive. This week, Rachael takes a look at a book from our… Read the full post.

As literacy became more widespread in England in the 1830s and 40s, printing companies began providing cheaper reading material, and a new style of print emerged. ‘Penny dreadfuls’ or ‘penny bloods’ were periodicals that were typically released… Read the full post.

Nineteenth-century Scottish physician Sophia Jex-Blake (1840-1912) devoted her life to the advancement of womens’ rights in the field of medicine. Her career and personal life reveal how the professionalization of modern medicine occurred… Read the full post.

Playbills are a form of ephemera, a printed material intended for a short duration of use. Originally used as a marketing tool for theatres and performance troupes, the earliest playbills emerged out of a tradition of oral advertising, wherein… Read the full post.

Each week, the Fisher Library highlights an item from one of its many digitized collections available to all for free on the Internet Archive. This week, Rachael takes a look at a book from… Read the full post.

Cookbooks provide suggestive instruction of necessary life skills, pertaining mostly to food preparation or cleaning. The contents of the recipes tailored to the intended reader and the title would often label this audience. Before the… Read the full post.

A reflection on a Fisher Archivist’s work-from-home projects over the past year.

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As an archivist at the Fisher Library, the recent Doors Open posts led me to reflect on the past fifteen months we've spent working… Read the full post.

Alphabet books originated in the fifteenth century as ornate hornbooks that utilized “uppercase and lowercase letters, common syllables, and a few short prayers as a medium to teach reading.”[1] In the seventeenth century, the form shifted… Read the full post.

Every week, the Fisher Library highlights an item from one of its many collections available online on the Internet Archive. This week, Rachael takes a look at a book from our Canadiana… Read the full post.

Were visitors able to enter the Fisher Library during Doors Open Toronto 2021, the very first thing that they would encounter would be the dedication stone on the southwest wall of the foyer (image above). Carved in an elegant script likely… Read the full post.

Though the Fisher is known for its Shakespeare and other special collections, the library and University of Toronto Archives are full of many other treasures not typically seen, some of which are directly related to the building and its history.… Read the full post.

Typically, the last week of May is when the Fisher's staff is gearing up for the library's largest annual outreach endeavour: Doors Open Toronto… Read the full post.

Each week the Fisher Library highlights an item from one of its many digitized collections available online on the Internet Archive. This week, Rachael takes a look at a book from our… Read the full post.

Each week, the Fisher Library highlights an item from one of its many collections digitized online through the Internet Archive. This week, Rachael takes a look at a book in our Biodiversity… Read the full post.

Each week the Fisher Library highlights an item from one of its many collections digitized online on the Internet Archive. This week, Rachael takes a look at a book from our… Read the full post.

One of the things I’ve never taken for granted since I started working at the Fisher over 15 years ago is having access to our incredible collection. Imagine how fortunate I am to be able to roam among the 750,000 volumes or so in our stacks,… Read the full post.

How do you read a book that has no words?

In 1919, Frans Masereel (1889-1972) invented a new type of book: romans in beeiden, or novels in pictures. His first novel,… Read the full post.