The Fisher Library possesses an extensive bookplate collection dating from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, referencing prominent figures and institutions in Canadian history. Reaching across Canada as well as the United Kingdom, the ex-libris collection comprises a wide range of owners. Provenance for some bookplates include prime ministers, military commanders, universities, libraries, private businesses and journalistic groups. The collection also offers a wide range of styles, representing a great variety in bookplate artistry. Some of the styles consist of armorial, pictorial, printed, emblematic, and hand-written bookplates. Many ex-libris have extraordinary artwork by notable artists like J.E.H. MacDonald and Francis Adams, while others possess witty rhymes, elegant mottos and family crests.
Some of these bookplates, with examples below, are now available through an album on the Fisher's Flickr stream. These are just a sampling of the collection as there are more than 1,000 bookplates are available in the library’s physical collection.
A finding aid of the collection can be found by clicking on the link.
Student intern Selin Kahramanoglu was responsible for preparing the finding aid for the collection and for curating the set of images on Flickr.