Overview

Welcome to the Historical Perspectives on Canadian Publishing Website.

The aim of this website is to highlight archival documents relating to Canadian publishing history. These documents – letters, manuscripts, photographs, diaries, artwork, audio interviews, financial records, and many other materials – are found in publishers’ and authors’ fonds and collections at McMaster University Library, Queen’s University Archives, and the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto.

Emerging and senior scholars from across Canada have written over 90 case studies – short essays – based on these materials. Authors were asked to consult the archives and choose documents to help them tell a story relating to Canadian publishing. The site was launched on 8 October 2009.

Although a wide range of topics are presented – from seventeenth-century Quebec newspapers to academic publishers, from Confederation poets to twentieth-century Aboriginal writers, from a job printing scrapbook to Canada Reads, and from large publishing houses such as Macmillan Canada to small presses such as Barbarian Press – the website is in no way intended to be comprehensive. Indeed, the case studies barely scratch the surface of possible topics that could be gleaned from the collections at the three institutions, and certainly not all of those fonds and collections could be represented on the website.

We invite you to explore the site, either by selecting one of the main Themes, or searching for specific case studies, topics, or types of materials through the Browse by, or Keyword search features.

We welcome your feedback and hope you enjoy exploring this site.

Carl Spadoni, Director, William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections (retired)
Judy Donnelly, Project Director and Co-Editor, Historical Perspectives on Canadian Publishing

For any questions regarding this website, please contact the William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections, McMaster University Library:
archives@mcmaster.ca
905-525-9140 extension 22789