Honorary Degree Books 1987-99

1999

John Kim Bell

Kochno, Boris. Le ballet. [Paris]: Hachette, 1954. 

Boris Kochno was personal secretary to Serge Diaghilev, the great Russian ballet master, and in this book he traces the history of the French ballet from fifteenth-century court masquerades to modern ballets. With over 400 illustrations reproduced in photogravure, an original lithograph by Picasso, and a Matisse design on its cover, this is a very special volume. [GV 1649 K62 1954]

Harold Cardinal 

Iapi Oaye: The Word Carrier. Greenwood, [SD]: Dakota Mission, 1874-1887. 

This monthly newsletter was published by and for the Dakota peoples. Printed in both Lakota and English, it promoted literacy and offered news relating to the activities and concerns of Dakota peoples during a period of change, including reports from Congress. Each issue features a richly-detailed engraving on its front cover. A very rare addition to the Peel library’s extensive collection of primary materials relating to the Indigenous peoples of North American. [E 99 D1 I27 folio]

Laurence George Decore

Collins, A. Frederick. Experimental Television: A Series of Simple Experiments with Television Apparatus. Boston: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co, 1932.

A scarce book that explores emerging television technologies and includes more than one hundred diagrams to show readers how to create at-home experiments for scanning disks, photo-electric cells, and cathode rays. It offers a fascinating glimpse into the ways that these new and luxurious technologies were made accessible to “the amateur experimenter.” [TK 6630 C6 1932]

Millard Dean Fuller

Trimmer, Sarah. The Oeconomy of Charity, or, An Address to Ladies. London: J. Johnson, 1801. 2 vols. 

The Peel library already has the first edition of this important handbook for educating poor children, but this is the considerably expanded second edition. Sarah Trimmer was a forward-thinking feminist writer who advocated for education and social change. This handbook provides information about setting up soup kitchens, discusses problems associated with child labour, and considers a range of children’s health issues. [LC 5056 G7 T83 1801 v.1-2]

Dr James Grierson MacGregor, Jr

Jouvancourt, Hugues de. Maurice Cullen. Translated by Nancy Côté. Montreal: Editions La Frégate, 1978.

Influenced by both academic painting and Impressionism in France, Maurice Cullen was an influential landscape painter. His earliest important works were exhibited in Montreal in 1897. A true interpreter of Montreal’s cityscape, particularly of dusk and night scenes, which invariably shimmer with light. This is a lavishly-illustrated limited edition of a hard-to-find volume, and is considered to be the most important study of Cullen. [ND 249 C96 J86 1978]

Gerald James Maier 

Kerr, John. Curling in Canada and the United States: A Record of the Tour of the Scottish Team, 1902-3, and of the Game in the Dominion and the Republic. Edinburgh: Geo. A. Morton, 1904. 

A splendid, highly detailed account of the North American tour of the Scottish Team in 1902-1903, an event described as “unique in the annals of curling.” The large volume is lavishly illustrated, and the team’s visits to Toronto, Montreal, and Winnipeg, with the history of many curling clubs, are colourfully set forth. A rare and delightful addition to the library’s holdings documenting Canadian sport. [GV 845 K38 1904]

Dr James Fraser Mustard

Richardson, John. Wacousta, or, The Prophecy: A Tale of Detroit and Michillimackinac. Philadelphia: A. Waldie, 1833. 

This unglamorous volume is actually one of the great rarities of Canadian literature. First published in London in 1832, this is the first edition published in America. Following in the tradition of historical romances by Sir Walter Scott and James Fenimore Cooper, the novel is an imaginary treatment of intrigues and violence between British soldiers and the forces led by Pontiac at Fort Detroit in 1763. [PS 8435 I16 W1 1833]

Kenneth Clifford Welsh 

Cibber, Colley. Edited by Robert W. Lowe. An Apology for the Life of Mr. Colley Cibber, written by himself. London: J.C. Nimmo, 1889. 2 vols. 

Colley Cibber (1671-1757) was a well-known actor on the London stage and a theatre manager. His important autobiography, first published in 1740, is sometimes inaccurate. This special limited and corrected edition is lavishly illustrated with portraits of Cibber’s fellow actors and playwrights. A fine addition to the Peel library’s collection on theatre history, which also contains the first edition of Cibber’s work. [PR 3347 Z6 1889]

Harriet Snowball Winspear (two items)

Compan, Charles. Dictionnaire de danse: Contenant l'histoire, les règles & les principes de cet art. Paris: Chez Cailleau, 1787. 

The first of two books selected in honour of Harriet Snowball Winspear. This is the rare first edition of the first dictionary of dance, setting forth a common language by which to teach, study, and appreciate the art form. Dedicated to Mademoiselle G****, this volume includes sections on dances from China, Egypt, and Canada, and delves into complex concepts of movement, technique and style. [GV 1585 C73 1787]

Castil-Blaze, M. Dictionnaire de musique moderne. Bruxelles: L'Académie de Musique, 1828. 

The second of two books selected in honour of Harriet Snowball Winspear. This is an early edition of a very uncommon, thorough, and significant dictionary of musical terms and concepts, one that reflects many aspects—“modern” at the time—of the Romantic movement in music. [ML 100 B41 1828]

1998

John T. Ferguson

Engler, Bruno. A Mountain Life: Stories and Photographs of Bruno Engler. Canmore: Alpine Club of Canada, 1996.

A lively recounting of Bruno Engler's colourful tales from his life as a famous guide, mountaineer, and photographer in the Rocky Mountains, published to celebrate his 80th birthday. One of a limited edition of 36 copies, this special volume is lavishly illustrated by Engler's superb photographs, including three originals that he hand printed himself. Bound in full goatskin by Courtland Benson. [GV 199.92 E58 A3 1996]

Dr Robert Hall Haynes

Carrera, John, and Sam Walker. Putreffati. Boston: Quercus Press, 1995.

A limited edition artist's book (No. 11 of 25) created for the "Science and the Artist's Book" exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in 1995. It is based on a landmark seventeenth-century Italian book by Francesco Redi who disproved, through various experiments, the popular belief that life could be spontaneously generated by rotting meat: turning the pages, the text is gradually encompassed by disintegration and burrowing insects. [N 7433.4 C37 A6 P88 1995]

Dr Maxwell Leo Howell

Guts Muths, Johann Christoph Friederich, and C.G. Salzmann. Gymnastics for Youth: Or a Practical Guide to Healthful and Amusing Exercises: For the Use of Schools: An Essay toward the Necessary Improvement of Education, Chiefly as It Related to the Body. Philadelphia: William Duane, 1802.

Thought to be the earliest manual on sport printed in North America, this is a little-known work of significant importance, containing detailed chapters on the value and utility of gymnastics and exercise. Its charming copper-engraved illustrations depict boys jumping, pole-vaulting, wrestling, swimming, and trundling a hoop. A significant addition to the library's historical materials relating to physical education. [GV 341 G99 E5 1802]

Dr Joseph B. Martin

Thoner, Augustin. Observationum Medicinalium. Ulmæ: Sumptibus Johannis Gerlini Bibliopolae, 1649.

Published in 1649, this is a first edition of a landmark book of neurology, penned by the director of the medical college at Ulm. It contains hundreds of case histories treating a range of conditions from headaches to melancholy to epilepsy. The first edition sold well and a second soon followed. [R 127 A2 T486 1649]

Raymond J. Nelson

Johnson, E. Pauline. Shadow River: The Selected and Illustrated Poems of Pauline Johnson. New Westminster, BC: Pie Tree Press, 1997.

A limited edition (No. 21 of 40) handmade book by one of Canada’s great book designers, illustrated and hand printed on handmade paper by Jim Rimmer and his typography students at University College of the Fraser Valley. This special book celebrates the life and work of E. Pauline Johnson (1861-1913), one of Canada’s earliest and most influential Indigenous writers. [PS 8469 O38 S52 1997 folio]

Claude Ryan

Bosworth, Newton, ed. Hochelaga Depicta: Or, a New Picture of Montreal, Embracing the Early History and Present State of the City and Island of Montreal. Montreal: W.S. Mackay, 1846.

An enlarged edition of an important nineteenth-century illustrated history of Montreal containing some of the few remaining original sources relating to the city’s early architecture: 20 engraved plates, 11 wood engravings, a large folding plan of the city, and drawings by James Duncan, one of Canada's first historic artists and draughtsmen. A welcome addition to the library's collection of rare illustrated Canadiana. [FC 2947.4 B74 1846]

Professor Roger Woodward

Liszt, Franz. XIX. Magyar Rapszódia: Zongorára. 1885. Budapest: Editio Musica, ca. 1985.

An exquisite full-colour facsimile edition of Franz Liszt's original manuscript of his final, spectacularly difficult, piano rhapsody, completed the year before his death. This celebratory limited edition includes a special binding with an embossed bronze cameo of the composer on the front cover.  [ML 96.5 L77 1985 folio]

1997

Dr Per-Ingvar Brånemark

Twiss, Richard. A Trip to Paris, in July and August, 1792. London: Minerva Press, 1793.

Richard Twiss was an important travel writer, and his eye-witness account of the bloody French Revolution is particularly vivid and graphic, reflecting the “barbarity and callousness” of the time. This is the author’s own copy and contains his extensive notes. A unique volume. [DC 194 T974 1793 c.2]

Charles Chan

Siren, Osvald. The Walls and Gates of Peking: Researches and Impressions; Illustrated with 109 Photogravures after Photographs by the Author and Fifty Architectural Drawings Made by Chinese Artists. London: John Lane at the Bodley Head, 1924.

A landmark study of the historical gates of Peking, with a stunning array of visual material including architectural drawings by Chinese artists. Osvald Siren was a Swedish art historian who wrote several authoritative volumes on Chinese art. No. 54 of 800 copies. [DS 795 S62 1924 folio]

Georges Henry Erasmus

Wolf, Arne. They Say! Berkeley, CA: A. Wolf, 1993.

This artist’s book takes its text from the creation story recorded in 1912 by Pliny Earle Gaddard from the Cahto (or Kato) people. A thought-provoking piece that asks us to contemplate the worlds contained within Indigenous creation stories that continue to be told today. No. 7 of 30 signed copies. [N 7433.4 W853 A6 T84 1993]

Professor William H. Hurlburt

Department of Immigration and Colonization. Land Settlement: Across Canada with Lord Lovat; Inspection of Farms of New Citizens Brought to Canada under the British Family Settlement Scheme. Ottawa: Land Settlement Branch, Dept. of Immigration and Colonization, 1928.

A textual and visual history of Canadian settlers, including family histories and photographs of first homesteads. This government publication offers significant historical detail, including reproductions of hand-drawn maps by Simon Joseph Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat. [FC 570 L253 1928 folio]

Dr Robert Kroetsch

Ross, William Wrightson Eustace. Laconics. Ottawa: Overbrook Press, 1930.

This exceedingly rare little volume is the first book of modernist poetry in Canadian literature. Though he published in some prestigious American periodicals in the 1920s and 1930s, W.W.E. Ross was largely unknown during his lifetime and was rediscovered by scholars decades later. [PS 8535 O84 L36 1930]

The Honourable Tatsuo Ozawa

Brinkley, Frank, ed. Japan. Boston: J. B. Millet, 1898.

A classic study of Japanese life, culture, and art with hand-tinted photographs, including a reproduction of a tenth-century painting of the Kose School. Bound in a traditional style—flower-patterned silk over boards—this is no. 12 of a limited edition of 25 copies. [DS 809 B85 folio v.1-10]

Andrew George Alexander Russell

Harmon, Jacob Crismon. Crazy - the Kid, or, the Cowboy Scout. Sioux City, IA: n.p., 1921.

This modest pamphlet is exceedingly rare. Jacob Harmon’s colourful and vivid tales are inspired by his own experiences after he ran away from home and spent his teen years (the 1860s) living as a cowboy. [F 596 H37 1921]

Dr Manmohan Singh

Hoffmeister, Werner. Travels in Ceylon and Continental India: Including Nepal and Other Parts of the Himalayas to the Borders of Thibet with Some Notices of the Overland Route. Edinburgh: William P. Kennedy, 1848.

A volume of Werner Hoffmeister’s writings, compiled after he died during the expedition. Hoffmeister pressed over 100 new plant species, preserving them to accompany his written observations, making a significant contribution to the scientific record in Europe. [DS 413 H699 1848 E5]

Dr Christopher R. Somerville

Sherman, Thomas. The Second Part of the Pilgrims Progress: From This Present World of Wickedness and Misery, to an Eternity of Holiness and Felicity; Exactly Described under the Similitude of a Dream. London: Malthus, 1683.

This very rare volume is an interesting addition to the Peel library’s important collection of John Bunyan’s Works. Following the extraordinary success of numerous editions of Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, Thomas Sherman penned a “second part” ostensibly to “correct the frivolous tone” of Bunyan’s original. [PR 3687 S15 S54 1683]

Dr Mamoru Watanabe

Levillier, Roberto. Americo Vespucio. Madrid: Ediciones Cultura Hispanica, 1966.

The first and only edition of a major study of the life and work of Americo (or Amerigo) Vespucio, the influential fifteenth-century merchant and explorer after whom America seems to have been named. The volume is a valuable addition to the library, and includes many illustrations and maps. [E 125 V5 L68 1966]

Margaret Zeidler

Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. Aurora Leigh. London: Chapman and Hall, 1857.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning is best known for Sonnets from the Portuguese, but Aurora Leigh is in many ways a more important book. An enormously popular epic poem/novel, one that contributed significantly to debates about gender and power in the Victorian period. This is the uncommon first edition. [PR 4185 A1 1857]

1996

Margaret C. Cammaert

Muter, Elizabeth McMulline. Travels and Adventures of an Officer's Wife in India, China, and New Zealand. London: Hurst and Blackett, 1864.

This first edition of Elizabeth Muter’s travel book offers a fascinating look into women’s lives, both everyday events and under extraordinary circumstances, in the British colonial period. Travel writing was a popular genre for women writers in this period and their work offers a critical source of historical information. [DS 413 M88 A38 1864 v.1-2]

Eric Ericson

Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix. Paulus: Opus 36; Oratorium nach Worten der heiligen Schrift. Bonn: N. Simrock, [1837].

German composer Felix Mendelssohn was just 27 years old when his oratorio Paulus—treating the life and work of the apostle Paul—debuted in Düsseldorf to great acclaim. His father, who died before it was completed, said that it "united old customs with modern means." This is the uncommon first edition. [M 2000 M53 P33 1837 folio]

Eldon D. Foote

Humbert, Aimé. Japan and the Japanese, Illustrated. Trans. Cashel Hoey and H.W. Bates. London: Richard Bentley, 1874.

This is the first English edition of a richly-illustrated study of Japanese culture, including domestic life, religion, politics, education, theatre, etc., written by a Swiss diplomat during his two years (1863-1864) serving in Japan. [DS 809 H919 1874 folio]

Richard F. Haskayne

Evers, Larry, and Felipe S. Molina. Wo’i Bwikam: Coyote Songs from the Yaqui Bow Leaders’ Society. Illus. Cynthia Miller. Tucson: Chax Press, 1990.

No. 21 of a limited edition of 100 copies, this stunning artist’s book offers fresh translations of centuries-old Coyote songs gathered from Yaqui Elders accompanied by scholarly notes. It is a valuable addition to the Indigenous language materials housed in the Peel library. [PM 4526 Z77 W6 1990 folio]

Dr Paul Janssen

Daudet, Alphonse. Lettres de mon moulin. Monte Carlo: Éditions "Le Parnasse," 1965.

Alphonse Daudet’s Lettres de mon moulin (or “Letters from My Windmill”) is a collection of short stories that was first published in 1869. This special limited edition (No. 39 of 188) features 53 original watercolours by Hubert Clerissi reproduced in full colour, and the unbound pages are encased in a special handmade box. [PQ 2216 L5 1965 folio]

The Honourable H.A. "Bud" Olson

Tolfrey, Frederic. The Sportsman in Canada. London: T.C. Newby, 1845.

In this delightfully-illustrated narrative, the author describes his travels and adventures during a trip to Upper and Lower Canada in 1815. Hoping to entice European settlers to “this land of lake and mountain,” the author highlights the appeal of being a “sportsman” in Canada. [FC 72 T649 1845 v.1-2 c.1]

Dr Michael Smith

Jay, Ricky. The Magic Magic Book: An Inquiry into the Venerable History and Operation of the Oldest Trick Conjuring Books, Designated "Blow Books" [For Whomsoever Bloweth on the Pages, If He Be Versed in the Secret Method, May Cause the Images to Appear, Vanish and Change at Will Several Times] Adorned with Original Renderings from the Ateliers of These Esteemed Delineators of Artistic Impression: Vija Celmins ... Embellished with Ancient Iconography from the Collection of the Author of This Curious Compendium. New York: Library Fellows of the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1994.

This delightful publication is both a compendium and a trick. The first volume is a historical overview of books of magic, or “conjuring” books, enriched with illustrations and historical anecdotes. The second volume is an illusion of its own, complete with instructions on how to employ the “magic” it holds within. [GV 1547 J42 1994]

Paul M. Tellier

Carmichael-Smyth, Robert. The Employment of the People and the Capital of Great Britain in Her Own Colonies: At the Same Time Assisting Emigration and Penal Arrangements by Undertaking a Great National Work ... All This Fully Explained in a Letter from Major Robert Carmichael-Smyth to His Friend the Author of "The Clockmaker": Containing Thoughts on the Subject of a British Colonial Railway Communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific. London: W.P. Metchim, 1849.

This small volume gives us educated musings on the nature of transport within the British Empire in 1849. Contained within the volume is a beautifully detailed, America-centric world map with sea routes between major harbour cities within the British Empire. [FC 508 R3 C287 1849 c.2]

charles & di cropped.jpg

Convocation Ceremonies in 1983. Image courtesy of

University of Alberta Archives.

1995

Dr Olive Patricia Dickason

Laon, Jean de. Relation du voyage des François fait au Cap de Nord en Amérique. Paris: Pierre David, au Palais, 1654.

This seventeenth-century volume recounts the voyage of Jean de Laon, Lord of Aigremont, and his company on an expedition to French Guiana. Dedicated to the Duchess of Aiguillon, the book contains detailed descriptions of the region's land, people, and way of life. The text is accompanied by two illustrations and two fold-out maps, and bears the stamp of the Société de Géographie de Lyon, France's first provincial geographical society. [F 2450 L36 1654]

Clare James Drake

Bull, William Perkins. From Rattlesnake Hunt to Hockey: The History of Sports in Canada and of the Sportsmen of Peel 1798 to 1934. Toronto: The Perkins Bull Foundation; G. J. McLeod, 1934.

The second of ten volumes in the Perkins Bull Historical Series, this volume tackles the history of sports in Peel County, Ontario in great detail. William Perkins Bull's text is accompanied by almost 200 illustrations, including eight in full colour. Beautifully bound and complete with its original dust jacket, this book was printed in Toronto and is no. 97 of 100 signed and numbered copies. [GV 55 B93]

Peter "Petro" Jacyk

Berynda, Pamva. Leksykon Slavenorosskiĭ. Kuteĭno: Tip. Obshchezhitel'nogo monostyri͡a, 1653.

This book has an extraordinary binding made of black pigskin over boards with bosses (metal knobs on the front and back covers) and iron clasps on leather straps. This "Church Slavonic" to "literary Ukrainian" dictionary was written by outstanding Ukrainian lexicographer, linguist, baroque poet, and Orthodox monk Pamva Berynda, and was inspired by his work as a proofreader and editor with the Kyivan Cave Monastery Press. The first edition was published in 1627; this is the second edition, published in 1653, which includes a foreword by Ioil Trutsevich, first abbot of the Orsha Kutein Monastery. [PG 693 B47 1653] 

Gary William Wilcox McPherson

United States Census Office. Report on Indians Taxed and Indians Not Taxed in the United States (Except Alaska) at the Eleventh Census, 1890. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1894.

This census volume by the U.S. Department of the Interior is one the most exhaustive treatments of Indigenous peoples in the nineteenth century. Indigenous peoples had not been treated in detail in previous censuses, and this study includes status reports on life on the reservations, schooling, employment, and many other topics. It is lavishly illustrated with maps and photographs on colour plates. [E 98 T24 U55 1894]

Dr Tattanahall Lakshminarayani Nagabhushan

Cummins, Maureen. The Garden: A Visual Meditation on Man and Nature. New York: Inanna Press, 1993.

This beautiful, wordless fable about our intense and fragile relationship with nature is told through simple, striking coloured woodcut illustrations contained within an accordion binding, thus allowing the complete story to be "read" at once. Created by book artist, printer, and binder Maureen Cummins of Inanna Press, this is a significant addition to Peel library's artists' books collection. It is housed in its own lovely cloth-covered slipcase, complete with a watercolour illustration mounted on the case's cover. Printed, bound, and signed by the author, this is no. 14 of 30 copies. [N 7433.4 C97 A6 G218 1993] 

Dr Glenda Patricia Simms

Piozzi, Hester Lynch. Retrospection: Or, a Review of the Most Striking and Important Events, Characters, Situations, and Their Consequences, Which the Last Eighteen Hundred Years Have Presented to the View of Mankind. Vol 1-2. London: John Stockdale, 1801.

This very scarce first edition, made up of two volumes, is a thoughtful, personal examination of major historical events from the first century A.D. to 1801. Written by Hester Lynch Piozzi, a close friend of Dr Samuel Johnson, who edited his letters and wrote the Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson. She also published lively observations of an Italian tour and several other volumes. [D 18 P569 1801 vol. 1-2]

Jake Superstein

Ozick, Cynthia. Epodes: First Poems. Prints by Sidney Chafetz. Athens, OH: Logan Elm P at Ohio State U, 1992.

This beautiful artist's book combines poetry and vibrant hand-inked linoleum block prints. It is printed on handmade cotton and abaca fiber paper sheets which are sewn onto a willow wood spine, and has a matching custom willow wood box. It is the first collection of poems—many of which were previously published in various journals—by novelist, critic, and poet Cynthia Ozick, whose work explores themes of Jewish identity, the divine, and the role of art in culture. This is no. 90 of 150 copies, signed by poet Cynthia Ozick, designer Robert Tauber, producer Russell McKnight, and print artist Sidney Chafetz. [PS 3565 Z64 E66 1992 folio]

William Arnold Thorsell

Blake, William. An Island in the Moon: A Facsimile of the Manuscript. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge UP with Institute of Traditional Science, 1987.

This is a meticulously-executed scholarly facsimile of one of William Blake's earliest manuscripts, which had never previously been published. Written around 1785, this work is significant to understanding Blake at a formative stage in his development as both a poet and a printmaker. The manuscript includes the dramatic satire known as An Island in the Moon, as well as draft versions of three of his Songs of Innocence and Experience, and early references to his illuminated printing methods. The facsimile features a transcription of the text as well as annotations, and includes a second copy of the manuscript, bound as a standalone booklet without additional text. Beautifully printed in Verona, Italy, it is no. 399 of 775 copies. [PR 4144 I7 1987 folio]

1994

Doris Badir

Sedgwick, Catharine Maria. The Linwoods, or, “Sixty Years Since” in America. New York: Harper, 1835.

This rare first edition, written by a notable nineteenth-century female American novelist, is a historical romance set during the American Revolution. Catharine Sedgwick also wrote several children's novels, as well as works in support of abolition and women's education. This copy includes a signed autograph letter from Sedgewick. [PS 2798 L56 1835 v.1-2]

Dr Paul Davenport

Snow, Kathleen M. Maxwell Bates: Biography of an Artist. Calgary: U of Calgary P, 1993.

This is a beautiful limited edition copy of Kathleen Snow's biography of Maxwell Bates, an Alberta-born architect and expressionist painter. This chronicle of his life and work is filled with images of his art, and includes a portfolio containing four linocut art prints. This is no. 8 of 150 copies, signed by author Kathleen Snow, print designer John Snow, and David Blackwood who wrote the foreword. [ND 249 B29 S66 1993]

James Frank Elliott

Dove, Toni. Mesmer: Secrets of the Human Frame. New York: Granary Books, 1993.

Bound in metal covers, with metallic inks on a mix of transparent and opaque papers, and featuring a centerfold pop-up, this unique artist's book does, indeed, mesmerize. An unusual format that reflects the unexpected content: a story of psychoanalysis and androids, with references to Freud, Greek mythology, and Frankenstein. This is no. 3 of 60, signed by the author. [N 7433.4 D68 A6 M47 1993]

Dasha Sosia Goody

Curll, Edmund. Faithful Memoirs of the Life, Amours and Performances, of That Justly Celebrated, and Most Eminent Actress of Her Time, Mrs. Anne Oldfield; Interspersed with Several Other Dramatical Memoirs by William Egerton. London, 1731.

This biography of a celebrated English actress was produced shortly after her death, and was written pseudonymously by Edmund Curll, an infamous publisher of scandalous works. It includes unique elements such as an inventory of every statue, painting, and jewel owned by Anne Oldfield, and features a beautiful woodcut folding frontispiece (an illustration facing the title page) depicting the actress. [PN 2598 O44 C97 1731]

Dr Leslie Claude Green

Plato. The Symposium of Plato. Translated by Tom Griffith. Engraved by Peter Foster. Marlborough, Wiltshire, England: Libanus Press, 1986.

This modern translation of a seminal work of Greek philosophy balances strict, literal accuracy with engaging readability. This is one of only 355 copies printed. It was specially bound in a beautiful, unique binding by Quebec artist Louise Genest-Côté. This copy also includes a separate volume of essays about the making of this edition, titled All Greek to Me, and is signed by the author and the engraver. [B 385 A5 G68 1986]

His Excellency The Right Honourable Ramon John Hnatyshyn

Reuilly, Jean, Baron de. Voyage en Crimée et sur les bords de la Mer Noire, pendant l'année 1803; suivi d'un mémoire sur le commerce de cette mer, et de notes sur les principaux ports commerçans. Paris: Bossange, Masson et Besson, 1806.

An account of a French politician's 1803 voyage to Crimea and the Black Sea, dedicated to the king of France. The book features the history, inhabitants, and commerce of the region, as well as a focus on Crimean coins and medals. It includes multiple large fold-out maps and illustrations, and bears the bookplate of Prince Cyrille Narischkine of Russia, who was exiled to France following the Russian Revolution. [DK 511 C7 R45 1806]

Roger Alexandre Hurtubise

Canto, Francisco de. Arte, y Vocabulario en la lengua general del Perumallada Quichua, y en la lengua Españols. Los Reyes: Francisco del Canto, 1614.

This book provides a detailed description of Quechua, an indigenous language from central Peru and the primary language of the Inca Empire. It covers pronunciation and grammar, as well as a Quechua to Spanish dictionary. It is a significant addition to the Peel library's collection of Indigenous-language books. [PM 6306 C368 1614]

David George Alexander McLean (two items)

Hudson's Bay Company. Private Instructions for the Company's Agents. London: Hudson's Bay Company, 1858.

The first of two rare, confidential pamphlets selected in honour of David George Alexander McLean relating to Hudson's Bay Company matters in Western Canada. It describes changes in employees' allowances and rations, updated to include tea and sugar, in response to many complaints. No other copy of this document is known. [FC 3213.9 W3 H886 1858 folio]

Strathcona and Mount Royal, Donald Alexander Smith, Baron. Correspondence Relating to Disturbances at Red River, 1869-70. London: Printers: Sir Joseph Causton and Sons, 1875.

The second of two rare, confidential pamphlets selected in honour of David George Alexander McLean. It relates to losses sustained by the Hudson's Bay Company at Red River and the question of compensation. It is so scarce that it is not listed in any bibliographies on the subject. Together, these two pamphlets are a significant addition to the Canadian content housed in the Peel library. [FC 3214 C824 1875 folio]

Stanley Albert Milner (five items)

National Parks Branch, Canada. The Banff Windermere Highway. Ottawa: F.A. Ackland, 1924.

The first of five pamphlets selected in honour of Stanley Albert Milner advertising the Rocky Mountains to tourists in the 1920s and 1930s. This is a detailed pamphlet with over thirty pages of text and photographs of the Banff-Windermere highway, scenery, and wildlife, as well as two fold-out maps. [FC 3664 B2 C21 1923a]

Chateau Lake Louise. What to Do at Lake Louise in the Canadian Pacific Rockies. Lake Louise: Chateau Lake Louise, 1928.

Another detailed pamphlet filled with text, photographs, and maps. It describes the many sights and activities in the Lake Louise area and includes details such as the price of automobile tariffs and pony trips in the area. [FC 3664 B2 W55 1928]

Canadian Pacific Railway Company. Resorts in the Rockies. C.P.R., 1931.

Filled with full-colour illustrations and beautiful photographs, this glossy pamphlet advertises multiple resorts and tourist destinations in the Rockies. A large fold-out map in full colour is also included. [FC 219 C216 1931] 

Jasper Park Lodge, Jasper National Park, Alberta in the Heart of the Canadian Rockies. Jasper: C.N.R., 1931.

This glossy pamphlet, featuring numerous photographs and colour illustrations, describes Jasper Park Lodge in elaborate detail, prompting the reader to try everything from golf to trail riding to mountain climbing. [FC 3664 J3 J343 1931]

Jasper Trails. Ottawa: Canada Department of the Interior, 1930.

Over forty pages of text and photographs advertise Jasper trails in this pamphlet. It includes suggestions for accommodations, sights to see, and plans for motor car or hiking trips. Together, these five items are an excellent addition to the Peel library. [FC 3664 J3 C225 1930]

1993

Violet Archer

Huggins, Margaret L. Gio. Paolo Maggini., His Life and Work. London: W.E. Hill, 1892.

This scarce and handsomely illustrated book chronicles the career of Giovanni Paolo Maggini, a celebrated seventeenth-century violin maker. The best-known student of the Brescian school of violin makers, his violins influenced the works of Antonio Stradivari and Andrea Guarneri, and his instruments are still highly sought after centuries after his death. [ML 424 M23 H89 1892]

Helen Forrester

Wakeman, Geoffrey. Victorian Colour Printing. [Loughborough]: Plough Press, 1981.

A beautifully printed and bound essay which documents the history and evolution of colour printing techniques from the Victorian era. It features eleven original samples of Victorian prints, including examples of relief printing and chromolithography. This is no. 44 of 150 copies. [Z 151 W15 1981 folio]

Ray Fortune

Salguero, Pedro. Vida del venerable padre y exemplarissimo varon el maestro Fr. Diego Basalenque, Provincial que fue de la Provincia de San Nicolas de Mechoacan del Orden de N.P.S. Agustin. Roma: En la Imprenta de los Herederos de Barbielini, 1761.

An account of the life of Father Diego Basalenque, a seventeenth-century missionary who spent most of his life in Mexico, and who wrote grammars and dictionaries for two Indigenous languages, Purépecha and Matlatzinca. Still bound in its original vellum covers. [BX 4705 B252 S24 1761]

Edgar T. Jones

Berg, Stephen. Sea Ice: Versions of Eskimo Songs. Omaha: Cummington Press, 1988.

A collection of thirty-five poems, adapted from transcriptions of Inuit songs which were collected by anthropologist Knud Rasmussen in the 1920s. This collection won Columbia University's translation prize in 1987. Beautifully printed by hand-press printer Harry Duncan, this is no. 132 of 292 copies. [PS 3552 E66 S4 1988]

Walter Kaasa

Fenton, Frank, ed. Pioneer Western Playbills. San Francisco, 1951.

A set of twelve facsimiles of important early Western theatre programmes, accompanied by historical notes. Issued for The Book Club of California and contained in their original slipcase, these playbills document productions from the 1850s to the 1890s in California and Nevada. One of 850 copies. [PN 2273 W4 B72]

Yukio Kobayashi

Jones, Douglas G. A Thousand Hooded Eyes: Poems. Vancouver: Editions Lucie Lambert, 1990.

A collection of nine poems by D.G. Jones and seven woodcuts on rice paper by Lucie Lambert, forming a fantastic bestiary of real and imagined creatures. This beautiful artist's book, folded accordion-style with a vibrant leather cover, is signed by both the poet and the artist, and is no. 5 of 45 copies. [N 7433.4 J66 A6 T56 1990]

Hiroshi Kurimoto

Allix, Susan J. A Flora: Words About Flowers. London: S. Allix, 1992.

This stunning artist's book features twenty-three prints and two original watercolours, which illustrate words about flowers from sixteen writers, including William Shakespeare, John Keats, and Marcel Proust. Printed on hand-made paper and bound in a unique floral binding. This is no. 17 of 26 copies, and is signed by the artist. [N 7433.4 A45 F56 1992 folio]

Levko Lukianenko

Pravda. Lʹviv: [T-vo imeni Shevchenka], 1878. 2 vols.

Pravda, meaning Truth, was a literary, scholarly, and political Ukrainian journal of the nineteenth century. Published intermittently in Lviv between 1867 and 1896, it was the most important journal for Galician populists of its time. These volumes are a rare and fragile two-volume miscellany from 1878, edited by Volodymyr Barvinsky. [PG 3900 P918 r.11:t1-2 1878]

The Right Honourable Donald F. Mazankowski

Warriner, Francis. Cruise of the United States Frigate Potomac round the World, During the Years 1831-34, Embracing the Attack on Quallah Battoo, with Notices of Scenes, Manners, etc., in Different Parts of Asia, South America, and the Islands of the Pacific. New York: Leavitt, Lord & Co.; Boston: Crocker & Brewster, 1835.

A detailed account of the travels of the USS Potomac in the early 1830s, including accounts of visits to Asia, South America, and the Pacific Islands. The text is accompanied by multiple engravings, and includes a lengthy section of advertisements for other books being published by Leavitt, Lord & Co. [DS 646.1 W295 1835]

James R. Shaw

Ingraham, J.H. Lafitte, the Pirate of the Gulf. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1836. 2 vols.

Housed in a lovely slipcase, this is a fine first edition copy of a rare American pirate romance, in two volumes. It is one of the earliest fictional accounts of the life of Jean Lafitte, a “gentleman pirate” known for his piracy in the Gulf of Mexico and his participation in the Battle of New Orleans. [PS 2048 I52 L34 1836]

Michaelle Jean.jpg

Michaëlle Jean received an Honorary Degree from University of Alberta in 2008.  Image courtesy of U of A photographer Richard Siemens.

1992

Dr Ted Tetsuo Aoki

Wittgenstein, Ludwig. On Certainty. Illustrated by Mel Bochner. San Francisco: Arion Press, 1991.

This is a beautiful edition of the notes written by Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) during the final eighteen months of his life. It contains both the original German text and an English translation, and is illustrated with twelve prints by conceptual artist Mel Bochner. No. 111 of 300 copies, signed by the illustrator. [B 3376 W833 U14 1991 folio]

David Edward Barmes

Vallisnieri, Antonio. Lezione accademica intorno l’origine delle fontane. Venezia: Appresso Gio. Gabbriello Ertz, 1715.

Originally an address given at the University of Padua, this is a first edition of an important early book in the history of geology. Antonio Vallisnieri’s work contributed to an accurate understanding of the origins of springs and rivers. Includes a folding copperplate illustration depicting the structure of mountains in horizontal sections. [GB 1198 V189 1715]

Hélène Cixous

White, Patrick E. Eurydice Unbound. Relief prints by John Talleur. Lawrence, Kansas: Holiseventh Press, [1988].

This stunning artist’s book reimagines a familiar myth by placing Eurydice in the role of heroine. Her journey is vibrantly illustrated, hand-printed on beautiful paper, and bound accordion-style in four sections. This is no. 16 of 25 copies, signed by both the author and the artist. [N 7433.4 W587 A6 E89 1988 folio]

Naomi Louisa Hersom

Mansfield, Katherine. Prelude. Richmond: Hogarth Press, 1918. 

First edition of one of Katherine Mansfield’s best-known works. This tale of a childhood in New Zealand is drawn in part from the author’s own life. It is the third book issued by Leonard and Virginia Woolf’s Hogarth Press, and is a significant addition to the Peel library’s important collection of Hogarth Press publications. One of 300 copies. [PR 6025 A61 A75 1918]

Marjorie Hodgson

Liggins, Kerry D., and Michael A. Owen, eds. Hotamé-Taneo’o: Art of the Dog Soldiers. Victoria: Howard B. Roloff and Northland Explorations Inc., c1987.

This scholarly essay and collection of detailed photographs showcase five beautiful shields used by Cheyenne Dog Soldiers and other Indigenous peoples. This special limited edition is no. 15 of 25 copies. [E 98 A65 H84 1987 folio]

Oleksandr Honchar

Bible. Gospels. Church Slavic. Kiev: Veliko, 1697.

This Slavic Church bible from 1697 is lavishly bound with vibrant red textile covers. Beautifully detailed metal corner pieces and centre plates decorate both the front and back cover, with matching metal clasps. The pages feature several detailed illustrations. [BS 2554 C45 1697 folio]

The Reverend K. Glen Johnson

Freneau, Philip Morin. Poems Written Between the Years 1768 and 1794. Monthmouth, NJ: Freneau, 1795. 

This is the scarce first complete edition of poems written by pioneering American poet Philip Morin Freneau. His notable works include “The House of the Night” (1779), one of the early romantic poems written in America, and “The Wild Honey Suckle” (1786), which is considered to be a precursor to the Transcendentalist movement. [PS 755 A1 1795]

Ronald Earl Jordan

Rogerson, Ian. Agnes Miller Parker, Wood-engraver and Book Illustrator, 1895-1980. Wakefield, West Yorkshire: Fleece Press, 1990.

Agnes Miller Parker is well known for her distinctive wood-engraved book illustrations. She is celebrated for the remarkable illustrations she created for Aesop’s Fables and Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles. This splendid, lavishly illustrated reference book of her work is one of 50 special copies which include six extra prints. [NE 1147.6 P32 R75 1990]

Mary Lobay

Green, Sarah. Mental Improvement for a Young Lady on Her Entrance into the World: Addressed to a Favourite Niece. London: Minerva Press, 1793.

One of the “lost” women writers listed in Dale Spender’s Mothers of the Novel: 100 Good Women Writers Before Jane Austen, Sarah Green wrote more than twenty popular works, including romantic and religious satires. This book of proper conduct was her best known, and is an important addition to the Peel library’s extensive Minerva Press collection. [BJ 1681 G798 1793]

Hugh John Sanders Pearson

Bontier, Pierre. Histoire de la première descouverte et conqueste des Canaries: Faite dés l'an 1402 par Messire Jean de Béthencourt, chambellan du Roy Charles VI. Paris: Michel Soly, 1630. Issued together with Pierre Bergeron’s Traicté de la navigation et des voyages de descouverte & conqueste modernes, & principalement des François. Paris: Chez Jean de Heuqueville et Michel Soly, 1629.

This is a first edition of Pierre Bontier’s account of the conquest and colonization of the Canary Islands in 1402. Unusually, this title was issued together with Pierre Bergeron’s Traicté de la navigation. Traicté de la navigation is one of the first French books devoted to European overseas exploration, with several chapters on the French exploration of Canada and the search for the Northwest Passage. [DP 302 C41 B7 1630]

The Honourable Madam Justice Ellen Irene Picard

Paredes, Ignacio de. Promptuario Manual Mexicano: Que à la Verdad ser Utilissimo à los Parrochos para le Enseñanza, à los Necessitados Indios para su Instruccion, y à los que a Prenden la Lengua para Expedicion. En Mexico: En La Imprenta De La Bibliotheca Mexicana, 1759. 

This rare volume is written almost entirely in Nahuatl, the most widely-used Indigenous language of Central Mexico; only the preliminaries and chapter headings are in Spanish and Latin. Compiled by Father Paredes, a Jesuit missionary, the book contains religious dialogues and sermons. [BX 1750 P965 1759]

The Honourable Mr Justice William Alexander Stevenson

Mantova Benavides, Marco. Epitoma virorum illustrium qui vel scripserunt, vel iurisprudentiam docuerunt in scholis, & quo tempore etiam floruerunt, ordine alphabetico cõstitutu[m], quo studiosi faciliusfacilius alliciantur ad legendum, nunc primu[m] in gratiam ipsorum editum. Padova: Gratiosus Perchacinus, 1555.

First edition of a book containing biographical sketches of more than 200 notable ancient and medieval jurists. Marco Mantova Benavides was a celebrated sixteenth-century jurist and professor of law, as well as a collector and a patron of the arts. These short biographies may have been inspired by Benavides’ private collection of portraits. [KKH 105 M36 1555]

The Honourable Thomas Gordon Towers

Ferrero, Edward. The Art of Dancing, Historically Illustrated. To Which is Added a Few Hints on Etiquette; Also, the Figures, Music, and Necessary Instruction for the Performance of the Most Modern and Approved Dances. New York: Dick & Fitzgerald, 1859. 

This early American dance book discusses dances of all kinds, including the waltz, the polka, the quadrille, many national dances, and a great number of Indigenous dances. It also features over a hundred pages of music to accompany the dances. A treasure trove for social and dance historians. [GV 1751 F386 1859]

1991

Frances Elizabeth Allen

Riggs, S.R., ed. Grammar and Dictionary of the Dakota Language. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1852. 

This Dakota and English dictionary comprises more than sixteen thousand words, as well as nine chapters tracing the orthography, etymology, and grammar of the Dakota language. This dictionary  was edited by a resident missionary with the assistance of the Dakota people in the Minnesota River Valley. [PM 1022 R569 1852 folio]

The Honourable Marjorie Montgomery Bowker

Smith, Charlotte. Rural Walks, in Dialogues: Intended for the Use of Young Persons. London: T. Cadell and W. Davis, 1795. 2 vols.

A scarce first edition of a moral guide for young readers, written by an English novelist and poet who, though largely forgotten in the mid-nineteenth century, has become increasingly recognized as an important precursor of the Romantic movement. Her works include early Gothic fiction, satire, and children’s books, as well as works on politics and legal reforms in support of women’s rights. [PR 3688 S4 R948 1795 v.1-2]

Margaret Ruth Pringle Carse

Levinson, André. La danse d’aujourd’hui: Études, notes, portraits. [Paris: Duchartre et Van Buggenhoudt, 1929].

An important source book treating all forms of dance in the 1920s, from classical to jazz. It highlights the influence of African and Asian traditional dance on Western forms, and features many famous dancers, such as Vaslav Nijinsky, Anna Pavlova, Loie Fuller, and Josephine Baker. Illustrated with 400 photographs, including several by artist Man Ray. [GV 1781 L66 1929]

Dr Eliot Corday

D’Azevedo, Warren L. Straight with the Medicine: Narratives of Washoe Followers of the Tipi Way. Reno: U of Nevada Library, 1978.

A collection of narratives shared by members of the Native American Church who are from the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. These Indigenous accounts of healing and religion are illustrated with small woodcut designs by printer Kenneth J. Carpenter. Printed on handmade paper at the Black Rock Press in an edition of 105 copies. [E 99 W38 S896 1978 folio]

Dr Walter E. Harris

Corniani degli Algarotti, Marco Antonio. La Metallurgia: Poems in Canti Dieci. Venezia: Nella Tipografia Picotti, 1816.

A rare and unique volume on metallurgy, including mineralogy, chemistry, and mining, written in the form of a poem. The author, an Italian mining expert, combined his geological studies with a love for music, theatre, and literature to create this unusual book. Each canto is followed by scientific notes pertaining to the text, and the book features eight copperplate illustrations. [PQ 4688 C79 M587 1816]

Peggy Holmes

Jones, Owen. The Victoria Psalter. Illus. Owen Jones. [London: Day, 1862?].

Owen Jones was a pioneer and master of chromolithography, a multi-colour lithographic printing process, and this is a wonderful example of his work. Every page of this psalter, which contains the Psalms of David and was named for its dedication to Queen Victoria, is superbly printed. In its original relievo (elaborately embossed) leather binding, with a velvet-lined mahogany box. [ND 3357 J7 1862 folio]

Alexander M. Iakovlev

Siestrzencewicz-Bohusz, Stanislaw. Recherches historiques sur l’origine des Sarmates, des Esclavons et des Slaves: Et sur les époques de la conversion de ces peuples au christianisme. St. Petersbourg: Impr. de Pluchart, 1812. 4 vols in 2.

This is the first edition of a scholarly work on the early history of the Slavic peoples. It was written by the first Metropolitan Archbishop of Mohilev, who brought a printing press to Mohilev in order to publish both spiritual and secular literature. Originally four volumes, it has been bound into two, and includes three engraved maps. [DJK 27 S582 1812 t.1-2 and t.3-4]

Dr Raymond Urgel Lemieux

Alba, María del Rosario Falcó y Osorio, duquesa de. Autografos de Cristóbal Colón y Papeles de América. Madrid, 1892. 

This is a rare study of early primary sources on the career of Christopher Columbus, published from documents kept in the archives of the house of the Duchess of Alba. The book features Columbus’ letters, patents issued to him, and other documents, and includes numerous well-produced facsimiles. [E 114 B55 1892 folio]

Reginald D. Loomis

Strutt, Jacob George. Sylva Britannica, or, Portraits of Forest Trees, Distinguished for Their Antiquity, Magnitude, or Beauty. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1830.

Jacob George Strutt, a portrait painter and etcher, is best known for his studies of forest scenery, as exemplified by the fifty beautifully etched illustrations of trees in this volume. With both etchings and words, Strutt honours oaks, elms, yews, cedars, and many other trees, accompanied by idyllic scenes of people and animals beneath the trees’ boughs. [SD 383 S926 1830]

The Honourable Beverly M. McLachlin

Thielen, Beth. Sentences: Words Spoken in Prison to an Artist. California: Thielen, 1990.

A unique sculptural pop-up book, hand-printed, hand-cut, and bound by the artist. Each page vividly illustrates a sentence that Beth Thielen heard while working as an artist-in-residence at the California Department of Corrections. This haunting work is a valuable addition to the Peel library’s collection of artists’ books. No. 6 of 10 copies, signed by the artist. [N 7433.4 T43 A6 S478 1990]

The Honourable Tevie H. Miller

Hart, Joseph C. Miriam Coffin, or, the Whale-Fisherman, a Tale. New York: Carvill, 1834. 2 vols.

First edition of the first novel exploring the American whaling industry, preceding Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick by 17 years. Joseph C. Hart paints a vivid picture of whaling in Nantucket, based on interviews he conducted with locals about their lives and the industry. The novel describes the corrupt financial dealings of the fictional Miriam Coffin, a whaler’s wife, based on the historical figure Kezia Coffin. [PS 1819 H85 M675 1834 v.1-2]

Bruce B. Peel (four items)

Calgary, Alberta 1906. Calgary: W.A. Dawson, 1906.

The first of four pamphlets selected in honour of Bruce B. Peel, for whom Bruce Peel Special Collections is named. This accordion foldout of 20 miniature photographs depicts buildings and scenes in and around Calgary in 1906. [FC 3697.37 C14 1906]

Directory Containing Correct Value Listings of Saskatoon Real Estate. Saskatoon: Aldrich-Smith Co., [1912]. 

This small book contains over a hundred pages listing real estate prices across Saskatoon in 1912, alongside advertisements for real estate agencies, insurance companies, cafes, theatres, and more. [HD 320 S3 D598 1912]

Irrigation Farming in Sunny Alberta. Montreal: Dept. of Colonization and Development, Canadian Pacific Railway, 1925. 

This booklet advertises the advantages of irrigation farming in Alberta, accompanied by a dozen pages of photographs and a foldout map of Western Canada. [HD 1741 C22 A3 I72 1925]

Manitoba, the World's Bread Basket. Winnipeg: Manitoba and Western Colonization Company, [1907?]. 

This pamphlet encourages immigration to Manitoba in the early twentieth century, with many statistics and photographs, as well as a foldout map. Together, these four pamphlets are a valuable addition to the Peel library’s Prairie Ephemera collection. [FC 3367.3 M278 1907]

Ronald Donald Southern

Huth, F. H. Works on Horses and Equitation: A Bibliographical Record of Hippology. London: B. Quaritch, 1887.

This late Victorian work is a comprehensive bibliographical record of literature related to the study of horses and horsemanship, or hippology. It is arranged chronologically, from ancient Greek tomes to late nineteenth-century works on stables and the cavalry. Handsomely bound in vellum and marbled boards. [SF 309 Z9 H97 1887]

Dr Richard E. Taylor

Becquerel, Henri. Recherches sur une propriété nouvelle de la matière: Activité radiante spontanée, ou radioactivité de la matière. Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1903.

First edition of Henri Becquerel’s definitive work, for which he shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with the Curies in 1903. This work contains the full account of his investigations and his discovery of natural radioactivity, as well as photographs and a bibliography of over two hundred works related to radioactivity, starting from his own first paper in 1896. [QC 795 B39 1903]

Dr Walter H. Worth

Bellegarde, M. l'abbé de [Jean Baptiste Morvan]. A General History of All Voyages and Travels throughout the Old and New World, from the First Ages to this Present Time: Illustrating Both the Ancient and Modern Geography: Containing an Accurate Description of Each Country. Ed. Monsr. Du Perier. London: Peacock, 1708.

First edition of the English translation. Despite the title’s sweeping inclusiveness, this work deals almost entirely with early Spanish voyages to the Americas. It includes a great deal of information on the Indigenous peoples and the natural history of various regions of the Americas. Bound in full calf leather by notable bookbinders Sangorski & Sutcliffe. [E 123 B439 1708]

1990

Dr Charles Fred Bentley

Mazzei, Filippo. Recherches historiques et politiques sur les États-Unis de l’Amérique septentrionale. Paris: Froullé, 1788. 4 vols in 3.

Though he was born in Tuscany, Filippo Mazzei was a close friend of Thomas Jefferson and strongly supported the American Revolution. He spent only a small portion of his life in the United States, but considered himself to be an American citizen, and wrote this four-volume work on the political history of the American colonies and the revolution. [E 188 M47 1788 ptie.1-4]

Sir Anthony Alfred Caro

Prudentius. Aurelii Prudentii Clementis. Basileae: Per Henricum Petri, 1562.

A collection of poems by Aurelius Prudentius Clemens, a Roman Christian poet who lived in the late-fourth and early fifth centuries. His writing was popular well into the medieval period and beyond, as this sixteenth-century book of his poetry attests. Detailed embossed illustrations decorate the front and back covers. [PA 6648 P6 A5 1562]

Richard Bryan Erb

Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Illus. Barry Moser. West Hatfield: Pennyroyal Press, 1985.

A beautiful limited edition of a classic American novel. This centenary edition attempts to address the many errors in the first edition, with corrections based on Mark Twain’s notes. It also includes a separate set of prints of Barry Moser’s woodcut illustrations. No. 75 of 350 copies. [PS 1305 A1 1985a folio]

Herbert Thomas Hargrave

Klee, Frederik. Amerika, især i Den Nyeste Tid; en Historisk-Statistisk Haandbog. Kjøbenhavn: Trykt paa Forfatterens Forlag i B. Lunos Bogtrykkeri, 1837-1839.

A “historical-statistical handbook” about the Americas, written by Danish scholar and geologist Frederik Klee. Klee is known for his theories related to the Earth’s formation, the Great Flood, and the shifting of the Earth’s axis. [E 18 K63 1837]

Dr Myer Horowitz

Davis, Roger. Kendrew of York and His Chapbooks for Children. Wetherby, England: Elmete Press, 1988.

A study of the children’s chapbooks issued by James Kendrew, an early nineteenth-century publisher from York. Includes a checklist of Kendrew’s chapbooks, a bibliography, and many wood block illustrations drawn from the chapbooks. Also included is a portfolio containing three facsimile chapbooks. No. 41 of 485 copies. [PR 972 D26 1988]

The Honourable Mr Justice Samuel Sereth Lieberman

Sanz, Carlos. Bibliografia General de los Descubrimientos Australes. Bound with Cartografia Historica de los Descubrimientos Australes. Madrid: Impr. Aguirre, 1975.

This volume contains two works by Spanish historian of cartography Carlos Sanz: a general bibliography as well as a collection of historical maps and charts, both dealing with the “Southern Discoveries,” or the exploration of the Americas. Includes many detailed fold-out maps and other illustrations. [G 80 Z9 S238 1975]

Sandy Auld Mactaggart

Sanders, Daniel Clarke. A History of the Indian Wars with the First Settlers of the United States, Particularly in New-England. Written in Vermont. Montpelier, VT: Wright & Sibley, 1812.

This diminutive book, a rare first edition, describes the wars fought between American settlers and Indigenous peoples up to the late eighteenth century. It was met with severe criticism and suppressed shortly after its publication, due to its critique of colonial bigotry and cruelty. Only a few copies were circulated; a significantly revised second edition was published in 1828. [E 81 S315 1812]

Dr Gordon Edward Myers

Gay-Lussac, Joseph Louis. Instruction sur l'Essai des Matières d'Argent par la Voie Humide. Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1832.

This nineteenth-century work by French chemist and physicist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac was a major contribution to chemical analysis, giving a detailed description of his new titration method for silver. This is a first edition in its original blue paper covers, and includes six large folding pages of engraved illustrations. [TN 580 S5 G285 1832]

Gordon Peacock

D'Urfey, Thomas. A Common-Wealth of Women: A Play, As It Is Acted at the Theatre Royal by Their Majesties Servants. London: R. Bentley and J. Hindmarsh, 1686.

Based on John Fletcher’s The Sea Voyage and Shakespeare’s The Tempest, this English comedy follows a group of shipwrecked men navigating a fictional, matriarchal Amazonian society. Thomas D’Urfrey wrote over thirty witty and satirical plays throughout the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries; this one was first performed in 1685 at the Theatre Royal. [PR 3431 D3 C734 1686]

Bernard Ewald Riedel

Marinello, Giovanni. Gli Ornamenti delle Donne. Venetia: Appresso Giovanni Valgrisio, 1574.

Rare second edition of a sixteenth-century treatise on cosmetics and beauty, written by Italian physician Giovanni Marinello (sometimes called Marinelli). The text is aimed at female readers and gives advice on beauty, addressing notions of medicine, cosmetics, and the care and health of the hair, face, hands, and body. [RA 778 M338 1574]

Donald Victor Smiley

Defence Committee, Winnipeg. The Winnipeg General Sympathetic Strike, May-June, 1919: Trial by Jury Destroyed by Stampede Forty-Five Minute Legislation, Workers Arrested and Rushed to Penitentiary to Smash Strike, Leading Lawyers, Members of Employers' Committee of 1000, Engaged by Federal Government to Prosecute Workers: Strikes, Arrests, Trials, Penitentiary. Winnipeg: n.p., [1920].

An important account of a seminal event in the history of Manitoba and Canada: the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, during which 30,000 workers left their jobs in the largest strike in Canadian history, bolstering organized labour in Canada for decades to follow. Black-and-white portraits of significant figures involved in the strike appear throughout. [HD 5330 W7 W823 1920]

Marion Tuu’luq

Morrison, Lois. In the Night Garden. Morrison, 1989.

This artist’s book is a stunning celebration of quilting and embroidery. Sewn onto black silk pages are depictions of plants, animals, and astral imagery, made out of fabric, metal, and plastic. These sewn pages illustrate an embroidered poem about elephants being led in a dance until dawn. No. 1 of 2 copies. [N 7433.4 M7 A6 I35 1989]

David George Vice

Sleidanus, Johannes. Ioannis Sleidani Commentariorum de statu Religionis et Reipublicæ, Carolo Quinto Cæsare, libri XXVI. Michaelis Beutheri Carologpolitæ Commentatiorum de rebus in Europa et Aliis Quibusdam Orbis Terrarum Illustrioribus Regnis, Eodem Carolo V Impertore gestis libri VIII ... / Matthæo Delio Hamburgense interprete; accessit rerum memorabilium, Ferdinando Patre & Maximiliano Filio, Imperatoribus, ad hanc usq[ue] Nostram Aetatem Gestarum Appendix; Autore et Interprete Ijsdem. Argentinæ: Excudebat Theodosius Rihelius, 1569. 

This work is regarded as the most valuable contemporary history of the Protestant Reformation, documenting a large collection of original manuscripts, archival materials, and publications of the era. Sleidanus, who was appointed historian of the Reformation by the Schmalkaldic League in the 1540s, strove for impartiality in his account—which pleased none of his contemporaries, but has proven invaluable for scholars. [DD 180 S625 1569 folio]

Dorothy Anne Wheeler

Broaddus, John Eric. Outreach. Broaddus, 1988.

Unique copy of an artist’s book, created by a prominent figure from the New York City art scene in the 1970’s and 1980’s. A glass window in the book’s cover offers a peek at the pages behind it. In shades of black, white, and silver, this wordless tome depicts surreal imagery of humanity and the universe, with elaborate cut-outs in each page offering a glimpse deeper inside. [N 7433.4 B863 A6 O94 1988]

Dr Alison Genevieve White

Stevenson, Robert Louis. A Child's Garden of Verses. Illus. Joyce Lancaster Wilson. Intro. Janet Adam Smith. San Francisco: Press in Tuscany Alley, 1978.

A lovingly crafted edition of this classic collection of poems for young readers, containing nine poems not published in prior editions. It features colourful linoleum block illustrations. No. 227 of 500 copies, signed by the artist as well as the printer, master bookmaker Adrian Wilson. [PR 5489 C5 1978]

1989

Ronald Kitchener Banister

Kane, Paul. En Kunstners Vandringer Blandt Indianerne i Nordamerika [Wanderings of an Artist Among the Indians of North America]. Kjøbenhavn: F.H. Gibes forlag, 1863.

This is a Danish translation of Paul Kane’s 1859 book Wanderings of an Artist Among the Indians of North America. The book contains text from the diary that Kane kept as he traveled throughout North America, sketching portraits and scenes of Indigenous peoples which he later developed into oil paintings. [FC 3205.1 K16 D2 1863]

The Honourable Monique Bégin

M’Leod, John. Voyage of His Majesty's Ship Alceste to China, Corea, and the Island of Lewchew: with an Account of Her Shipwreck. 3rd ed. London: John Murray, 1819.

An account of the voyage of the Alceste, a British naval ship, as it transported Lord Amherst on a diplomatic mission to China. Written by the ship’s surgeon, the book includes extensive sections that describe visits to China, Korea, and Okinawa, as well as an account of the Alceste’s shipwreck on its return journey. It also features several illustrations and a fold-out map. [DS 507 M16 1819]

Sidney Robert Blair

Vecellio, Cesare. Habiti Antichi et Moderni di Tutto il Mondo. In Venetto: Appresso Gio. Bernardo Sessa, 1598. 

Cesare Vecellio’s work is one of the best-known examples of a “costume” book, a popular trend in the sixteenth century. This second edition features 500 woodcut illustrations, one on every other page, depicting clothing and personal adornments from Europe, Africa, Asia, and even the Americas. Corresponding text on each opposite page, in Italian and Latin, serves to describe the illustrated costumes in detail. [GT 513 V418 1598]

Chester Raymond Cunningham

Duncan, Sara Jeannette. Set in Authority. New York: Doubleday, Page, 1906.

Sara Jeannette Duncan, writing under her married name Mrs Everard Cotes, was a Canadian journalist and novelist who spent many years living in India. Set in Authority is one of her most political novels, as it explores British imperialism and the Indian independence movement, and specifically the consequences of the murder of an Indian citizen by an English soldier, and its effect on the lives of a cast of characters split between London and Ghoom, India. [PS 8455 O87 S49 1906]

Dr Robert Edward Folinsbee

Woodcock, George. Ivan Eyre. Don Mills, ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, c1982.

This is a beautifully illustrated tribute to Canadian artist Ivan Eyre, known for his prairie landscapes and abstract paintings. The book features a biography of Eyre and many examples of his work. It is accompanied by two limited edition prints: a poem written and signed by Canadian poet, historian, and playwright George Woodcock, and an original silkscreen print signed and numbered by Eyre. No. 100 of 150 copies, signed by Eyre. [ND 249 E9 W88 1982 folio]

Dr Ursula Martius Franklin

Van Horn, Erica. Jewels I Have Loved. London: Coracle, 1984.

This unique artist’s book is made up of six sheets with painted images and hand-written text, lacquered onto concertina-folded, buckram-covered boards. The text describes pieces of jewelry that the artist has loved and lost, accompanied by illustrations of the pieces. [N 7433.4 V217 A6 J59 1984] 

Dr Lloyd Douglas Maclean

Barclay, Hugh Walter. A Letter to Teresa. Kingston, ON: Thee Hell Box Press, 1983.

This is the first book published by Thee Hellbox Press, the private press of book artist Hugh Walter Barclay. In it, Barclay describes a pow wow that he attended, honouring the “tradition, dignity, pride, heredity and sheer joy” of the celebration. The text is accompanied by beautiful lino block illustrations on handmade Japanese paper. No. 39 of 72 copies. [E 98 R3 B244 1983] 

Ethel Anne Marliss

Burton, John. Lectures on Female Education and Manners. Dublin: J. Milliken, 1794.

This is the third edition of a collection of lectures written for and read to students at a women’s school in the late-eighteenth century. While the topics of the lectures include everything from needlework and dancing to temperance and obedience, they also emphasize the importance of reading and education in women’s lives. [LC 1441 B97 1794]

Stephen Russel Ramsankar

James, T.H., Mrs. The Cub's Triumph. Tokyo: Kōbunsha, 1887. 

This is an English translation of the Japanese fairy tale Kitsune no Tegara, printed on traditional “chirimen-gami-e” or crepe paper. Beautiful illustrations accompany text written by Mrs T.H. (Kate) James, who translated many fairy tales for notable publisher Takejirō Hasegawa. Hasegawa, originally operating under the name Kōbunsha, specialized in creating unique multilingual books on Japanese subjects. [GR 340 C962 1887]

Michael A. Strembitsky

Brown, Charles Brockde. Arthur Mervyn, or, the Memoirs of the Year 1793. Philadelphia: H. Maxwell, 1799. 

Arthur Mervyn is an influential work of American Gothic and Philadelphia Gothic literature, and one of Charles Brown’s more popular novels. It deals with the yellow fever epidemic that swept through Philadelphia in 1793, throwing the city into chaos. The novel is said to have influenced other American Gothic stories, including Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death.” [PS 1134 A78 1799]

Thomas Joseph Walsh

Great Britain. An Act to Make Further Provision for the Regulation of the Trade with the Indians, and for the Administration of Justice in the North-Western Territories of America [13th August 1859]. London: Printed by George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode, 1859. 

This three-page act is brief but historically significant. It marks a very early official use of the term North-Western Territories. At the time, this term referred to a large portion of northwestern Canada, which would later be divided into parts of Alaska, Yukon, Nunavut, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the modern-day Northwest Territories. [KF 8210 C6 G786 1859 folio]

George Eliot Clarke.jpg

George Elliott Clarke received an Honorary Degree from University of Alberta in 2005.  Image courtesy of U of A photographer Richard Siemens.

1988

Tara Ali Baig

  Luckidad's Garland, or, When My Old Hat Was New.

  No.1 in a volume with binder’s title  

  “Scotch Chap Books.” [18--] [PR 974 S337]

June Callwood

  Editor of the Letters of Maria. The Lake of

  Windermere: A Novel. London: Minerva Press,

  1791. [PR 3991 A7 L65 1791 v.1-2] 

Jennifer Dickson

  Mardrus,  J. C., and François-Louis Schmied. 

  Le Livre de la Vérité de Parole. Paris: Schmied,

  1929. [PJ 1555 F8 M322 1929 folio] 

George Ford

  Siberell, Anne Hicks. He Had Just Come Back from

  the War. Siberell, 1983.

  [N 7433.4 S563 A6 H432 1983]

Xinbai Huang

  Golding, Arthur. A Moral Fable-Talk: That Is to Say, a Most Delectable Garden of Moral

  Philosophy, Conveyed in Fables. San Francisco: Arion Press, 1987. [PR 2539 G7 M828 1987] 

Mervyn James Huston

  Comic Almanack. Illus. George Cruikshank. London: D. Bogue, 1835-1849. [AY 758 C7 C719]

Jacob Gordin Kaplan

  Schnabel, Bruce. Canada. Schnabel, 1981. [N 7433.4 S357 A6 C212 1981] 

Egerton Warren King

  Scheffer, Johannes. Joannis Schefferi Argentoratensis. Francofurti: Ex officina Zunneriana,

  typis Johannis Andreæ, 1671. [TS 2010 S317 1671] 

The Honourable Mr Justice Gerard Vincent La Forest

  Petter, Rodolphe Charles. English-Cheyenne Dictionary. Kettle Falls, WA: Printed by V.

  Petter, 1915. [PM 795 Z5 P499 1915 folio] 

Robert Alexander Leslie Macbeth

  Schreiber, Johann Friedrich. Ionnis Fredrici Schreiber. Petropoli: Typis Academiae

  Scientiarum, 1750. [RC 178 U35 S378 1750]

Lionel Everett McLeod

  Woolf, Viginia. On Being Ill. London: Hogarth Press, 1930. [PR 6045 O56 1930] 

The Honourable Chief Justice W. Kenneth Moore

  Edmonton Bulletin, 1881-1923. [AN 5 A3 E2 B9362 folio]

John Lewis Schlosser

  Sáňka, Arno. České bibliofilské tisky. V. Brně: S. Kočí, 1923-1967. [Z 1033 F5 S22 1923] 

Isabel Munroe Smith

  Philips, Katherine. Poems by the Incomparable Mrs. K.P. London: Printed by J.G. for Rich.

  Marriott, 1664. [PR 3619 P4 A5 1664]

Donald Russell Stanley

  Curle, J. H. (James Herbert). The Gold Mines of the World; Written After an Inspection of

  the Mines of the Transvaal, Rhodesia, India, Malay Peninsula, West Australia, Queensland,

  Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, New Zealand, British Columbia, the Klondyke, United

  States, Alaska and Mexico. London: Waterlow, 1902. [TN 420 C975 1902] 

1987

Margaret Weir Andrekson 

  Trollope, Frances. Domestic Manners of the Americans. London: Whittaker, 1832.

  [E 165 T84 1832]

Thomas Benjamin Banks

  Cruikshank, George. The Bachelor's Own Book, or, the Progress of Mr. Lambkin.

  Glasgow: D. Bryce, [1883]. [NC 1479 C93 1883]

Barbara Anne Burrows 

  Fisher, Roy, and Ronald King. The Left-Handed Punch. Guildford, Surrey: Circle

  Press, 1986. [N 7433.4 F535 A6 L495 1986 folio]

The Honourable Jean Chrétien

  Escayrac de Lauture, Stanislas d'. Le désert et le Soudan. Paris: J. Dumaine, 1853.

  [DT 551 E74 1853]

The Honourable Neil Crawford

  Freud, Sigmund. The Ego and the Id. London: Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the

  Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psycho-analysis, 1927. [RC 504 F88 E]

Dr Allan Stuart Hay

  Kopisch, August. Ausgewählte Gedichte. Wien: Gerlach & Wiedling, [1904].

  [PT 2385 K4 A5 1904]

Ivan Leigh Head 

  Croft, Sir Herbert, ed. The Literary Fly. London: [C. Etherington], 1779.

  [PR 3388 C16 L776 folio no.1-17]

Stephen Arnold Jarislowsky

  Angelo, Valenti. Valenti Angelo; Author, Illustrator, Printer. San Francisco: Book

  Club of California, 1976. [PS 3501 N55 Z9 V162 1976 folio]

Shizu Kurimoto

  Hortus Sanitatis: De Herbis et Plantis, de Animalibus et Reptilibus, de Avibus et

  Volatilibus, de Piscibus et Natatilibus, de Lapidibus et in Terre Venis Nascentibus,

  de Urinis et Earum Speciebus, Tabula Medicinalis cum Directorio Generali per

  Onmes Tractatus. [Strassburg: Reinhard Beck], 1517. [QH 41 H823 1517 folio]

Dr Alfred Ernest Pallister

  Gregory, Edward David. Athabasca Landing: An Illustrated History. Athabasca,

  Alberta: Athabasca Historical Society, c1986. [FC 3699 A8 1986]

John Edward Poole

  Bunyan, John. The Holy War, Made by Shaddai upon Diabolus, for the Regaining of

  the Metropolis' of the World; or, the Losing and Taking Again of the Town of

  Mansoul. London: Printed for D. Newman, 1682. [PR 3329 H1 1682]

Peter Savaryn

  Tolomei, Claudio. Delle Lettere di M. Clavdio Tolomei Libri Sette. Venetia: nella

  Stamparia del Bonelli, 1576. [PQ 4664 T53 Z5 1576]

Dr Horst A. Schmid

  Cooper, James Fenimore. Ravensnest, or, the Redskins. London: R. Bentley, 1846.

  [PS 1417 R25 1846 v.1-3]

Phillip Vallentine Tobias 

  Cunard, Nancy, comp. Negro Anthology. London: Nancy Cunard at Wishart & co.,

  1934. [E 185.5 C97 1934 folio]

In partnership with the University Senate, librarians at Bruce Peel Special Collections began selecting books to celebrate honorary degree recipients in 1987 so that is where this record ends. Honorary Degrees have been awarded by the University of Alberta since its founding in 1908, and a complete list of recipients can be found on the Senate website here.

Honorary Degree Books 1987-99