Honorary Degree Books 2016

Andy Warhol and Nat Finkelstein. A Catalogue as Multiple: Andy Warhol. Amsterdam: Antiquariaat Parade, 1992.

A Catalogue as Multiple: Andy Warhol

In 1964, Nat Finkelstein (1933–2009) was granted access to Andy Warhol’s (1928–1987) famous New York City studio space known as “Factory,” where he spent several years taking photographs that are now celebrated as iconic images from an extraordinary period of cultural revolution. This limited edition catalogue is housed inside a handmade wooden box, the top and bottom of which are decorated with a silk-screened portrait of Warhol, made and signed by Finkelstein. The loose-paged catalogue describes more than a hundred diverse Warhol items, and the box also contains a mirror with a silk-screened portrait of singer-songwriter Nico (1938–1988), a blue rubber ball, two pieces of foam, a brown bag screened “About Andy,” and a bottle filled with wine that is labelled with a screened portrait of Warhol. On the bottom of the box, this copy is signed and numbered “29/200” in silver marker pen by Finkelstein. [N 6537 W28 A4 1992 folio]

Pedro de Medina. Suma de Cosmografía. Facsimile ed. Sevilla: Diputación Provincial Patronato de Cultura, 1947.

Suma de Cosmografía

Pedro de Medina was part of an elite group of sixteenth-century Spanish cosmographers who explored the intersections between astronomy and geography and, thereby, revolutionized the practice of navigation. Amongst the group’s most quoted, Medina’s writings were frequently republished in Spanish and in translation. His Suma de Cosmografía, or Compendium of Cosmography, is an overview of the prevailing ideas about astronomy and navigation in sixteenth-century Spain and is written for non-specialist readers. It was published as part of his more comprehensive Arte de Navegar (1545).  There are also four known surviving manuscript versions of his cosmography—dated 1538, 1543, 1550, and 1561—that reflect the rapid progression of ideas on the subject at the time. This lovely twentieth-century facsimile edition of the 1561 manuscript reproduces several elements of the original, which is housed in the Biblioteca Capitular de la S.I. Catedral de Sevilla. Printed on laid paper, the facsimile features a prologue by His Excellency Señor Don Raefael Estrada and numerous astronomical illustrations that are illuminated with gold and many other colours. The accompanying text reproduces the handwritten original. This copy is number 14 of an edition limited to 200 copies. A second limited edition facsimile was issued in the following year. [GA 6 M49 1561a folio]

R.G. (Ralph George) Hawtrey. The Art of Central Banking. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1932.

The Art of Central Banking

This first edition, first impression copy of an important work by British economist R.G. Hawtrey (1879–1975) is extra special because it was acquired with the exceedingly scarce dust jacket. The advertising copy on the jacket explains that the principal essay in the book “traces the art of central banking from the early practices of the Bank of England and the first tentative use of Bank rate up to the matured methods that had been attained by 1914.” Other essays in the work cover a variety of topics, including French Monetary Policy, the Wall Street Speculation and Collapse, and a critical assessment of John Maynard Keynes’s A Treatise on Money. Hawtrey had a distinguished career in the administrative civil service, at the Treasury, where he worked from 1904 to 1945.  In 1956, he was knighted. [HG 1811 H39]

Anne Frank. The Diary of a Young Girl. Trans. B.M. Mooyaart-Doubleday. Introduction Eleanor Roosevelt. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1952.

The Diary of a Young Girl

One of the estimated one million Jewish children who died in the Holocaust, Anne Frank has given generations of readers a candid account of the two years that she spent in hiding in Amsterdam with a small group of family and friends before they were betrayed to the Nazi authorities and sent to Auschwitz. In her introduction to this edition, Eleanor Roosevelt characterizes Anne’s diary as “one of the wisest and most moving commentaries on war and its impact on human beings.” In it, Anne reveals both her childish innocence and a wisdom beyond her years: “The world will still keep on turning without me, what is going to happen, will happen, and anyway it’s no good trying to resist.” Readers of all ages and from every part of the world have been deeply touched by this book, including Nelson Mandela who reported reading it while in prison and said that Anne’s words were a tremendous source of strength and inspiration. The first attempts to publish the diary were unsuccessful, but an article by historian Jan Romein in the Dutch newspaper Het Parool (3 April 1946) inspired publishers when he asserted that “this apparently inconsequential diary by a child...stammered out in a child’s voice, embodies all the hideousness of fascism, more so than all the evidence at Nuremberg put together.” The first Dutch edition—Het Achterhuis—appeared in June 1947. This is a copy of the first English-language edition. It is in very good condition and features the original dust jacket. Today, this important book has sold an estimated 30 million copies in seventy different languages, making it one of the bestselling books of all time. [D 810 J4 F8213 1952]

Hans Bab. The Origin of Cancer: A Deduction from the Bulk of the Observed Facts. Stockholm: Andrén            & Holms, 1962.

The Origin of Cancer

This slim softcover publication is a treatise on Dr. Hans Bab’s inquiry into the origins of cancer. The foreword notes that Bab died in London on 2 November 1956, before he was able to publish the results of his research, but thanks to his widow and daughter, his work was published six years later in accordance with Bab’s wishes that it “be of service to medical science.” Only three print copies of this title exist in the world’s libraries, so it was fortunate that Bruce Peel Special Collections was able to acquire the elusive book from a New York antiquarian book dealer that specializes in “landmark books” in all fields. [RC 268.5 B33 1962]

Howard J. Horton, ed. The Juvenile Museum, A Miscellaneous Journal, Devoted to the Improvement and Moral Amusement of the Junior Class of Society. Mountpleasant, Ohio: Ezekiel Harris, 1822-23.

The Juvenile Museum, A Miscellaneous Journal

This first edition copy is of a little-known American children’s magazine that was launched in September 1822 and published semi-monthly for a year by the Seminary Range Literary Association. Edited by Howard J. Horton, the pioneering publication was “designed to embody in a neat and portable size, a pleasing variety of useful and interesting matter, for the entertainment of the Junior Class of Society, of both sexes.” In an “Address to the Public” the editors make it clear that their highest ambition as “conductors of a periodical miscellany” is to “afford an agreeable medium of juvenile productions, for rational amusement, in the hours of relaxation.” This scarce book (only one other copy exists in the world’s libraries!) belongs to a class of literature that urged an expanding readership of literate boys and girls to consider evangelical and utilitarian preaching such as this: “One of the things that I dislike, is, a rustic and slovenly appearance. Nothing is more unsightly in company, than to see a parcel of clownish fellows with their mouths just half open, saying nothing and thinking less.” [AP 200 J89 v.1 1822/1823]

A.H. Bullen, ed. Lyrics from the Dramatists of the Elizabethan Age. London: Chiswick P, 1901.

Lyrics from the Dramatists of the Elizabethan Age

The dramatists of the Elizabethan period, including William Shakespeare, were venture capitalists who produced wildly popular stage entertainments before their writings were raised to their present literary status in Western culture. Over centuries, their works have been distributed in a wide range of publishing formats, from the purely utilitarian—for students and actors—to the kinds of ornately-decorative productions that celebrate the publishing arts by elevating them to another level. This edited collection of lyrical poetry gathered from “the plays, masques, and pageants of the Elizabethan age” (vii) features an exquisite turn-of-the-century embroidered binding with gilt edges and is housed in a new silk-clad box. The hand-made binding is heavily embroidered with metal thread and various coloured silks on silk satin fabric, with tiny paillettes sewn on as background design. It is fragile turn-of-the-century binding that is in extremely good condition and a fine example of its kind. [PR 1207 B928 1901]

Charles Dickens. Mr. Nightingale’s Diary. Boston: James R. Osgood & Co., 1877.

Mr. Nightingale's Diary

A perceptive social commentator, Charles Dickens is well known for penning exceptionally popular and influential novels that unambiguously advocate for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in society. What is less commonly known is that Dickens was also involved in theatre, as both a playwright and an actor. Originally written by Mark Lemon and then completely re-worked by Dickens, Mr. Nightingale’s Diary is a one-act play that was first staged in 1851, with great success, and was privately printed for Dickens at that time. This first American edition is extremely rare and bears the bookplate of noted Dickensian collector George Barr McCutcheon. Issued as part of a “Vest Pocket Series,” this book is as charming as it is diminutive. It is a lovely addition to the world-class collection of books by and about Dickens housed in Bruce Peel Special Collections. [PR 4572 M44 1877]

Edmonton Visitors’ Guide. Edmonton: The Hamly Press Ltd., 1955.

Edmonton Visitors’ Guide

This highly collectible visitor guide from “the flourishing fifties” offers suggestions and ideas for what to see and do in Edmonton, and it also provides helpful information about local history, climate, and industry. The orientation and tour maps of Edmonton evoke a city that is rapidly entering a new and modern age of urban development and prosperity. The copiously illustrated guide also has a large number of advertisements for accommodations, sightseeing opportunities, restaurants, department stores, and specialty shops, suggesting that Edmonton has many modern amenities to suit the needs of visiting tourists and discerning customers. The guide paints the picture of an energetic young city in which “many active groups” promote theatre, music, and other artistic forms, and thereby laid the foundations of today’s vibrant arts and culture scene. [FC 3696.18 E245 v.9 1955]

Neil Arnott. Elements of Physics, or Natural Philosophy. 6th ed. 2 vols. London: Longman, Roberts, & Green, 1864-5.

Elements of Physics, or Natural Philosophy

Elements of Physics is an influential book by Neil Arnott (1788–1874), a philanthropic physician-scientist whose pioneering work focused on the application of scientific principles to a range of problems associated with public health and sanitation. First published in 1827, itwas re-issued several times. This is the two-volume “completed edition” of the popular title. Itincludes substantial revisions and additions and is the final version published during the author’s lifetime. Intended to aid in the wider application of scientific principles, the text contains numerous line drawings that illustrate key concepts. This copy is in very good condition in the original binding. An added bonus, the first volume contains an inserted slip announcing that Vol. II is “in the press.” Both volumes contain the author’s handwritten inscription to Edward H. Greenhow, the physician-researcher whose pioneering work in the middle of the nineteenth century provided evidence that proper sewage and unpolluted water could significantly reduce mortality rates in England. [QC 21 A7 1864 v.1-2]

A.A. Milne. A Gallery of Children. London: Stanley Paul & Co., Ltd., 1925. 

A Gallery of Children

This first edition collection of 12 short stories by the renowned author of Winnie-the-Pooh is attractively illustrated by “Saida” (H. Willebeek Le Mair) and specially bound in blue leather and marbled paperboards. The publisher issued the charming edition with a lovely title page illustration of a little girl in a pastoral scene and 12 full-page, coloured illustrations to accompany the stories. The little girl reappears later on in the book as Princess Daffodil in “The Magic Hill,” the story of a young princess who is promised “something that will be useful to her” by Fairy Mumruffin. The Queen hopes that the good fairy will give Daffodil something like beauty, wisdom, or riches, and the all the members of royal court are astonished when they realize what Daffodil’s gift is. As Daffodil walks the royal grounds, she takes notice of beautiful flowers beneath her feet. Everywhere she goes, flowers magically appear, as if they had been planted there by the gardener. Milne’s story tells us that we should take pleasure in the splendour of nature and appreciate life’s unexpected blessings. [PZ 7 M65 G16 1925]

A Collection of Broadside Ballads. Dublin: P. Brereton.

A Collection of Broadside Ballads

In the latter decades of the nineteenth century, Peter Brereton was a prolific printer of popular Irish broadside ballads and poems that were sold by travelling balladeers who hawked them in the streets and at fairs. In his memoir, The Rocky Road to Dublin, Seamus MacManus (1869-1960) remembered a time when such ballads were everyday reading because they “were easier to get than books.” He says that they were “the boy’s first literature, and first love” and that “[n]o man ever thought of leaving a fair without a new ballad in his pocket.” Like other popular publishing formats—American dime novels, British penny dreadfuls, and Nigerian market pamphlets—these Irish broadsides rarely survive because they were poorly made and well used. It is easy to be charmed and fascinated by these modest publications. An article in The Connoisseur (1926) designed to entice collectors describes the popular broadside as “glorious in its astonishing ingloriousness,” and this seems about right. Brereton’s broadsides are full of spelling and typographical errors, including inconsistent typefaces and inverted letters. The worn or broken woodcuts used to adorn these broadsides are reused frequently and the relationship between word and image is strangely puzzling: for example, a scene of Christ’s passion illustrates a song entitled “The Irish Rake” and an image of Moses receiving the stone tablets illustrates a poem by Jeramiah Cronan about the 1871 Chicago fire. [PR 8860 C69]

James W. Shepp and Daniel B. Shepp. Shepp’s World’s Fair Photographed. Being a Collection of Original Copyrighted Photographs Authorized and Permitted by the Management of the World’s Columbian Exposition…All Described in Crisp and Beautiful Language. Chicago: Globe Bible Publishing, 1893.

Shepp’s World’s Fair Photographed

The illustrations in this attractive publication are reproduced from original photographs of the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. The Exposition was a major cultural event that celebrated the four-hundredth anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s first transatlantic voyage. Forty-seven nations were represented with beautifully designed and expertly engineered pavilions that housed approximately 65,000 exhibits. The publication describes the Canadian Building as a “very graceful edifice” made of wood from “the four great provinces of Canada” featuring “distinctively Canadian” exhibits including a cheese weighing 11 tons and a block of pure nickel weighing 4600 pounds. Other international exhibitors showcased the culture, technology, ingenuity, and various innovations of their respective nations. The magnificent Exposition was a resounding success that attracted more than 21 million visitors who undoubtedly took great pleasure in seeing exhilarating attractions like the original Ferris wheel and the first electric moving sidewalk. [T 500 C1 S54 1893]

Thomas Douglas Selkirk. A Letter to the Earl of Liverpool from the Earl of Selkirk; Accompanied by a Correspondence with the Colonial Department (in the years 1817, 1818, and 1819), on the Subject of the Red River Settlement, in North America. London, [1819].  

A Letter to the Earl of Liverpool from the Earl of Selkirk on the Subject of the Red River Settlement

In the opening letter of the book, dated 19 March 1819, Thomas Douglas (1771-1820), 5th Earl of Selkirk, urgently appeals to Robert Banks Jenkinson (1770-1828), 2nd Earl of Liverpool, for His Majesty’s Government to take action to quell disorder in the Red River Colony: “To your Lordship’s powerful interposition I must now look for the attainment of some adequate security, against those aggressions which are still aimed against the settlers on Red River” (43). The controversy with the early settlement of the Red River region is described in detail in Selkirk’s book, which is one of the earlier entries in Peel’s Bibliography of the Canadian Prairies (2003). According to the third edition of Peel’s Bibliography, Selkirk’s book was, “Said to have been printed for private distribution only” (17). It is an exceedingly scarce book that is held by only a small number of libraries throughout the world. This copy was once included in the famous Streeter Sale that began in 1966 at New York’s Parke-Bernet Galleries and is widely considered to be the most important auction of Americana in history. The book is attractively bound in blue leather and cloth boards, but perhaps its most distinctive feature is the handsome bookplate of financier and collector of Americana, Frank Cutter Deering (1866-1939). [FC 3212.4 S45 1819]