Honorary Degree Books 2019

Chinua Achebe. Things Fall Apart. William Heinemann, 1958.

Things Fall Apart

Born in Nigeria, Chinua Achebe (1930–2013) is commonly regarded as "the father of modern African literature." He is revered today for his prodigious output of literary achievements, but he was also greatly admired by contemporaries throughout his career as a writer and professor of English; Achebe received dozens of honorary doctorates from universities around the world. Reviewing Things Fall Apart in African Affairs in 1958,  Mercedes Mackay has said that Achebe's original work stands on its own: "This powerful first novel breaks new ground in Nigerian fiction. Most of the European novels about West Africa have been superficially humorous, or grimly serious. … but now at last a Nigerian writer has appeared who can give us a straightforward, penetrating and absolutely honest picture of African village life before the advent of the first missionaries" (242-43). Things Fall Apart is Achebe's first novel, and this copy is the true first edition and first printing, and what makes it especially desirable for a rare book collection is its attractively designed dust jacket, which in this case shows only minimal evidence of wear. [PR 9387.9 A3 T44 1958]

John Weinzweig. Sounds and Reflections. Poole Hall Press, Grimsby, 1990.

Sounds and Reflections

This selection of John Weinzweig's essays and lectures, punctuated with the score of his Impromptus for Piano, was printed in a limited edition by hand on a Chandler & Price press by Bill Poole. In the colophon at the back of the book, Poole reports that he first studied with Weinzweig at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto in September 1939, that he continues to be a big influence on his thinking and values after more than fifty years. Imagined as a tribute to the profound and lasting relationship between teacher and student, Poole admits that he "will never be able to repay Professor Weinzweig, but by printing this book he had a lot of fun trying." The text is a reflection on composing, performing, and teaching music that is inspired by the idea of musical impromptus, defined here as "a set of fragments . . . without chronology—a juxtaposition of thematic quotations from the composer's own work with interpolations of musical memories from years past." [ML 63 W424 1990 folio]

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Oklahoma! Random House, 1943.

Oklahoma!

The jacket copy of this first edition book did not exaggerate when it claimed that "Oklahoma! is one of the great American musical plays of our generation. It is now entering upon its second capacity year in New York, and, from the look of things, will continue for five years more!" The text is an adaptation of Lynn Riggs' play, Green Grow the Lilacs, which was performed on Broadway in 1931. Even for the uninitiated, Oklahoma! is a compelling musical that brings a smile to your face. The book was bound in light green cloth with an attractive design of red and blue cowboy boots on the front board. It also has a photographic frontispiece and several photographs of the original Broadway production. This copy has the scarce dust jacket that is rarely found in very good or better condition. [ML 50 R67 O4 1943]                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Linda Brent (Harriet Ann Jacobs). Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, edited by L. Maria Child, 1861.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

This is the first autobiographical account of slavery in America from a woman's perspective to be published in book form, and the only copy of the important first edition to be housed in a Canadian library. Written over several years and published pseudonymously, Harriet Ann Jacobs offers a chilling account of her life as a slave and her harrowing escape in the hopes that she can "arose the women of the North to a realizing sense of the condition of two millions of women at the South" (6). In her brief introduction, editor Maria Child directly addresses the special challenges of writing about sexuality and motherhood in the context of slavery, "I am well aware that many will accuse me of indecorum for presenting these pages to the public; for the experiences of this intelligent and much-injured woman belong to a class which some call delicate subjects, and others indelicate. This peculiar phase of Slavery has generally been kept veiled; but the public ought to be made acquainted with its monstrous features . . . for the sake of [our] sisters in bondage, who are suffering wrongs so foul that our ears are too delicate to listen" (8). [E 444 J17 1861]                                                                                                        

Mary Hennell. An Outline of the Various Social Systems & Communities Which Have Been Founded on the Principle of Co-operation. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1844.

An Outline of the Various Social Systems & Communities Which Have Been Founded on the Principle of Co-operation

Mary Hennell was a prominent intellectual and reformer who brought important ideas about co-operative movements and utopian systems to progressive audiences and readerships in Britain and beyond. Hennell's aim for her ambitious book was to review a broad range of social systems, from historic periods to her own time. The text begins with chapters on communities in Crete and Sparta, among other locales, and concludes with a consideration of William Thompson's ideas about the distribution of wealth. Hennell's comprehensive Outline of social systems and communities remains a seminal work on communitarianism, and it raises important questions about the responsibilities, values, and guiding principles of communities. This first edition copy of Hennell's book is bound in midnight blue cloth and the covers are embossed in blind with an attractive ornamental design. [HX 626 H46 1844]

Farewell Address of President Jimmy Carter, January 14, 1981. Palaemon Press, Winston-Salem, 1981.

Farewell Address of President Jimmy Carter, January 14, 1981

One of a limited edition of 300 copies signed by the former President, this publication reprints Carter's farewell address on nine pages of heavy paper. In this address, President Carter speaks not only of the issues facing the United States—past, present, and future—not only "as leader of one nation," but "as a fellow citizen of the world," and addresses "three difficult issues: the threat of nuclear destruction, our stewardship of the physical resources of our planet, and the pre-eminence of the basic rights of human beings." Although not all copies were issued with a slipcase, this copy is housed in the original slipcase and is in near fine condition. It will be the first copy of the scarce publication to be housed in a library outside of the United States. [J 82 E45 1981]

Peter Hudson. A New Introduction to Trade and Business, Very Useful for Youth of Both Sexes. J. Johnson, 1795.

A New Introduction to Trade and Business, Very Useful for Youth of Both Sexes

This eighth edition of Hudson's business primer was "Designed for the Use of Schools, and Youth in General," according to a statement at the bottom of the title page. For the uninitiated, the book provided a useful introduction to the world of trade and commerce, and it includes helpful examples and exercises for learning how to prepare a variety of bills and receipts. The chapter titled "Bills from Book-Debts" is particularly fascinating because here readers will see prices for a variety of goods produced by small business owners, including butchers, shoemakers, bakers, wine merchants, bricklayers, grocers, among others. This copy has an engraved frontispiece, six engraved plates, a folding table, and an ownership inscription on the fly-leaf of William Bell dated 1803. [HF 5381.2 H84 1795]

Michael Heine, Alestine Andre, Ingrid Kristch, and Alma Cardinal. Gwichya Gwich'in Googwandak. NWT Gwich'in Social and Cultural Institute, Tsiigehtchic, 2001.

Gwichya Gwich’in Googwandak

This autographed first edition of a future rare book, in which the elders of Tsiigehtchic tell the history and stories of the Gwichya Gwich'in, is an impressive oversized book that is extensively illustrated with black and white photographs, illustrations, maps, and charts. It grew out of "a traditional knowledge study with Gwichya Gwich'in elders from Tsiigehtchic on land use and occupancy in the Travaillant Lake and Trout Lake areas" (xvi) carried out by Alestine Andre and Ingrid Kristch in 1992, and the scope of the research expanded many times over in response to requests from the elders. This research continued for nine years, during which the elders shared their knowledge about the land and traditional ways of life beginning with "the earliest days of history, when animals and humans could change form and were equals" (1). This book will be a special addition to the collections of books about Indigenous peoples housed in the Peel library. [E 99 K84 G952 2001]                                             

Johannes Baptista van Helmont. Ortus medicinae, id est initia physicae inaudita. J.A. Huguetan and G. Barbier, 1667.

Ortus medicinae, id est initia physicae inaudita

This early edition of Ortus Medicinae—the "birth of medicine"—contains the collected works of Flemish physician and chemist, Johannes Baptista van Helmont (1579–1644), who is commonly regarded as one of the founders of biochemistry. Helmont's work was seminal in the history of biochemistry, and early editions are difficult to locate on the open market. This copy has a contemporary vellum binding and the inside cover bears the bookplate of Daniel Wilhelm Nebel (1735–1805), a professor at Heidelberg University, as well as the bookplate of the Library of the Medical Society, County of Kings (dated September 1900). The book has other distinctive features, which include an elaborately engraved title page, displaying a portrait of the author at the top, and the spine, showing the book's title in a contemporary hand. [R 128.7 H48 1667 folio]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Paul Withington, editor. The Book of Athletics. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company, 1914. 

The Book of Athletics

The editor of this collection of articles is described on the dust jacket of the book as “the best qualified editor to be found” and “one of America’s greatest amateur athletes.” Withington edited the entire collection of articles that were “written by players, captains, coaches, and trainers of many college teams, and by others who have had a wide experience in athletics” (vi). The articles offer tips and practical advice on a variety of sports, including hockey, football, baseball swimming, skating, tennis, and rowing, among others. Withington contributed several articles to the collection and he explains in his Preface that the book “makes no pretense of containing exhaustive treatises on all branches of sports, or even of being a complete and sufficient text-book on those sports considered, it has been the endeavor of the editor in gathering material to cover in an interesting and instructive way the games commonly played in school and college circles” (vi). The book has 77 photographs of prominent athletes and athletic events, and the dust jacket shows charming illustrations of athletes engaged in various sporting activities. This copy is highly desirable to book collectors because it has the exceedingly scarce dust jacket. [GV 701 B66 1914]

Isabella Valancy Crawford. Old Spookes’ Pass and Other Poems. 1884.

Old Spookes’ Pass and Other Poems

Despite the fact that she is recognized today as a major Canadian poet, this modest volume of poetry is the only one that Isabella Valancy Crawford (1850–87) published during her short lifetime. While this book was well received at home and abroad—British reviewers were impressed by the poet’s “humour, vivacity, and range of power”—it was published privately at a financial loss. Sometimes described as the first book of poetry by a woman to be published in Canada, this charmingly-bound first edition can be seen as a celebration of the talent and resolve of one of the greats among the foremothers of Canadian poetry. [PS 8455 R25 O44 1884]

Charles Middleton. The Architect and Builder's Miscellany, or Pocket Library; Containing Original Picturesque Designs in Architecture. J. Taylor.

The Architect and Builder's Miscellany, or Pocket Library; Containing Original Picturesque Designs in Architectur

Many rare books about architecture are highly collectable, especially those titles with hand-coloured illustrations. Referred to as a colour-plate book, Middleton's architectural compendium has 60 leaves of plates that show designs for many styles of architecture, from "primitive" huts to a Triumphal Arch. Intended as a guide for architects and builders in their selection of building designs, the book offers a variety of inspiring plans, including designs for country and town houses, temples, bridges, chapels, monumental tombs, greenhouses, and a theatre. The book was printed around 1801 in London at the Architectural Library, a publishing firm founded by Isaac Taylor, and the most distinctive features of this copy include a contemporary calf binding, an elaborately decorated spine, and the attractive armorial bookplate of Samuel King. [NA 997 M53 A4 1825]

[Royal Navy]. Nett Rates of Sea Pay. The Admiralty.

Nett Rates of Sea Pay

This fascinating rare book offers readers an opportunity to see pay rates for a variety of positions in the Royal Navy, beginning with the Admiral of the Fleet all the way down to a Boy of 2nd Class. Thumb tabs (in manuscript numerals) were created to make it easier for readers to find the specific rate they were looking for: 1st through to 6th Rate. Once the book is open to a specific pay grade, readers will see a series of printed columns that show pay per month and per year, as well as daily (one to six days) and weekly pay (one to three weeks). Since it was published as an internal administrative resource, it is not surprising that the book lacks a title page. It has a modest calf binding without any lettering or label on the spine or cover, and the binder, Smith of Long Acre, is identified on a small binder's ticket on the inside cover. The book's most distinctive feature is the hand-written table of daily pay for commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the Royal Marine Corps. Remarkably, a search of the world’s union catalogue reveals that this book is a unique addition to the University of Alberta Libraries. [VC 185 G74 1816]

"Do What You Must": Selected Editorials from Le Devoir under Henri Bourassa, 1910-1932, edited by Pierre Anctil and translated by Tõnu Onu, Champlain Society, 2016.

“Do What You Must”: Selected Editorials from Le Devoir under Henri Bourassa, 1910-1932

Rebound in a presentation binding by Edmonton bookbinder Alexander J. McGuckin, this is a special copy of the Champlain Society's English-language reprint of selected editorials from the first twenty-two years of the influential French-Canadian newspaper, Le Devoir. This edition is the product of extensive research by University of Ottawa professor Pierre Anctil in the history of the French language press in Canada and the ideological evolution of Le Devoir. Founded in 1910 by Henri Bourassa, Le Devoir eschewed the motives of and influences upon the commercial press and remained resolutely independent, focusing on "integrity, justice, and . . . the public good" (1). Under Bourassa's direction for its first twenty-two years, Le Devoir explored a variety of issues of profound importance to francophone communities across Canada, and indeed to all Canadians, ranging from "The Theory of Two Founding Peoples" (1910) to "Bilingual Schools in Ontario" (1916), and from "The Place of French Canadians in the Canadian West" (1913) to "France’s Support of French Canada" (1922). [FC 15 C45 v.077]

Alain-René Lesage. Les avantures de Monsieur Robert Chevalier dit de Beauchêne, capitaine de flibustiers dans la Nouvelle France. 2 vols. Etienne Ganeau, Paris, 1732.

Les avantures de Monsieur Robert Chevalier dit de Beauchêne, capitaine de flibustiers dans la Nouvelle France

This is a very rare first edition of an adventure story set in New France by Alain-René Lesage (1668–1747), a prolific playwright and influential novelist, one of the pioneers of realism in fiction. The story is based, in part, on the memoirs of real-life buccaneer Robert Chevalier de Beauchêne who was born in Montreal in 1686, memoirs that were provided to the author by Beauchêne’s widow. Although this copy is in need of some minor repair, it features the original binding and is complete with six full-page illustrations drawn by Bonnard and engraved by Scotion. While Bruce Peel Special Collections already houses a copy of the first English-language translation of the novel (published in 1745), this special edition will make a terrific addition to the library’s French-language holdings. [PQ 1997 A7 1732]

Simone McLeod. Sharing Wisdom. 2019. Bruce Peel Special Collections, Edmonton. Acrylic on canvas.

Sharing Wisdom

A Cree-Ojibway artist from the James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, Simone McLeod's Ojibway name is Earth Blanket (she explains that this is a reference to all that covers the earth, such as grass, flowers, and trees). The artist explains her deeply personal artistic practice as follows, "Each painting contains a piece of my soul. I have a strong faith in humankind and my paintings are silent prayers of hope for the future." Sharing Wisdom is a beautiful and optimistic representation of sharing and learning between and among the generations. This painting will make a very welcome addition to the Peel library's collections and is perfectly suited for display in the Gregory Javitch Reading Room. [ND 249 M422 S53 2019 folio]