Our current exhibit, The Art of Cartography, showcases historical maps and atlases offering remarkable views of Canada and the rest of the world from the 16th to the 19th century. This Thursday, September 15, visitors to the Toronto Reference Library will also have a chance to explore a very different map of Canada — one […]
Our free exhibit The Art of Cartography is on display in the Toronto Reference Library's TD Gallery until October 16. As discussed in a previous blog post, the exhibit features remarkable maps from the 16th to 19th century which capture the beautiful and sometimes bizarre ways that European cartographers envisioned the New World. The Art of Cartography also highlights a […]
Note: This article includes historical materials from the collections of Toronto Public Library. Who tells the story, and how the story is told creates tensions when trying to present content written by settlers about Indigenous people. These materials can reflect offensive historic attitudes, and in some cases, were created by individuals directly involved in acts […]
Our new exhibit, The Art of Cartography, opens this Saturday, August 13 in the TD Gallery at the Toronto Reference Library. The exhibit features magnificent maps and atlases from the library's Special Collections dating from the 16th to the 19th century. As always, admission is free and the gallery is open to the public during regular […]
You have just one week left to visit our free exhibit, The Changing Face of Toronto. The exhibit is on display at the Toronto Reference Library's TD Gallery until Sunday, July 24. The exhibit features portraits of everyday people from Toronto's past. The portraits on display were curated from the library's Special Collections, including the Toronto Star Photograph Archive, […]
Join us in the atrium at the Toronto Reference Library this Thursday, June 23 at 7 p.m. for a lively conversation with Toronto Star photojournalists about the enduring power of the portrait. Award-winning Toronto Star photographers Steve Russell, Melissa Renwick and Tony Bock will be joined by moderator Richard Lautens. The panel will share their favourite portraits – and the stories behind them […]
Join us this Saturday, June 18 for free guided tours of our photography exhibit The Changing Face of Toronto, on display in the Toronto Reference Library's TD Gallery. Tours will begin at 11am, 12pm and 1pm. Registration is not required. Please meet inside the gallery. These special Saturday tours are presented in conjunction with the Toronto Urban Photography Festival (TUPF) […]
Our latest Discover Special Collections drop-in at the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books featured dolls in early and vintage children’s books. Two hundred years ago, British children’s stories featuring dolls had an educational theme. In these stories, a little owner would carefully teach her doll manners and deportment. Such books offered different levels of learning: […]
Gadget lovers will adore Super-Duper Monster Viewer by award-winning writer, illustrator and broadcaster, Kevin Sylvester. Designed to look like a tablet, this quirky picture book claims to give readers the ability to see all the monsters that lurk around us. The owner’s manual on the opening page provides a clear list of rules including, […]
Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway and Walter Crane are often described as forming a triumvirate of great British illustrators of children’s picture books in the late Victorian period. At a recent Discover Special Collections program at the Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books, the focus was on Walter Crane. Born in 1845, Walter Crane was the […]