Queen Victoria, age 77 Thursday, November 8th 6:30 pm Beeton Auditorium Barbara Rusch, founder of the Ephemera Society of Canada, will give an illustrated talk about Queen Victoria as one of the most successful brands in the history of marketing. Following the program, join the curators for a tour of the […]
It happened in early 1997, as I recall, when I was running Author Series here at the Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library, as it was then known. I received a call from Greg Gatenby, a friend, yes, but more importantly, a pioneer in the area of literary programming. For it was Greg who invented the Harbourfront […]
Arthur Conan Doyle's 60 stories about Sherlock Holmes are so full of ingenious plots and clever devices that many have had occasion to wonder how he came up with his ideas. A new item in the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection sheds light on Arthur Conan Doyle's creative process, particularly in relation to his Holmes story […]
From: Reports relating to the royal entertainments of Her Majesty Queen Victoria…on Lord Mayor's Day 1837. London: Arthur Taylor, 1838. An exhibit of rare engravings, photographs, souvenirs and games from the library's Special Collections will run from September 22nd to December 2nd, 2012 at the TD Gallery, Toronto Reference Library. Get a close and personal […]
An exhibit of manuscripts and maps relating to the War of 1812 is currently on display on the 2nd floor of the Toronto Reference Library. The originals of all facsimiles in the display cases can be viewed in the Baldwin Room on the 4th floor of the Library. Map of War of 1812 […]
On June 2nd, Queen Elizabeth marks the anniversary of her coronation and celebrates her sixtieth year as Queen of Great Britain, Canada, and other Commonwealth countries. For those interested in the lives of the royals and the spectacle of the coronation, the Toronto Reference Library has a collection of souvenir books and the coronation numbers […]
Wednesday May 30, 20127:00 p.m. Toronto Reference LibraryElizabeth Beeton AuditoriumFree admission Murder is nothing to have fun with…or is it? You can decide for yourself when you hear readings from the five books shortlisted for Canada’s newest literary award, the Bloody Words Mystery Conference Light Mystery Award. This award -AKA the Bony Blithe Award-is for […]
We seem to hear of Sherlock Holmes everywhere these days. If you have been enjoying the wealth of recent movies, TV shows, books and graphic novels that give the Great Detective a 21st century spin, why not investigate how it all began? The Toronto Public Library's world-famous Arthur Conan Doyle Collection is at your disposal. […]
Handwritten invitations to social events were used by the aristocracy in England and France during the 18th century. It is likely though that the invitation existed long before that. The 1700's were an era of exquisite penmanship, elaborate calligraphy and personalization…a less hurried time when invitations were handmade and hand delivered. The invention of the […]
Before the widespread use of ballpoint pens, the fountain pen with its self-contained reservoir of ink, was the writing implement of choice. Blotting paper which soaked up excess ink on writing paper was a necessity of the desktop along with a bottle of ink or inkwell. Businesses, organizations and institutions distributed free blotters as […]