Kitchener-Waterloo Survey 1944

In 1943, with the Second World War raging, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce began (rather optimistically) to plan for the coming peace, and they invited the Waterloo and Kitchener Boards of Trade to participate in an experimental fact-finding survey of Waterloo County (now Waterloo Region), to determine "economic facts about the past and present and the expectations of the future in their district".1

Anti-suffrage bud vase

Special Collections & Archives holds many items relating to the women's suffrage movement, many pro-suffrage, but also some anti-suffrage. Complementing our documentary collections, we also have a handful of artifacts, including this bud vase, currently in the Alice Riggs Hunt fonds.

Ontario College of Pharmacy junior examinations

In 1871, the Ontario Pharmacy Act was passed, establishing the Ontario College of Pharmacy.

Ghosts in Special Collections & Archives

Guest post by Heather MacDonald. Heather is currently on contract in Special Collections & Archives, transcribing material from the Maines Pincock family fonds.

Just in time for Hallowe'en, we bring you a post about the ghosts hiding in our Spiritualism and Theosophy collection! These spirits lurk in the séance transcripts and can be heard through the spirit trumpet, which make up part of the Maines Pincock family fonds.

Alexander McNeill

Special Collections & Archives is currently under way with a bold new plan to barcode all of our materials (as the main library did in 1977). This project will ultimately give us greater control over our holdings both in terms of space available for new collections and also in terms of allowing us to better track the use of our collections.

While this is exciting enough on its own, co-op student Eva Lau discovered some material in an archival box that had been uncatalogued.

H. Spencer Clark, first aid certificates

Herbert Spencer Clark, born and educated in Toronto, graduated from the University of Toronto School of Applied Sciences in 1924, and pursued an engineering career for several years, most notably with the Ontario Hydro Electric Power Commission in building the Queenston-Chippewa Power Station.

The mandibles of Sinanthropus pekinensis (Peking Man)

In 1923, the first specimen (a molar) of a new human ancestor was found in Zhoukoudian, near Beijing, China. Many more fossils were found in the area, and Canadian paleontologist Davidson Black named this new ancestor Sinanthropus pekinensis, "Peking Man" (after the city of Beijing, spelled Peking before the Pinyin romanization system was adopted. The city was also known as Beiping or Peiping from 1928 to 1949). Today Sinanthropus is considered to be an example of Homo erectus.

WS101, meet Alice Riggs Hunt

This week and last, our reading room has been a busy place, as 150 Women's Studies 101 students have flocked to the Archives to help transcribe Alice Riggs Hunt's notebooks and cards.

Walter Crane

Walter Crane (1845-1915) was an English artist and book illustrator, one of the most influential and prolific children's book creators of his generation. He was part of the Arts and Crafts movement, and produced a wide variety of materials, including a number of iconic images for the  Socialist League.

Co-op at Special Collections & Archives

Throughout the years, Special Collections and Archives has seen a large number of co-op students. This semester, it's me!

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