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Collections

The Library collections focus on the history of the book and the technical and material aspects of the book arts, including printing, illustration, typography, graphic arts, papermaking, and binding from the late 18th century to the mid 20th century. To access library materials, search the U of T Library Catalogue for a call number, and contact the  College Librarian, Andreea Marin, to make an appointment or for more information about particular collections. All collections are non-circulating. Many items are still being catalogued; if you are interested in a particular publication and you are unable to locate it using a title search within the UofT Library Catalogue, please contact us by phone 416-978-2893 or email.

Ruari McLean Victorian Book Collection

The largest rare book collection in the library is the Ruari McLean Collection, built mainly by British book designer and historian Ruari McLean (1917–2006). In 1991, it was expanded with a collection of 19th century publishers bindings gathered by Fianach Jardine.

The collection showcases 19th century book production, focusing on colour printing and decorative bindings. It includes publishers bindings, yellowbacks, miniature books for children, and other printed works across many subjects. Many volumes feature ornate bindings in leather or cloth, often blocked in gold or colour, and include techniques such as papier-mâché.

It highlights various illustration methods including wood engraving, lithography, chromolithography, etching, aquatint, and early photomechanical processes.

Books are shelved by size, shown in the call number: McLean F for folios, FF for flat folios, Q for quartos, O for octavos, and D for duodecimos. To browse, search by call number in the U of T Library Catalogue and enter the beginning of the code (for example, McLean F).

See also: “Printing Picture Printing: Books, Art, and the Art of Reproduction in Nineteenth-Century England by Chelsea Humphries”

The Yellow Book was published quarterly from 1894 to 1897. There were a total of 13 issues.

Bibliography

The Bibliography (BIB) collection is the largest in the library, covering book production and history from the 19th to 21st century. It includes scholarship on the history of books, libraries, illustration, binding, calligraphy, papermaking, collecting, bibliography, paleography, typography, and printing. It also contains technical manuals on letterpress, press mechanics, machinery, papermaking, binding, and illustration techniques like wood engraving, steel engraving, etching, aquatint, lithography, and chromolithography.

The Bibliography collection is catalogued with a call number beginning with “BIB” and can be browsed by call number in the U of T Library Catalogue by entering “BIB” with the addition of a letter A-Z to narrow down your search (for example “BIB A” or “BIB P”) or by entering the relevant subject or subjects in the advanced search, and limiting your search to “Massey College” under ‘Library’.

Library Catalogue of Exhibition held at Massey College curated by Chana Algarvio

Roy Gurney Rare Book Collection

The Roy Gurney Collection is the library’s second largest rare book collection. Assembled by Roy Gurney, Plant Superintendent at University of Toronto Press in the 1960s and a founding member of the Quadrats, it reflects early printing and binding practices. Gurney worked closely with Founding Librarian Doug Lochhead and figures such as Carl Dair, Alan Fleming, and Will Rueter to help build Massey College’s early printing collections, donating both books and equipment, including the College’s Washington Press, still in use today.

The collection features books mainly from the 16th and 17th centuries, with some 19th century works, plus rare items like the Otto Ege Leaves and a cuneiform tablet. It includes Italian, German, Swiss, French, English, Scottish, and Dutch imprints, with printers such as Aldus Manutius, Christophe Plantin, and the House of Elzevir.

Only parts of the collection are catalogued. It is arranged by size, with call numbers beginning with “Gurney.” To browse, search by call number in the U of T Library Catalogue (e.g. “Gurney Q”). Contact the Librarian for access.

Mesopotamian Cuneiform Tablet c.2040 BCE

Private Press Collection

The Presses Collection highlights books and printed works created by private presses that focus on the art and craft of printing rather than commercial profit. As John Carter (1961) put it, private press printers “print what they like, how they like,” valuing quality and creativity over mass production.

The collection includes books, pamphlets, and ephemera from private presses in Canada, the US, and Europe from the 1890s to today. Notable presses include Kelmscott, Gregynog, Golden Cockerel, Stanbrook Abbey, Officina Bodoni, Merrymount, Rampant Lions, Bird & Bull, Lumiere, Aliquando, and more. It also holds a small uncatalogued group of artists books.

Catalogued items use the prefix “Presses.” To browse, search by call number in the U of T Library Catalogue using “Presses.”

Illustrations for Macbeth created by Don Taylor at Pointyhead Press

Periodicals

The Robertson Davies Library holds current subscriptions to a range of periodicals relating to book and printing history and contemporary practice, including Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, The Devil’s Artisan, The Journal of the Printing Historical Society, Parenthesis: The newsletter of the Fine Press Book Association, Letter Arts Review, Wayzgoose Anthology, Quaerendo, Amphora, Matrix, Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada, and others.

The Library’s collection of older periodicals consists of a complete run of the Inland Printer, a near-complete run of the Penrose Annual, and other periodicals relating to typography and the graphic arts (The Fleuron, Verve, Graphis), books and book collecting (The Bookman), and the printing industry (Lithopinion, Linotype Matrix, The Book-Binding Trades Journal).

Medieval Manuscript Fragments and Incunable Leaves

The library holds one of forty portfolios of medieval manuscript leaves compiled by art historian, and biblioclast Otto Ege in the 1940s. Each portfolio includes one leaf from fifty manuscripts, mostly religious texts like missals, prayer books, and psalters. Ege created them for art education and to inspire book design.

In addition we have received other Medieval manuscript fragments from Roy Gurney, and William Rueter. These fragments have been digitized and uploaded to Fragmentarium based in Switzerland. A recent study has found that one of our manuscript fragments is a letter written by King Louis XI of France. 

Our library also holds a large collection of incunable leaves (1450-1501) obtained from Carl Dair, Roy Gurney, and William Rueter. 

MS Fragment from Otto Ege Box

Type Specimen Books

The Massey College Type Specimen Collection includes about 250 books and over 1,000 pamphlets and ads from the late 18th to late 20th century, covering metal, wood, and photo-typesetting. It features specimens from foundries like Caslon, Baskerville, Monotype, Linotype, and Hamilton Wood Type. Some items are catalogued under the prefix “Type Pam” and can be browsed in the U of T Library Catalogue. Books can also be found under the subject “Printing – Specimens.” Contact the Librarian for uncatalogued material.

Balinson Hebrew Type Collection

The Balinson Collection includes 9 fonts of Hebrew metal and wood type. Acquired in 2013 from Joan and Morley Balinson. The type was used by Henry Balinson, founder of International Press Printers and the Yiddish newspaper Jewish Voice of Hamilton (1933–1943). Henry worked in 11 languages and was a key figure in the Hamilton community. Morley helped in the shop from childhood and ran the press until the late 1960s.

For more on this collection, see here or see the Visual Guide to the Balinson Hebrew Type Collection created and researched by Leora Bromberg. Most of our printing artefacts are uncatalogued. If you are interested in this collection, please contact the Librarian.

Roy Gurney Wood Type Collection

Bold, ornate, and instantly recognizable, wood type was key to posters, ads, and announcements from the 1800s to 1900s. The Wood Type Collection holds 356 fonts from the 1850s to 1960s, made using methods like pantograph cutting, die-cutting, hand-cutting, and veneer. It is a rich resource for those studying wood type design, production, and use.

The majority of the types were a gift of Roy Gurney in 1974. Additional types were donated by Mary Williamson in 1999.

An index for the collection, which includes a growing number of printed type specimens, can be accessed here.

Carl Dair Fonds

Carl Dair (1912–1967) was a leading Canadian graphic designer and typographer, best known for creating Cartier, the first Canadian-designed text typeface. Self-taught, he became Typographical Director at the National Film Board and later co-founded Everleigh-Dair studios. His 1946 book Design With Type became a key design text. In the 1950s, he studied type design in the Netherlands to create a national typeface for Canada. A founding member of the Typographic Designers of Canada, Dair influenced generations through his work and writing. He presented Cartier as a centennial gift to Canada in 1967, the year he died at age fifty-five.

The Library holds his papers, correspondence, design work, and reference library. Dair’s reference collection can be located within the U of T library catalogue by entering “Dair” in the search box, and searching within “call number”. A finding aid to the fonds can be found here: Carl Dair Fonds Finding Aid. 

The library holds Carl Dair’s personal reference collection, including books on design and typography, type specimens, exhibition catalogs, and other materials gathered during his career. To find items, search “Dair” by call number in the U of T Library Catalogue.

Published in 2017 by Kristine Tortora and Gaspereau Press using our Dair archives.

Aliquando Press Fonds and Will Rueter's Collection

The Aliquando Press, founded in 1962 by William Rueter, is one of Canada’s most respected private presses, known for its refined and creative book design, illustration, and printing. Rueter, a graphic designer at University of Toronto Press from 1969 to 1998, has published widely and received many honours, including the Alcuin Society’s lifetime achievement award in 2013.

The library holds Rueter’s correspondence, design work, proofs, and reference materials, along with a near-complete run of Aliquando Press publications. There was a recent exhibition held in his honour and many of his donated works have had their own exhibition such as the miniature books, or medieval manuscript fragments.

More details can be found here: Aliquando Finding Aid

Donated MS wastepaper from Will Rueter of Aliquando Press. Found to be Royal letter from King Louis XI of France
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