Archival Collections Finding Aids

The Library houses over 750 manuscript collections covering a wide range of subject areas. Holdings range from a collection of about 40 third-century B.C. Egyptian papyri to papers of the co-discoverers of insulin: Banting, Best, Collip and Macleod; and finally to drafts, research notes, and correspondence of Canadian authors such as Margaret Atwood, Gwendolyn MacEwen, Leonard Cohen, Mazo de la Roche and Josef Skvorecky. The majority of our manuscript collections date from the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries and pertain to Canadian historical, literary, artistic or scientific fields.

Collections of personal papers are listed by the surname of the creator or collector, e.g. Birney, Earle. Institutional records are listed under the name of the institution, e.g. Royal Canadian Institute.

Collection level records for many of the manuscript collections appear in the on-line catalogue, along with links to finding aids in pdf format.


Displaying 26 - 50 of 575
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  • This accession includes professional files related to Glynis E.C. Barnes’s bookselling business, including material related to books sold, books purchased, index cards, and catalogues. 

    Papers, [197-]-[198-]. 5 boxes.

  • Nature notes, diaries, correspondence, and drawings and photographs of birds and plants.

    Papers, 1944-1972. 8 boxes.

  • Contains correspondence between Ezra Pound (1885-1972) and H.G. Barton, as well as between Barton and others, including Robert Harborough Sherard (1861-1943), regarding Ezra Pound and Oscar Wilde.

    Papers, [1934-1950]. 1 box. 

  • Includes corporate files from the Canadian Bata Shoe Company, including correspondence; legal and financial records; product development, marketing and promotional files; technical and production-related files, and human resources files. 

    Papers, [189?]-2014. 426 bankers boxes and items. 

  • Manuscripts, correspondence and other material related to Batten's published work.

    Papers, 1959-2017. 134 boxes.

  • Drafts, revisions of short stories and radio plays, as well as typescripts of poems.

    Papers, 1950-1976. 4 boxes.

  • Typescript of Frank Walker Beattie's unpublished book, With the Durham R.E.'s.

    Papers, 1913. 1 box.

  • Audio cassette interview with Margaret Atwood, correspondence from John Fowles, Adrienne Clarkson, Margaret Atwood and Helen Weinzweig and essay on Atwood.

    Papers, 1971-2005. 6 boxes. 

  • Notes for published works on British colonial affairs and immigration to Canada, notes and manuscript for unpublished work on South Carolina.

    Papers. 1902-1920. 81 items and boxes.

  • Correspondence from Stephen Leacock to W.C. Bell, his Canadian agent.

    Letters and galley proofs for College Days. 1 box & mapcase folders.

  • Yiddish folk songs and other songs, including Canonical and Art Songs; rare and fragile music and song books; cassettes of 'Naomi’s Programs' and collected songs; research notes, lecture-recital material, workshops and presentations.

    Papers, 1923-2003. 23 boxes and items.

  • The Belousovitch Collection contains various Samizdat and independent periodicals, manuscripts and miscellaneous documents ranging from the 1960s to the early 1990s from the Soviet Union. The material was collected by Igor Belousovitch during his work for the Office of Analysis for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe at the U.S. State Department.

    Papers, 1962-1996. 68 boxes. 

  • Typed journals recording his bird sightings and other observations from natural history; correspondence with other naturalists; research notes and files on ornithological topics, including birding records and lists; drafts and typescripts for some of his writings; newsletters from ornithological organizations

    Papers, 1950s-1990. 40 boxes.

  • Correspondence containing family news and comments on life in the British Army.

    Papers, 1864-1876. 1 box.

  • Collection of notes, drafts and manuscripts for articles, lectures and addresses by Bernhardt, professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, and former director of the Institute of Child Study.

    Papers, 1926-1963. 20 boxes and items.

  • Includes manuscript drafts, early writing drafts, correspondence, and other personal and professional files.

    Papers, 1970-2014. 52 boxes.

  • Research notes and articles related to the discovery of insulin, along with his other medical research; correspondence, lectures notes, articles and photographs.

    Papers, 1928-1985. 275 boxes and items.

  • Drafts and proofs of her novels and novellas, manuscripts of unpublished work, correspondence (editorial as well as fan mail), and marketing and publicity material.

    Papers, 1980-2016. 72 boxes.

  • Diaries, manuscripts of poetry and prose, correspondence.

    Papers, 1940-1978. 3 boxes and 1 item.

  • Photographs and rubbings of bindings, tool designs, tooling patterns and drawings.

    Records, 1840-1961. 23 boxes and items.

  • Correspondence, drafts and final typescripts for literary writings, teaching materials, scrapbooks, photographs.

    Papers, 1896-1987. 287 boxes and items.

  • Collection of letters and memorabilia relating to Bland-Sutton, eminent anatomist and pathologist at the Middlesex Hospital and Medical School; includes a small amount of material relating to his close friend, Rudyard Kipling.

    Papers, 1918-[1937?]. 1 box.

  • Correspondence, China journals (from 1883-1885 and 1906-1910), typescripts of published works, scrapbooks, photographs.

    Papers, 1883-1954. 76 boxes and items. Microfilm.

  • Personal and professional papers, historical materials relating to the Institute of Child Study and associated schools. Note: Some materials under access restriction.

    Papers, 1919-1979. 53 boxes, 9 filing cabinets.

  • Manuscripts, typescripts and research materials for Bliss' books The Discovery of Insulin and Banting: A Biography.

    Papers, [197?-198?]. 27 boxes.