Collection Highlights

18th Century British Political Pamphlet Collection
W.D. Jordan Rare Books & Special Collections Pamphlet Collections

These ephemeral documents cover a variety of social topics from British, Canadian, and international history.

Edith and Lorne Pierce Collection of Canadiana
W.D. Jordan Rare Books & Special Collections Canadiana Collections

The Edith and Lorne Pierce Collection of Canadiana is the centerpiece of our library and is intended to preserve Canadian literature and history.

The John Buchan Collection
W.D. Jordan Rare Books & Special Collections Author Collections

The personal and working collections of several prolific authors.

Broadside/Poster Collection
W.D. Jordan Rare Books & Special Collections Poster Collections

Thousands of broadsides and posters covering a variety of topics and time periods.

An older photo of the shore of Garden Island on Lake Ontario. Timber is visible along the shoreline.
W.D. Jordan Rare Books & Special Collections Garden Island Mechanical Institute

A collection of books donated from the former Garden Island Mechanics' Institute.

Marian Webb Botanical Collection
W.D. Jordan Rare Books & Special Collections Marian Webb Botanical Collection

The Marian Webb Botanical Collection includes publications pertaining to the study of botany, including rare herbals and books related to ethnobotany, medicinal botany, and the botanical arts.

Lambo Collection on the History of Medicine
W.D. Jordan Rare Books & Special Collections Lambo Collection on the History of Medicine

The Lambo Collection on the History of Medicine consists of antiquarian books from the private library of Dr. Thomas Adeoye Lambo, MD., PhD., D.Sc. (1923-2004).

Schulich-Woolf Collection
W.D. Jordan Rare Books & Special Collections Schulich-Woolf Rare Book Collection

The main strength of the Schulich-Woolf Rare Book Collection is British history and culture of the 16th through 18th centuries.

MacGillivray Collection
W.D. Jordan Rare Books & Special Collections Macgillivray Collection
The collection is mostly 19th-century Scottish history, including the study of heraldry, tartans, clans, costumes and military history.