Early & Rare Canadiana

The History of Emily Montague

Frances Brooke (approximately 1724–1789) was a novelist and playwright, born in Stubton, Lincolnshire. In 1756, Brooke settled in Quebec in order to join her husband, Reverend Doctor John Brooke, appointed as a chaplain of the garrison and Deputy to the Auditor General. She lived in the colony until 1758 (or 1761) and during this time, she became acquainted with local society, French seigneurs and British officers and officials.

The History of Emily Montague has the distinction of being the first Canadian novel. Written in Quebec and published in Great Britain, the setting is Canadian, portraying the beauty of the landscape: forests, rivers, and waterfalls, in addition to other elements.

It is an epistolary novel, comprising two hundred and twenty-eight letters, exchanged between a group of friends in Canada and England, They discuss the politics, personalities, and scenery of Lower Canada, depicting a romance unfolding between Emily Montague and Colonel Ed. Rivers. According to historian Carole Gerson, the publication marked the emergence of English literary culture in Canada.

Brooke, Frances, 1724?–1789

Canadiana

J. Dodsley

1784

Public domain

PR3326 .B37 H5 1784

Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea: In the Years 1819–20–21–22

John Franklin (1786–1847) was an explorer and a writer. He undertook his last journey in 1845, when two of his ships, the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, became trapped in ice, leading to the death of Franklin and the one hundred twenty-nine members of the expedition.

In 2016, the wreckage of HMS Terror was found in the Terror Bay, near the shore of King William Island. It was located about one hundred kilometres north of the wreck of the other ship, HMS Erebus.

Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea follows Franklin and his crew and begins with Franklin's lengthy description of the preliminary travel to the northwest, the area where the exploration begins.

The information contained in this part of the book is derived from indirect sources. The expedition was based on a hypothesis about the possible existence and continuity of a coastline in the North American Arctic region.

The concluding third part of the narrative chronicles the adversity experienced by the members of the expedition in a climate to which they were entirely unprepared and unaccustomed, with details on starvation and cannibalism. A large portion of the crew perished, but Franklin was able to survive.

According to critic Victor G. Hopwood, the book is "among the best told and most thrilling narratives of exploration." Narrative was originally published in 1923 by John Murray, in London, England. This is the third edition of the book, published in two volumes.

Franklin, John, 1786–1847

Canadiana

John Murray

1824

Scientific expeditions
Arctic regions
Northwest, Canadian—Description and travel

Walker, John, 1759–1830 engraver

Public domain

G650 1819 .F8 1824

The Speller and Interpreter in Indian and English: For Use in the Mission Schools, and Such As May Desire to Obtain a Knowledge of the Ojibway Tongue

James Evans (1801–1845) was a Methodist minister, missionary, linguist, teacher, and translator. In 1840, he developed the Cree syllabic alphabet and form of writing in Rossville, Manitoba. Evans devised his own metal type and built a printing press to support his missionaries activities, involving teaching, translating and writing. Evans translated the New Testament, hymns, and other religious materials into Cree and Ojibway.

Selected publications include Collection of Chippeway and English Hymns for the Use of the Native Indians (with Peter Jones and others), Cree Syllabic Hymn Book (Bibliographical Society of Canada, 1954), 1836 Mission Tour of Lake Huron (Manitoulin Historical Society, 1955). 

Victoria University Library holds the James Evans fonds, including the Cree syllabic type (acquired by his biographer, John Maclean in Norway House, Manitoba, in 1925), in addition to correspondence, printed syllabics and syllabic hymnbook, professional records, a diary of Evans’s missionary expeditions, a sketchbook containing pencil sketches and poems, photographs, and other material.

Evans, James, 1801–1846

Canadiana

D. Fanshaw, Printer

1837

Ojibwa language—Grammar
Ojibwa language—Orthography and spelling
Ojibwa language—Texts

Public domain

PM852 .E87 1837

The Clockmaker: Or, the Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville

Thomas Chandler Haliburton (1796–1865) was a lawyer, judge, politician, and writer. As a writer, Haliburton sought to shed light on the rich heritage and resources of Nova Scotia. He authored a number of books on the colony: A General Description of Nova Scotia (Royal Acadian School, 1823) and An Historical and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia (Joseph Howe, 1829). Fred Cogswell asserted that the books are "praiseworthy pioneering ventures, well proportioned in the arrangement and dignified and straightforward in style, and they represent a vast amount of individual research."

The Clockmaker began as a series in the Novascotian, a leading provincial newspaper, in 1835. It also appeared as a book. Joseph Howe, a journalist and politician, was the editor of the Novascotian and he had met Haliburton at the Literary Club in Halifax. Their friendship developed due to the shared pride and concern for the colony, in spite of the differences in their respective political stances. Howe also published Haliburton's second book. 

This is the fourth edition of the novel. It is episodic and is narrated by Sam Slick, an American clockmaker, whose travels and encounters in Nova Scotia serve as an aspiration for anecdote and conversation.

Haliburton, Thomas Chandler, 1796–1865

Canadiana

Richard Bentley

1838

Hervieu, Auguste, artist

Public domain

PR4735 .H25 C6 1838

Selections from Canadian Poets: With Occasional Critical and Biographical Notes, and an Introductory Essay on Canadian Poetry

Reverend Edward Hartley Dewart (1828–1903), a clergyman of St Johns, Canada East, was the editor of the Christian Guardian, a weekly journal established by Egerton Ryerson (1803–1882) at York (presently Toronto), Ontario.

Ryerson was the founder of the Upper Canada Academy (1836) in Cobourg, Ontario and the first principal of Victoria College (1841). Dewart also was the author of Jesus the Messiah in Prophecy and Fulfillment (William Briggs, 1891).

Selections from Canadian Poets is one of the major poetry anthologies of the nineteenth century. The collection is representative of early Canadian verse and literary origins. Selections is the first poetic anthology published before Confederation. It includes poems by Susanna Moodie (1803–1885), Charles Sangster (1822–1893), William Kirby (1817–1906), Helen Mar Johnson (1835–1863), among others.

Dewart, Edward Hartley, 1828–1903

Canadiana

John Lovell

1864

Canadian poetry

Public domain

PR9195.25 .S44

The Story of the Upper Canadian Rebellion: Largely Derived from Original Sources and Documents

John Charles Dent (1841–1888) was a lawyer, journalist, author, and historian. His journalistic career involved working in various British, Canadian, and American newspapers, including The Daily Telegraph (London) and the Evening Telegram (Toronto). 

Published in two volumes in 1885, The Story of the Upper Canadian Rebellion chronicles the 1837 uprising that took place in Upper Canada. The first volume explores the long-term causes of the insurgence within the context of the political history of the British colony. The second volume analyzes the events of the rebellion.

The Story of the Upper Canadian Rebellion was Dent's last major work. He also authored The Canadian Portrait Gallery (published by John B. Magurn, 1880–1881, in four volumes) a biographical collection of Canadian historical figures, and The Last Forty Years: Canada Since the Union of 1841 (G. Virtue, 1881). 

The book is bound in red stiff paper boards lettered in gilt and illustrated on front and spine in black and gilt.

Dent, John Charles, 1841–1888

Canadiana

C. Blackett Robinson

1885

Canada—History—Rebellion, 1837–1838
Ontario—Politics and government
Mackenzie, William Lyon, 1795–1861

Public domain

F1032 .D41 v.1

Life of the Right Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald, G.C.B., D.C.L. (Oxon.), LL.D., Q.C., P.C.

Published in two volumes.

Macpherson, J. Pennington (James Pennington), 1839–1916

Canadiana

Earle Publishing House

1891

Macdonald, John A. (John Alexander), 1815–1891

F1033 .M126 M35 v.1

Beautiful Joe: An Autobiography

Inspired by Anna Sewell's Black Beauty, Saunders composed the text of Beautiful Joe as an entry to a competition organized by the American Humane Society. Narrated from the point of a view of an abused dog, the novel was a major commercial success and the first Canadian book to sell over a million copies. The book was translated into fourteen languages , it is one of the best internationally known Canadian children's book.

Saunders, Marshall, 1861–1947

Canadiana

Standard Publishing Company

1897

Animals—Biography
Dogs—Biography

Aberdeen and Temair, Ishbel Gordon, Marchioness of, 1857–1939
Butterworth, Hezekiah, 1839–1905

Public domain

PR9199.3 .S364 B42 1897

The Golden Dog: A Romance of the Days of Louis Quinze in Quebec

William Kirby (1817–1906) was a novelist and newspaper editor, born on October 13, 1817 in Kingston upon Hull, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England. In 1832, his family settled in the United States. Seven years later, agitated at the prospect of American invasion following the failed uprisings of 1837 in Upper and Lower Canada, Kirby moved to Canada in 1839, arriving in Quebec City. He eventually settled in Niagara (renamed Niagara-on-the-Lake), working as a tanner and later as newspaper editor at Niagara Mail.

Kirby's first poem, "On the Sickness and Retirement of His Excellency Lord Metcalfe from the Government of Canada, November 1845," originally in the Niagara Chronicle and was reprinted in Canadian Idylls (1884).

His first significant work was The U[uited]. E[mpire]: A Tale of Upper Canada, published in 1859. Kirby's other contributions, privately printed broadsheets and pamphlets, are considered unremarkable.

The Golden Dog is a romance written in prose, set in Quebec during the reign of Louis XV. The work resonated deeply with Kirby's readers and fledgling nationalism and interest in Canadian history during the period of Confederation. The plot is complex. Due to the extensive editorial additions and intrusions, and Kirby's inability to correct the first edition of the romance, there is no definitive edition of the text. The copy includes sixteen pages of publisher's advertisements.

Kirby, William, 1817–1906

Canadiana

L.C. Page and Company

1897

Canada—History—To 1763 (New France)—Fiction

Public domain

PR4859 .K15 G6 1897

The Imperialist

Sara Jeannette Duncan (1861–1922) was an author and journalist. A prolific novelist, Duncan was also the first female journalist in Canada to obtain a full-time position at the Toronto Globe (the forerunner of The Globe and Mail). Her journey around the world as a single woman travelling with only a female companion, unconventional undertaking in the late nineteenth century, was fictionalized as A Social Departure: How Orthodocia and I Went Round the World by Ourselves (Chatto & Windus, 1890).

The cultural significance of The Imperialist (Archibald Constable and Company Limited, 1904), a political novel considered as a foundational work within the Canadian literary canon and identity, was not recognized until the early 1960s. The book was rediscovered and republished by McClelland and Stewart Limited in 1961.

The novel portrays the provincial narrowness of a small town, Elgin (based on Duncan's hometown, Brantford, Ontario). Duncan relied on humour and irony in to dispel the myth of enthusiasm for imperialism in Canada and explore the attitudes of Canadians toward their country in the face of British and American influences.

Duncan, Sara Jeannette, 1861–1922

Canadiana

Archibald Constable and Company Limited

1904

Public domain

PR9199.2 .C67 I5 1904

Anne of Avonlea

Lucy Maud Montgomery (1847–1942) was a novelist and teacher. She is internationally celebrated as the creator of Anne Shirley, a charming character, gifted with strong imagination and a sense of wonder, an orphan coming of age on Prince Edward Island. Anne's life story is described in a series of ten books, published between 1908 and 1939.

Montgomery was made Fellow, Royal Society of Arts in 1923 amd Officer, Order of the British Empire in 1935. She was a member of the Royal Society of Arts and Letters, Canadian Authors Association, Canadian Women's Press Association, and Toronto Woman's Press.

Anne of Green Gables has appeared in numerous editions. The novel has been translated into sixty languages and is associated with many film adaptations. A commemorative Canadian stamp was issued the celebrate the novel and its author.

Montgomery, L. M. (Lucy Maud), 1874–1942

Canadiana

L.C. Page and Company

1909

Public domain

PR9199.3 .M6 A5

Pen Pictures of Early Pioneer Life in Upper Canada

Pen Pictures of Early Pioneer Life in Upper Canada is an illustrated account of the adversity and achievements accomplished by the early settlers in Upper Canada. The historical narrative is based on manuscripts and family records. Michael Gonder Scherck dedicated to Canadian boys and girls and especially the descendants of the pioneers.

The book, "profusely illustrated" with over fifty pen drawings, is a comprehensive guide to the work, life, social customs of the pioneers. Chapters are devoted to diverse topics, detailing the national and religious groups who settled in the colony (including the United Empire Loyalists), their experiences in clearing the land and preparing it for farming, the means of travel between the early settlements, newspapers and other publications, homesteads and their implements, and other subjects.

It was published by William Briggs, the trade division of the Methodist Book and Publishing House. Briggs (1836–1922) served as the Book Steward between 1879 and 1919. In 1920, the publisher was renamed Ryerson Press and was among the most prestigious publishing enterprises in the country.

Scherck, Michael Gonder, 1861–1928

Canadiana

William Briggs

1905

Frontier and pioneer life—Ontario
Ontario—History
Ontario—Social life and customs

F1058 .S32

In Flanders Fields, and Other Poems: With an Essay in Character

Bell, Andrew James, 1856-1932 (bookplate)

McCrae, John, 1872–1918

Canadiana

William Briggs

1919

Macphail, Andrew, 1864–1938
Sutherland, Ida May, d. 1944, artist

Public domain

PR9199.3 .M33324 I5 1919

M'n N Canadiana, Books by Canadians or About Canada: A National Wedding Present from Wm. Perkins Bull to His Son Michael Bull and His Bride Noreen Hennessy

William Perkins Bull (1870–1948) was a lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and historian.

His publications describe the historical, religious, and natural heritage of Peel County, Ontario (presently, Regional Municipality of Peel). They include From Macdonell to Mcguigan: The History of the Growth of the Roman Catholic Church in Upper Canada (Perkins Bull Foundation, 1939), From Medicine Man to Medical Man: A Record of a Century and a Half of Progress in Health and Sanitation As Exemplified by Developments in Peel (Perkins Bull Foundation, 1934), among others. 

Bull was also a collector of rare books, art, photographs, and artifacts. M'n N Canadiana is a bibliography of books presented to his son, Michael Bull, on the occassion of his wedding to Noreen Hennessy on July 27th, 1931, St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Chelsea, London. 

Bull, William Perkins, 1870–1948

1933

Autographs—Canada
Canadian literature—Bibliography—Catalogs
Private libraries—Ontario
Rare books—Ontario
Canada—Bibliography—Catalogs

Bull, Michael, 1906–

Public domain

Z1375 .B8