ARTH 421 Canadian Slavery and its legacies

Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill University (RBSC)

Location and Hours

To search all catalogued material in Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill University, follow this link. For those items that are not yet catalogued, please review our collection descriptions, then contact jennifer [dot] garland [at] mcgill [dot] ca (Jennifer Garland) for more information regarding finding aids. The following collections have been highlighted by your professor for this class:

• The Lawrence Lande Collection of Canadiana [read collection description]
  Search the Lande collection in the library catalogue. You may also wish to browse the Lande Bibliography and its supplement, Rare and Unusual Canadiana (in print) as an alternate access point to the collection.
• The Joseph N. Nathanson Collection of Lincolniana [read collection description]
  Search the Lincoln monographs in the library catalogue.
  Search the Lincoln pamphlet collection for bibliographic records and images of selected title pages. [To Search: Click Collection>Search the Collection]
  The Virtual Exhibit allows for browsing of selected digitized items from the collection.
• Map Collection, Rare Books and Special Collections
  Discover Montreal and Quebec Maps and more in the library catalogue. Early Canadian maps have been digitized. View site.
• The Napoleon Collection [read collection description]
  Search the Napoleon monographs in the library catalogue. For prints and maps, seach McGill's online database.
• Print Collection, Rare Books and Special Collections
  Includes Canadian and European prints and more. Ask for the print inventory at the desk in Rare Books and Special Collections. [General collection description] Many framed works related to Montreal are on display in the reading room.
• Roy States Black History Collection [read collection description]
  The monographs in this collection have been catalogued and are searchable in the library catalogue. Ephemeral material, including: material by and about Roy States; material related to black history in Montreal; material related to the National Black Coalition of Canada, may be searched using the finding aid, available at the desk in Rare Books.
   

Electronic Resources for Finding Primary Documents (beyond McGill Rare Books)

• Confidential Print: North America, 1824-1960 A collection of papers generated by Britain's Foreign and Colonial Offices, in reference to the USA, Canada and the Caribbean. Includes references to the railway, trade, slavery, military and finance. [Adam Matthew Digital]
• Early Canadiana Online [Canadiana.org]
• Early Encounters in North America, 1534-1860 [Alexander Street Press]
• Empire Online Includes archival material from 1492-2007: "Exploration journals and logs; Letter books and correspondence; Periodicals; Diaries; Official Government Papers; Missionary papers; Travel writing; Slave papers; Memoirs; Fiction; Children's Adventure Stories; Traditional; folk tales; Exhibition Catalogues and guides; Maps; Marketing Posters; Photographs; and Illustrations..." [Adam Matthew Digital]
• Global Commodities "This project focuses on fifteen significant commodities [sugar, tea, cotton, fur] whose stories are often intertwined....Each commodity is documented through a wide range of manuscript materials, maps, posters, paintings, photographs, ephemera, objects and rare books so that the student can explore the origins of the commodity, their first uses, the trade that developed and the ways in which these items were marketed and consumed. The project touches on themes of exploration and discovery; imperialism and attempts at monopoly; trade Wars; translocation and economic geography; slavery; mass production; luxury; taste; and the evolution of global branding." [Adam Matthew Digital]
• HathiTrust Digital Library: This digital library provides access to selected full-text items. Login with your McGill email address and password for increased access to: US government documents; Material published in the US prior to 1923; Material published outside of the US prior to 1870
  
• Making of the Modern World [Gale]
• Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice, 1490-2007 [Adam Matthew Digital]
• Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A transnational archive [Gale]
• Travel Writing, Spectacle and World History [Adam Matthew Digital]

• Other resources from Adam Matthew Digital (UK): Provides full electronic access to a selection of primary documents from international archival collections. I've highlighted 3 collections of interest to the course above. To explore additional Adam Matthew Collections, browse the website for the collection name and then check the McGill catalogue for access.

Historical Newspapers (Full text and indexes)

• This page provides a list of online historical newspapers including: The New York Times, 1851-2007; Early American Newspapers, 1690-1876; The Globe and Mail, 1844-2009. Search the library catalogue for additional titles - these may be available online, on microfilm, or in print.
• Quebec Historical Newspapers From the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BANQ)

Image Resources (beyond McGill Rare Books)

• A list of general online sources for images available here.
• Online image collection From the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BANQ)

Subject Guides: Humanities

For more resources, you may also wish to search subject guides prepared by McGill librarians in Canadian History, African Studies, and more.