Showing 230 results

Tim and Elke Inkster started The Porcupine’s Quill press, commonly referred to as PQL, in 1974 in Erin, Ontario. Their mandate was “to preserve the culture of the printed word by applying our expertise in the art of 20th-century offset printing technology in the creation of high-quality books that look and feel like 19th-century letterpress products.”

The Inksters approached crafting a high-quality book through careful attention to detail and in-house production of almost all aspects of the publications. Tim Inkster, a member of the Association of Registered Graphic Designer of Canada, designed the books. The publication was then printed in-house on a Heidelberg KORD press, an offset printer. Elke Inkster was the bookbinder, creating sewn bindings on a 1905 Smyth Book Sewing Machine.

They were a small press, averaging between 10 to 20 publications a year. They published newer voices, some of whom rose to critical acclaim or were already highly acclaimed including Jane Urqhuart, Elizabeth Hay, Russell Smith, P.K. Page, Margaret Avison, Clark Blaise, Richard Outram, and Helen Humphreys. They also produced two bi-annual serial publications, The Devil’s Artisan: Journal of the Printing Arts and Canadian Notes and Queries.

PQL’s printing and literary achievements received acclaim on a national level. Between 1981-2006, Tim Inkster’s book designs received approximately 43 awards from the Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Designs in Canada and the Malahat Design Awards. In 1984, PQL won the Leipzig Book Fair Award bronze medal and a silver medal in 1988.

In 2008, the Inkster’s received the Order of Canada for their “important and enduring contribution to Canadian literature”. In 2012, the Inksters each received a Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. In 2019, they were awarded the Robert R. Reid Medal for Lifetime Achievement in the Book Arts in Canada, also from the Alcuin Society.

The authors they have published have also won awards including the Governor General’s Award, the Trillium Book Award, the Art Directors Club of New York Award of Distinctive Merit, and several IPPYs (Independent Press Book Award).

John Metcalf, a highly regarded short story author and Canadian literary collector, was Senior Editor from 1989 until 2005.

In 2023, the Inksters sold PQL to Gordon Hill Press. As of November, 2024, Gordon Hill Press and The Porcupine’s Quill are imprints of the corporate entity GHP-PQL Inc.

Magook Publishing Ltd. was a Canadian children’s publisher. Headed by Marilyn Day, the company operated from roughly 1974-1985, with the peak of their activities in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They published standalone children’s books as well as a small, paperback-sized magazine, “Magook”, part book, part magazine. They published works by numerous well-known authors, including Margaret Laurence, Madeline Engel, and Farley Mowat, while also championing several new authors. Similarly, they featured unknown artists and well-known creators, such as political cartoonist, Jim Phillips, and animator, Don Arioli.

McClelland and Stewart had involvement with Magook, but the nature of this relationship is not well attested in the documentary record. M&S and other Canadian publishers were looking to cut back on children’s works, which were not profitable, and Magook was started. Despite good press and reviews, the company couldn't continue beyond the mid-1980s.

McMaster University was founded in 1887 in Toronto, Ont. and named after Senator William McMaster who had bequeathed sufficient funding to endow an Christian institution of higher learning. It opened in Toronto in 1890. Inadequate facilities and the gift of land in Hamilton prompted the institution to relocate in 1930. Until 1957 the Governors of the University were elected by the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec. In that year, the University became a non-denominational institution.

The head of McMaster University was given the title of Chancellor until 1950 when George P. Gilmour was given the title of President and Vice-Chancellor and a new Chancellor, E. Carey Fox was chosen. Gilmour had been Chancellor of McMaster University since 1941. Since 1950, the following individuals have served as presidents of McMaster University: George P. Gilmour, 1950-1961; Henry G. Thode, 1961-1972; Arthur N. Bourns, 1972-1980; Alvin A. Lee, 1980-1990; Geraldine A. Kenney-Wallace, 1990-1995; Peter J. George, 1995-2010; Patrick Deane, 2010-2019; David H. Farrar, 2019-2025; Susan Tighe, 2025-present.

The head of McMaster University was given the title of Chancellor until 1950 when George P. Gilmour was given the title of President and Vice-Chancellor and a new Chancellor, E. Carey Fox was chosen. Gilmour had been Chancellor of McMaster University since 1941.

Since 1950, the following individuals have served as presidents of McMaster University: George P. Gilmour, 1950-1961; Henry G. Thode, 1961-1972; Arthur N. Bourns, 1972-1980; Alvin A. Lee, 1980-1990; Geraldine A. Kenney-Wallace, 1990-1995; Peter J. George, 1995-2010; Patrick Deane, 2010-2019; David H. Farrar, 2019-2025; Susan Tighe, 2025-present.

The International Union of Students (IUS) was a worldwide nonpartisan association of university student organizations. The IUS was the umbrella organization for 155 students' organizations across 112 countries and territories representing approximately 25 million students. It was recognized by the United Nations granting the IUS a consultative status in UNESCO. The primary aim of the IUS was to defend the rights and interests of students to promote improvement in their welfare and standard of education and to prepare them for their tasks as democratic citizens. It collapsed in the 2000s due to an unreliable membership system and a lack of grassroots engagement.

Tools for Peace was formed to provide humanitarian aid to Nicaragua. It grew out a visit of a group of fishermen from British Columbia to Nicaragua in 1981. On their return to Canada they began to gather supplies to help a Nicaraguan fishing village. By 1983 Tools for Peace had been formally organized with a head office in Vancouver and branches across Canada. In the spring of 1984 members of the El Salvadorean Committee in Hamilton, Ont. decided to became active in collecting goods for Nicaragua and joined Tools for Peace. The Hamilton group concentrated on collecting school supplies as well as donating cash. They also sponsored speakers from Nicaragua. Although the Hamilton group was still active as late as 1995, the Vancouver head office had been closed sometime before that. A longer history of the organization, written by Jessie Kaye, is available in hard copy.

Colin Smythe, the founder of Colin Smythe Limited Publishers, was born in Berkshire, England. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He returned to England and in 1966 established Colin Smythe Limited, in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. The firm specializes in Anglo-Irish literature. In 1987 he was presented with an award from the Association of Anglo-Irish Literature in Dublin.

Founded in 2004 by Stuart McLean, Madison Avenue Inc. is a Canadian production company that manages CDs, books, live entertainment and all other productions connected with Stuart McLean’s radio program, the Vinyl Cafe, which aired on CBC from 1994 to 2016. This includes an extensive touring show across North America, which took place annually until 2015; recording of live concerts; the production of audio collections of Vinyl Cafe stories released in various formats (cassette, CD, vinyl and digital); and Vinyl Cafe books.

Le comité québécois provisoire de solidarité avec le peuple palestinien was an ad hoc comittee which organized a series of meetings, 2-12 March 1970, concerning the Palestinian national liberation struggle and imperialism throughout the world. Members of the ad hoc committee included Michel Chartrand (CSN) and Stanley Grey (FLP). The week was known as "Semaine Québécoise de solidarité avec la Palestine; Quebec-Palestine solidarity week". The meetings were held at various universities and CEGEPs in Montreal and concluded with demonstrations at the American and Israeli consulates.

The National Federation of Canadian University Students came into being in December of 1926 in the wake of a British Empire debating team which toured Canada. The founding conference was held at McGill University in Montreal. The organization was founded to create "a better understanding among students, more cooperation ... among ... universities, ... and to furnish a means of creating international ties with groups of students in other countries."

The Federation became dormant during the years of World War II but revived in 1946. In 1964 the Federation underwent a re-organization and was renamed the Canadian Union of Students in an attempt to conciliate differences between English-speaking and French-speaking students. The fonds contains an essay which outlines these problems, titled "Assessment of the History of CUS/NFCUS (1926-1965)". It officially dissolved in 1969.

The United Church of Canada was founded in 1925 as a merger of the Methodist Church of Canada, the Congregational Union of Ontario and Quebec, part of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and the Association of Local Union Churches.

The Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) was founded in March 1963 to promote the establishment of an independent Québec. Pierre Vaillières jointed the FLQ in 1965 and provided its philosophical underpinnings. The group used radical tactics, being involved in over 200 bombings between 1963 and 1970. In 1970 the FLQ kidnapped cabinet minister Pierre Laporte and British trade commissioner James Cross. Laporte was later murdered. The FLQ, many of its members in prison, ceased activity in 1971.

H.M.S. Carnarvon was a Devonshire-class cruiser of 10,850 tons built for the Royal Navy in 1905. She served in various capacities prior to the start of the First World War, where she was assigned to Cape Verde Station to protect British ships. In October 1914, the Carnarvon was transferred to the South Atlantic where she was part of the Battle of the Falklands, December 1914. Throughout the rest of the war she continued to patrol against German raiders and escort convoys. In 1919, it became a training ship, before being sold for scrap in 1921.

The New Democratic Party (NDP) was founded in Ottawa in 1961 by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), affiliated unions of the Canadian Labour Congress, and New Party clubs. It is a democratic, socialist party.

In 1969 the Waffle was established as a caucus in the New Democratic party. Led by Mel Watkins and James Laxer, it was militantly socialist and nationalist. Forced to leave the NDP in 1972, it operated independently until 1974.

Organized in 1972, the Writers' Union of Canada held its first annual general meeting of eighty founding members at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on 3 November 1973. The purpose of the Writers' Union is to unite Canadian writers for the advancement of their common interest--the fostering of Canadian writing, relations with publishers, exchange of information among members, safeguarding the freedom to write and publish, and good relations with other writers and their organizations in Canada and throughout the world.

For further information on the Writers' Union, see Ted Whittaker, ed., The Writers' Union of Canada: A Directory of Members (Toronto: The Writers' Union of Canada, 1981).

The Book Society of Canada Ltd. was incorporated on 29 May 1945. Its founding president was John C.W. Irwin (1900-71) who worked from 1927 to 1929 as Assistant Manager of the Educational Department of the Macmillan Company of Canada Limited. In 1930 he and his brother-in-law, W.H. Clarke, began Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited. Together they developed and managed the publishing company of Clarke Irwin along with the Canadian branch of the Oxford University Press (from 1936 onwards). Irwin left Clarke Irwin in 1944 to form The Book Society. The latter was a school textbook publishing company. In the 1960s The Book Society published approximately a dozen books per year, many of which were approved by various departments of education across Canada. The founder's son, John W. Irwin, left teaching in 1960, joined the firm, and worked in various capacities of the company. He became President of the firm in 1971. In 1973 The Book Society acquired an educational publishing firm, Bellhaven House Limited (see boxes 56, file 14, and 59, file 1 for authors' contracts and questionnaires), and in 1982, a trade firm, Peter Martin Associates Limited. When Clarke Irwin went into receivership, The Book Society acquired its assets in June 1983. Clarke Irwin was maintained by The Book Society for a short period as a separate entity and reconstituted under the name, Clarke Irwin (1983) Inc. In 1984 The Book Society was renamed as Irwin Publishing Inc. At that time two-thirds of the company's business was in the area of educational publishing and the remainder in trade. The total business sales were {dollar}3 million, 5% of which came from foreign rights revenue.

The first issue of the Canadian Fiction Magazine (CFM), edited by Janie Kennon and R.W. Stedingh, appeared in 1971 as a student publication at the University of British Columbia. Geoff Hancock took over as editor in summer 1975 after Stedingh retired. Published as a quarterly, CFM was probably the foremost literary vehicle of its kind during this period for the Canadian short story in English and for its specialty issues on Native fiction, magic realism, Latin fiction, and fiction in translation, all of which were later turned into anthologies by Hancock. During its peak years, CFM published works by some of Canada's best-known writers and artists, including: Margaret Atwood, Michael Bullock, Matt Cohen, Mavis Gallant, Alberto Manguel, Eugene McNamara, Alice Munro, Susan Musgrave, Rikki, Leon Rooke, Jane Rule, Josef Skvorecký, Jane Urquhart, Miriam Waddington, bp Nichol, David Watmough, George Woodcock, Ann Copeland, and Sam Tata. Published for twenty-seven years primarily under Hancock's editorship, CFM ceased in 1998 when government grants and other funding were not available as a subvention for publication.

The Diocese of Niagara was founded in 1875. The diocese covers approximately 3,320 square miles in the province of Ontario. The most northern towns are Harriston and Mount Forest, to the west, Nanticoke, to the south, Fort Erie, and to the west Oakville. The diocese presently consists of the following archdeaconries: Wellington, Trafalgar, Wentworth-Haldimand, Hamilton, Lincoln, and Brock. These archdeaconries are further subdivided into deaneries: Wellington, Wentworth, Halton West, Trafalgar, Haldimand, Barton, Hamilton Central, Lincoln East, Lincoln West, Welland, and Niagara Falls.

There have been three histories written. Firstly, A. H. Young, "The Diocese of Niagara Before 1875," Canadian Journal of Religious Thought (Jan.-Feb. 1926) which covers the period before the Diocese of Niagara was created from the existing Diocese of Toronto in 1875. Secondly, History of the Diocese of Niagara to 1950 published by the Diocese in 1950 to mark its 75th Anniversary. There is a copy in Mills Library, general stacks, BX5612.N5A5, and a photocopy at the reference desk in Research Collections Reading Room. Thirdly, there is Some Men and Some Controversies, (1974) edited by Richard Ruggle, which contains a collection of essays, some dealing with the early history of the Niagara Diocese. It has not been catalogued; available in Research Collections Reading Room. Finally Parish Register A contains a history of the diocese up to 1925 in two volumes.

The Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They have roots in the American Restoration Movement. According to the manuscript this congregation started in October 1889 at Broadway Hall, moved to Brunswick Avenue, October 1897, and then to Bathurst Street in November 1902. The Elders of the church in 1904 were William Forrester, Duncan Stirling, James Stewart, and John Smart.

The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) was founded in 1970 by Hardial Bains as a party for the working classes.