Fisher Library: Some Of The Rarest Books & Manuscripts In The World

We take you behind the scenes at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in Toronto, Canada, which houses over 700,000 volumes - including Shakespeare’s first folio, the first handwritten draft of the Handmaid’s Tale, a centuries-old legal deed, Alice in Wonderland erotica, books made from animals, and so much more. We met with John Shoesmith, the library’s Outreach Librarian, who gave us a tour of the Fisher’s restricted and rarely seen storage areas.
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[@user-og2wt3le4j]

I once worked at the McMaster Library archives. They have amazing books and manuscripts. I think they have the McClelland and Stewart collection as well.

[@MartinBuchler]

Amazing, loved it ❤

[@wpontius4355]

Amazing!!

[@payattention31]

Im in heaven!

[@WeTravelOnlyByNightAsItsSoHot]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@mr.alaska2232]

What is the point of having all those in the basement Where no one gets the enjoyment of seeing them

[@stanbrown32]

They aren't all on display constantly because (besides lack of display space to show ecerything at the same time) to conserve them, their exposure to light and air should be limited. But they are all available for scholars to examine them, and items will be pulled for special exhibitions, too, so more people can see them.

[@kamronmurphy1890]

i never seen anyone touching anything that rare with no white gloves

[@maryd4726]

British Library current advice is not to wear gloves when turning pages as one may cause damage due to lack of sensitivity in the fingers.

[@s.p.8803]

It's a myth, that you have to wear gloves to protect books, it is actually more risky for them. The exception is to protect people's skins (toxic dusts, lead ...)

[@stanbrown32]

The recommendation is to wash and dry your hands well, so no oil or dirt is transferred to the books. Wearing gloves would reduce dexterity and increase the chance of accidentally tearing pages.

[@jobe2301]

White gloves are a big no-no for handling old books. You will tear the pages.

[@kamronmurphy1890]

@@jobe2301 ok that's very informative i work with high end retail so i was just a bit lost

[@microwavedcheetos]

I will pay 20 dollars for the second Alice in wonderland book...

[@classicalsheetmusic1986]

lol

[@isaiahv5794]

what's your email i'll send you the .cbz file

[@shmujew4791]

A SEX ACT ISANT A CATEGORY

[@ronxxf]

dead White men ever heard of it?

[@jval6459]

Bipoc??? 😂😂😂 even librarians are woke now, it's pathetic. Just collect the books, who cares who wrote them.

[@aeronovus]

Ok boomer

[@jval6459]

@@aeronovus ok groomer

[@tigerpirate1849]

Okey you both doomer

[@stanbrown32]

It takes purposeful planning to build a representative collection, as many items won't just show up as donations to the library--they have to be sought out.

[@jval6459]

@@stanbrown32 I guess I can understand that but using the woke terminology "bipoc" doesn't help lol

[@shmujew4791]

NO SUCH THING AS BIPOC OR QUEER ...................

[@andrewcarranza8061]

The hand maids tail. Is a low level Netflix series, his attempt to memorialize or hold it to the esteem as the other books they have is a cynical attempt to shift the monolith of history to the left. Communist always do that.