Digital Collections
The following is a list of digital collections created in part by Special Collections and/or using Special Collections books and archival materials. For a complete list of the libraries' digitization projects, please visit the UVic Libraries Digital Collections page.
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Printed on linen, the cloth shows the 1913 cast of The Shewing Up of Blanco Posnet, by George Bernard Shaw. It was sold for $1.00 in April 1913 with proceeds going toward the establishment of a permanent gallery for modern art collected by Sir Hugh Lane, Lady Gregory's nephew. See also: Ann Saddlemyer fonds |
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The Anarchist Archive is devoted to the study of anarchism, with a special focus on the history of the movement in Canada. Holdings include the papers of British anarchist and art critic Herbert Read; activist and prison abolitionist Jim Campbell; Keith McHenry, founder of the international activist organization Food Not Bombs; and Ann Hansen, author of Direct Action: Memoirs of an Urban Guerrilla. |
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The British Colonist, 1858-1910 The British Colonist digitization project is a gift from the Times-Colonist newspaper, the University of Victoria Libraries, and a consortium of British Columbia libraries to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the British Colonist newspaper. Every page of every issue, from the first one on December 11, 1858 until the end of June, 1910, a total of 100,554 pages, have been scanned and made searchable. |
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Cavenagh Letterbooks, 1859-1868 Transcribed copies of Sir Orfeur Cavenagh's private letterbooks from his time as Governor of the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Malaya and Penang). Major General Sir Orfeur Cavenagh KCSI (1820–1891) was the last India-appointed Governor of the Straits Settlements. He governed there from 1859 to 1867. Transcription made available through the cooperation of the family and the Bodleian Library of Commonwealth & African Studies at Rhodes House, Oxford. |
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The Colonial despatches were the original correspondence between the British Colonial Office and the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. This project aims to digitize and publish online a complete archive of the correspondence covering the period from 1846 up to the incorporation of B.C. into the Canadian Federation in 1871. See also: Early B.C. Maps, The Governor's Letters |
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De Proprietatibus Rerum, Barthomoleus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (On the Order of Things) is an encyclopaedia dating from the 13th century. Although it is often described as a bestiary, its focus encompasses theology and astrology as well as the natural sciences (as understood in 1240). The manuscript is structured on astrological principles and is divided into 19 books, which according to M.C. Seymour, is a number arising from "the sum of the twelve signs of the zodiac and the seven planets, signifying universality." |
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These maps primarily span the dates 1846 - 1876 and show the development of the territory from the two founding colonies until after the Province joined confederation. A few earlier maps were collected by the Colonial Office in response to the San Juan dispute and these are also included. See also: Colonial Despatches |
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Gisèle Freund Photographs of James Joyce in Paris This exhibit features a series of photographs taken of James Joyce during his last years in Paris. The photographs were taken by Gisèle Freund and feature Joyce, his friends, family, and contemporaries including W. H. Auden, T. S. Eliot, Henry Miller and Virginia Woolf. More than half of the 161 photographs in the exhibit have never before been published and are presented by the University of Victoria Special Collections under an agreement with the Estate of Gisèle Freund/IMEC Images. |
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Taking advantage of the availability of the Colonial Despatches, the Governor's Letters is a linked website which hosts four curriculum challenges designed by teacher-educators to fit into the grades 5-10 curriculum in British Columbia and across Canada. Using the Despatches, as well as other primary sources including maps, paintings, and photographs, students are invited to solve challenges while building their historical skills. See also: Colonial Despatches |
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JM's World War One Sketchbook, 1917-1918 The images presented on this website are from a set of two World War One sketchbooks archived in Special Collections. They contain approximately 130 watercolour and pen and ink images which were produced by a British soldier based in France and Belgium between 1917 and 1918. Among the collection's most interesting images are several caricatures that poke fun at both Britain's elite and its class structure. In addition, there are a variety of sombre images suggesting the horror and carnage experienced by those at the Front. |
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Life In Japan, ca. 1910 by Herbert Geddes Herbert Geddes was a manager for G.R. Gregg and Company, importers and exporters; he was sent to Japan and was based in Yokohama between 1908 and 1918. The collection consists of photographic glass-plate transparencies depicting life in Japan, including scenery, street scenes, workers, farming, fishing, silk production, stone carvers, wood carvers, metal workers, potters, and artists. |
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Lydgate MS, Fall of Princes, ca. 1480 Special Collections has a fifteenth-century manuscript of John Lydgate's Fall of Princes, written on paper and parchment in Middle English. This text describes how a variety of "princes" fell from power due to misfortune or their own wrong doing. Available here is a facsimile of the entire manuscript, with commentary, plus a pilot project to transcribe part of the text. |
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Maclure Architectural Drawings Architectural plans by Samuel Maclure (1860-1929) for homes in Victoria and other B.C. locations. Maclure received commissions from many prominent Victoria and B.C. businessmen and politicians. |
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Digital audio files and some transcripts of hundreds of interviews of veterans of WWI, WWII, the Korean War and the War in Afghanistan. The full collection of interviews is available through Special Collections. Summaries for all of the interviews are available in our database. |
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Opinions of... Negro Servitude, in the Province of Nova-Scotia Published in 1802, Opinions of Several Gentlemen of the Law, on the Subject of Negro Servitude, in the Province of Nova Scotia, is a small surviving piece of the history of slavery in Canada. Dispensing with a discourse on the morality of slavery, this document merely attempts to answer questions regarding the legality of "Trover" (a legal term inherently defining a slave as property) in one single case in Annapolis, Nova Scotia. |
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The life of The Right Honourable George R. Pearkes V.C. (1888-1984) is illustrated from the Pearkes Collection of photographs, interviews, maps, and war diaries. Pearkes was an acclaimed military leader in both world wars who later went on to become Minister of Defence in Diefenbaker's cabinet, and Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia. Completed as part of the Schoolnet Digital Collections program. |
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The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, better known as The Pickwick Papers, is the first novel by Charles Dickens, published in 1836 as a serial in 20 parts with illustrations. The original serial edition is presented here in full. See also: Victorian Serial Novels |
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Oscar Wilde's Searchable image over text (PDF) of 1st version as published in Lippincott's Magazine, prior to Wilde's alterations after the public outcry. Requires Adobe Reader (or similar program capable of opening PDF files) to view. |
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Robert Graves Diary, 1935-1939 Robert Graves (1895-1985) is a major twentieth-century English poet, novelist and essayist. After founding the Seizin Press he moved to Deyá, Majorca. The novels that made Graves famous--Goodbye to All That; I Claudius and Claudius the God--were written in this period, as were many poems, essays and prose pieces. See also: photos from Robert Graves' 80th birthday celebration. |
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Sancti Epiphanii ad Physiologum, 1588 The Sancti Epiphanii ad Physiologum is a sixteenth-century edition of the Greek Physiologus, a collection of moralized beast tales written by an unknown Christian author, probably in third century Alexandria. The text, in Greek and Latin, is accompanied by 26 copperplate engravings by Pieter van der Borcht. A full facsimile of the book, plus commentary on the text and images, is available. |
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Siberian Expedition Virtual Exhibition and Digital Archive This interactive website created by historian Benjamin Isitt and UVic's Humanities Computing & Media Centre highlights the forgotten journey of 4,200 Canadian soldiers from Victoria to Vladivostok, Russia in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution. The exhibition is fully trilingual (English, French and Russian), inviting visitors to explore the story, learning resources, and 2,200 photographs. Interviews from the Military Oral History collection and photographs from the Eric Elkington collection are also featured. |
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Sir William Orpen's Illustrated Letters, 1910-1920 William Orpen was a renowned portrait painter and First World War artist. He was prolific, leaving a legacy of portraiture and painting that includes politicians Winston Churchill and Woodrow Wilson, fellow artists such as Augustus John, and historical events such as the Versailles Peace Treaty. This page reproduces his charming and whimsical letters to life-long friend, Beatrice Glenlavy. |
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C. M. Smyth's Account of the End of World War One and the Armistice Transcript of Major Charles McDowall Smyth's account of the end of the First World War, including his triumphant entry into Mons [Belgium] on November 11, 1918 -- le jour de l'Armistice. Also includes a description of Major Smyth's honours and medals. |
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Victoria's Early History Collection A selection of early Victoria and Vancouver Island maps, books, pamphlets and ephemera, together with archival material drawn from the Sylvester fonds held in the University Archives. Frank Sylvester was an early Jewish settler to Victoria, involved in the Fire Department and the negotiation of Labour Contracts. |
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Throughout the Victorian period, novels in serial parts were published in abundance in newspapers and magazines, by far the most popular form, or in discreet parts issued in installments, usually twenty monthly issues. Many 19th century authors established themselves by first publishing original fiction in serial format. Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Robert Louis Stevenson and more, all published serial novels, either in monthly magazines or as discreet serial parts. |
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W.O.H. Dodds World War One Scrapbook Brigadier General W. O. H. Dodds, C.M.G., D.S.O. was born on 3 July 1867 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and died in Montreal on 25 August 1934, at 67 years of age. This scrapbook relates to his life and service in the Canadian military. This project uses SCRAPS, a program which allows for in depth annotations of images. NOTE: Scrapbook program will not work on older versions of Internet Explorer. Please use latest version or an alternate web browser. |
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World War One Photographs and Journals, Archie Wills Fonds Photographs and journals selected primarily from the Archie Wills fonds held in the University Archives. Wills (1892-1988) was born in Victoria, BC, served with the Canadian Forces Artillery in France during the First World War, and worked as a journalist for the Victoria Times and Daily Colonist newspapers both before and after his service. |
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World War One Photographs by A. J. Millar, 1914-1918 This album of photographs, taken by J. A. Millar, contains scenes of the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Valcartier Camp, at Quebec, and at Gaspe Harbour immediately prior to sailing to Britain in 1914. There are also a few loose photos by unknown photographers. Millar was a staff photographer of the Montreal Daily Star and produced the album in 1915. |
Related Links
- About Digital Collections
- Ann Saddlemyer fonds
- Cavenagh family fonds
- Charles McDowall Smyth fonds
- George Randolph Pearkes fonds
- Gisele Freund fonds
- Herbert Geddes collection
- Medieval Studies collection
- Military Oral History collection
- Robert Graves fonds
- Samuel Maclure fonds
- Sir William Orpen collection
- William Okell Holden Dodds fonds
- World War I Sketchbook collection