The Gibson Collection was established at the Clara Thomas Archives in 1994 when Robert Chalmers Gibson, after almost fifty years of collecting rare books and manuscripts, donated his Canadiana collection to York University.
Recently library staff from the archives and Scott Library's Bibliographic Services set about selecting items for digitization by the Internet Archives. Unlike the Yolton Collection, the very unique characteristics that distinguish the collection, are an impediment to their digitization. The Gibson Collection is particularly strong in early Canadiana, particularly travel narratives and geographic treatises. As a result, many of the items contain foldouts which would have been impossible to digitize within the workflow of the Internet Archives.
Items that have been digitized from the Gibson Collection can be found here.
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- example of elaborate geographic fold-out found in item from the Gibson Collection
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- Elaborate foldout of map of North America from item in the Gibson Collection
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- Fold out illustration of a buffalo from an item in the Gibson Collection
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- Fold out engraving of Niagara Falls from an item in the Gibson Collection
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- Early illustrations of a porcupine and wolverine from an item from the Gibson Collection
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- Illustration of Arctic camp site from a book from the Gibson Collection
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- Hand coloured fold out map from Gibson Collection
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- Robert Gibson bookplate
Great exhibit!