Special Collections
Special Collections acquires and preserves the archives of Canadian individuals and organizations that have made their mark as poets, short story writers, novelists, playwrights, mathematicians, composers, musicologists, media figures, record producers, publishers, politicians, historians and more. To search across the archival collections, visit our archival database.
Frequently consulted: EMI Music Canada fonds | Alice Munro fonds | Robert Kroetsch fonds
Album of Postcards of British Actors and Actresses Digital Collection
Album of Postcards of British Actors and Actresses Digital Collection
Picture postcards offer a glimpse into life. At the turn of the 20th century postcards were a relatively new phenomenon but quickly became a popular method of communication for those away from home.
Arctic & Northern Studies Digital Collection
Arctic & Northern Studies Digital Collection
Consists of rare published or unpublished archival documents, dating from the 1600s to the early 1900s, which were originally acquired by the Arctic Institute of North America, now located at the University of Calgary.
Arctic Institute of North America’s Photographic Archives Digital Collection
Arctic Institute of North America’s Photographic Archives Digital Collection
The Arctic Institute of North America’s online photographic collection consists of 4000+ photographs dating from the late 1800s through the 1900s.
Bob Gibson Digital Collection
Bob Gibson Digital Collection
This unique collection of speculative short fiction published in popular periodicals from the nineteenth century to contemporary time encourages students and scholars to engage with the remarkable expertise of Bob Gibson, an industrious and discerning fan, and with the practices of popular culture fandom more generally.
Book Collections
Book Collections
The Special Collections print collection, including broadsides, pamphlets, periodicals and monographs, ranges in time from the fifteenth to the twenty-first century.
Byron Harmon Postcards
Canadian Historical Archives
Canadian Historical Archives
The Canadian Historical Archives are a secondary focus for collection development. The collection does document persons such as Grant MacEwan and James Gray, and organizations and societies relevant to the study of Canadian culture. Brief descriptions are provided below.
Canadian Literary and Cultural Archives
Canadian Literary and Cultural Archives
Special Collections has extensive literary archival holdings which contain correspondence, original manuscripts, drafts, research notes, photographs, sound recordings and memorabilia of Canadian writers as well as a growing collection of Canadian visual artists.
Dene Crafts Digital Collection
Dene Crafts Digital Collection
showcases photographs of utility items and art created by Fort Providence, NWT. During 1974-75, all featured items were used for exhibition in Calgary at the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede Women’s World to recognize International Women’s Year.
EMI Music Canada Archive
EMI Music Canada Archive
The collection consists of 5,500 boxes containing more than 18,000 video recordings, 21,000 audio recordings and more than two million documents and photographs.
International Archival Holdings
International Archival Holdings
The international archival holdings form a group of archival material, primarily single items, which have been acquired as parts of book collections e.g. the Eric White collection, or have been found in individual books e.g. Thomas Hardy letter tipped into a volume of his work, or by donations of single items.
John P.L. Roberts, the CBC and Music in Canada Digital Collection
John P.L. Roberts, the CBC and Music in Canada Digital Collection
Contains items from the John P.L. Roberts fonds held at the University of Calgary Archives and Special Collections. The items include over 100 CBC concert programs which document emerging and accomplished artists, musicians, and composers and their works performed across the country from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Philip Sidney Smith Collection of Photographs Digital Collection
Philip Sidney Smith Collection of Photographs Digital Collection
This digital archive pays tribute to the work of Philip Sidney Smith, who engaged in extensive topographic mapping and geologic exploration in Alaska during the early 1900s.
Political Papers
Political Papers
The politics of the western provinces has had a significant impact in shaping the nation Canada is today. The University of Calgary Archives has a large and growing collection of records pertaining to western Canadian political parties and politicians.
Recreational Mathematics Archives
Recreational Mathematics Archives
Arising from and integral to the Eugene Strens Recreational Mathematics Collection of books, periodicals, puzzles and other materials the Mathematics Archives include archival fonds of various individuals such as Charles Trigg and Leon Bankoff who have been involved in many aspects of recreational mathematics around the world.
The Richard Johnston Canadian Music Archives Collection
The Richard Johnston Canadian Music Archives Collection
Named in memory and honour of composer and educator Dr. Richard Johnston whose enthusiasm and tireless work on the development of the Canadian music archives, the collection is the second major focus area for Special Collections.
Theatrical Scene and Costume Design Digital Collection
Theatrical Scene and Costume Design Digital Collection
Costume and scene design are two essential components of performance art. Operas, operettas, stage plays, ballets, and films rely on design to create worlds that inspire the imagination.
