life with more cowbell

As I perused the Doors Open Toronto 2014 guide yesterday afternoon, a photograph of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library caught my eye.

Located at 120 St. George Street at the south end of the Robarts Library at the University of Toronto (U of T) campus downtown, this is a book and architecture nerd’s delight. Even if you’re not a nerd, it’s pretty damn impressive. I overheard someone say the oldest book in the collection was an 11th century codex. The current exhibition is Vesalius at 500, recognizing the beauty and science of Andreas Vesalius’s De humani corporis fabrica, which features exquisitely rendered anatomical illustrations (woodcuts).

Doors Open Toronto continues on Sunday, May 25 – and it’s just one of the many cities/towns participating in the annual Doors Open Ontario heritage site event, which runs from May to October. Check out the Doors Open Ontario site for locations/dates near you. There are also Doors Open events happening in provinces across Canada, so you can check out events all over the country.

Here’s a slide show tour of my visit to the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library:

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