History

More than 70,000 items related to the history and culture of Western Canada. This collection was built over many decades at the Glenbow, and came under the care and management of the University of Calgary in 2019.

This is a massive collection of files of news clippings, organized by subject. Former staff and volunteers of the Glenbow Library and Archives created and added information to these files beginning in the 1950s. Clipping files contain excellent information on thousands of local history topics.

In the vast wealth of English literature, William Shakespeare’s character Prospero and his library most vividly symbolize how an individual is shaped by the books which she or he has collected and studied. We often think we know a person by the books which they own and in studying a person’s life, particularly if that person has made a significant contribution to our country’s culture, we wish to know what books influenced the development of that scholar, writer, scientist, artist, etc.

Public institutions are sometimes fortunate to house complete libraries of a few individuals in order to document to some extent this portion of the cultural fabric of Canada. The Dr. George F.G. Stanley Book Collection is available for research at the University of Calgary Library. It demonstrates in its breadth and depth the books which he studied as well as the many books which he produced.

We are fortunate to have had the guidance of Dr. Donald B. Smith, Department of History, University of Calgary whose friendship with Dr. George F.G. and Mrs. Ruth Stanley has made this donation possible. The book collection is enhanced by Mrs. Stanley’s donation of a bronze bust of Dr. Stanley created by the distinguished Canadian sculptor Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook, RCA.

The Margaret P. Hess Collection reflects the collecting activities and the intellectual pursuits of an educated and cultured woman. The books, periodicals, pamphlets, maps, posters and other print materials cover a broad range of subjects such as Western Canadian history, early travel and exploration, First Nations and Inuit art, major art movements and natural history. It provides an important and rare example of a complete library of a Canadian woman whose collecting interests spanned the 20th and 21st centuries. Dr. Hess has also donated important cultural artifacts such as a collection of Dene crafts and a whalebone carving.