Institutional Records
The Trinity College Archives acquires the inactive published and unpublished records of the College that are deemed to have long-term value. Arranged by the administrative unit which created the records, they include annual reports, policies, financial records, correspondence, research reports, architectural drawings, meeting minutes and other records that document the development and functioning of the College since its founding.
Student Organizations and Publications
The Archives holds records of the Trinity College Literary Institute, The Trinity College Dramatic Society, Heads of College, the Theological and Missionary Society and other groups and organizations run by students. A complete run of the Trinity University Review (original titled Rouge et Noir) from 1880 to the present is available, as is Stephanos, Salterrae, The St. Hilda’s Chronicle and a host of other long- and short-run publications originating at the College. A list of our holdings of student records is available.
Private Papers
The Archives acquires records from private sources that are important to document College history and support academic teaching and research. These include the personal papers of individuals and organizations associated with the College such as faculty, administrators, and provosts. They also include the papers of diplomats, government officials, Anglican Church notables, and administrative bodies that support Trinity programs in International Relations, Ethics, Society & Law, and Divinity.
Photographs
The Archives contains approximately 5,000 photographs documenting campus buildings, students, faculty, staff and alumni. Many have been digitized. Please contact the archivist for assistance.
Architectural Records
The Archives holds approximately 3,000 architectural drawings that document the various buildings of past and present College campuses. See finding aid with attached images of the public areas of the College:
Artefacts
While not an acquisition priority, many artefacts associated with the College are held by the Archives, including silver and other decorative arts.
Exhibits
Displays of archival material and artefacts are on display in the public corridor outside the Archives.
Finding aids for archival fonds and collections can be accessed through the University of Toronto Discover Archives website.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE ARCHIVES
How You Can Help
As part of its mandate, the Trinity College Archives acquires copies of everything published by the College, and it attempts as well to obtain copies of all student publications, but there are, inevitably, many gaps, particularly before the College’s federation with the University of Toronto. The Archivist would like to hear from you if you have any of the following publications, papers, photographs and other materials that show what Trinity was like when you were here.
Fill In the Gaps
Perhaps the most important single record published by the College is its calendar, which lists courses, staff and academic policies. Not surprisingly, there are gaps in the early years and we lack several calendars and notices published by the Faculty of Medicine and the Trinity Medical School, later the Trinity Medical College. Only a few calendars from the Faculty of Music and St. Hilda’s College, both of which issued calendars, have survived. Other examples of official publications that are missing are the magazines known to have been published by the Office of Convocation in the 1920 and 1930s, and some annual reports of St. Hilda’s College.
Student Publications
Student publications are even more problematic. The sets of Rouge et Noir and the Trinity University Review are complete (we think – the numbering of issues is often erratic!), but St. Hilda’s Chronicle has not fared as well: all the issues in its first year (1900-1901) and many in the years that followed before its absorption by the Review in 1940 are missing. Entire years of Salterrae in the 1950s and 1960s are unavailable.
Please contact Trinity’s Rolph-Bell Archivist, Sylvia Lassam, should you have materials to contribute to the Archives:
Tel: 416-978-2019
For more information about the Archives and its collections, please contact the Rolph-Bell Archivist, Lindsay Grant at trinity.archives@utoronto.ca or 416-978-2019.